The premise of Life is Strange: True Colors was rumored for quite a while before it was officially confirmed at Square Enix Presents earlier this week. Life is Strange: True Colors will follow the story of Alex Chen, an Asian American woman who can see people’s psychic auras and has an empathic connection to those around her. She relocates to the mountain town of Haven Springs to reconnect with her brother, Gabe, but tragedy strikes before she truly gets to know him. It seems she’ll spend the rest of the game trying to control her powers and learn about the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death.
This will be the first Life is Strange game to feature an Asian-American woman as the protagonist. Having an Asian American woman front and center in a video game is even more important as of late in the wake of the Atlanta, Georgia area shootings that killed six Asian-American women. Violence against Asian Americans has skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic, largely due to the harmful rhetoric of former President Donald Trump who blamed the Covid-19 pandemic on the Asian American community. Alex Chen being the lead of Life is Strange: True Colors will be significant for the Asian American community in a few ways.
Typically when Asian or Asian-American characters are featured in video games, their characters remain focused on their culture, even teetering on the line of stereotypes. The Life is Strange franchise is known for representation and presenting players with well-rounded characters in an “everything isn’t as it seems” way. Even from the reveal trailer, Alex Chen’s story will focus on things outside of her Asian heritage or stereotyping her.
Unfortunately, Alex suffers from the tragedy of losing her brother, but storylines like this seem to be unavoidable in Life is Strange games. While it would have been nice to see an Asian American character not experience the death of a loved one, in the context of Life is Strange it makes sense. Asian American characters typically aren’t given the spotlight, especially in AAA games, so Alex Chen being the lead of Life is Strange: True Colors is definitely a step in the right direction for representation in video games.
Alex Chen’s supernatural ability is empathy, and though hers is extreme, it seems everyone could use an extra dose of empathy these days. The importance of empathy nowadays is crucial, especially in the wake of attacks like what transpired in the Atlanta, Georgia area. The racially-motivated killing of six Asian American women was a stark reminder to many Asian American people of how unsafe they may be for merely existing in the United States.
Showing support for the victims of the shooting starts with empathy, education, and action. There’s a lot of work to be done to protect Asian Americans, especially with hate crime numbers on the rise, but people have to start somewhere. Education about the situation, and empathy and understanding for not only the victims, but other members of the Asian American community speaking out against this atrocity will go a long way.
Alex Chen being the lead of Life is Strange: True Colors is a fantastic step in the right direction when it comes to video games. However, real-life Asian Americans will benefit from the power of empathy more than anyone in the upcoming True Colors.
Life is Strange: True Colors will be available September 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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