In "Life is Strange," there is a scene in which the main character, Alex, angrily throws a glass bottle across the room: The main character, Alex, angrily throws a glass bottle across the room. It hits the opposite wall, scattering hundreds of pieces on the floor. Her anger is incandescent, but it lasts only a moment and soon melts away.

The scene is incredibly tense, but Alex's actions are completely understandable. Her brother, her only family member, has just died and she has just learned that his death may not have been an accident. The pain within is so great that it overwhelms her. For better or worse, "True Colors" is about the power of emotions, and the way Alex learns to understand and explore her own emotions is at the heart of "True Colors.

I am used to "Life is Strange" tugging at my heartstrings, but not in Alex's case. Life is Strange has always been a series about young people dealing with trauma, but Alex is the first character throughout the entire game who is solely focused on dealing with his emotions and those of those around him. While the series has dabbled in time travel, telekinesis, and mind reading, Alex's superpower is being able to sense a person's heightened emotions and then absorb them further into his or her body, allowing him or her to remove that person's anger, sadness, or anxiety at will. If a person is feeling overwhelming emotions, she can see their glowing colored aura and understand what they are going through. She is essentially a human mood ring.

While in foster care, her empathic abilities developed, but thankfully, her long-lost brother, Gabe, managed to get in touch with her and invited her to live with him in Haven Springs, Colorado. The reunion is short-lived when Gabe is killed in an accident, leaving both Alex and the residents of Haven Springs in despair. But Alex begins to sense that something is wrong with his death, and he begins to investigate the idyllic mining town, using his ability to see into the true nature of the townspeople to find out what really happened.

Life is Strange certainly loves quaint American towns, and True Colors' Heaven Springs is nicely integrated into the series' American tour. The Rocky Mountains serve as a beautiful backdrop for the lakeside town, the one-street shopping district, and the intimate community. But it's not all about picturesque Colorado. True Colors is "Life is Strange's" most visually stunning game to date. Quite simply, it is stunning and I actually wanted to take the time to explore every inch of it. There is only one main street in town, but it is chock full of detail and characters to interact with. The cutscenes are also excellent, and with clever lighting and a string of fairy lights, Deck Nine's art direction makes even the dimly lit local pub look like a magical speakeasy from a fantasy game.

Deck Nine continues Life is Strange's signature exploration system, allowing players to manipulate items to gain information about the world. By examining photographs, looking at flyers, and reading newspaper clippings, one can learn about the history of NPCs and towns. But what makes this system fresh in "True Colors" is that it allows us to learn more about the game's protagonist.

Before meeting her, Alex has had a tumultuous life. By learning from her diary about her time in foster care and reading letters from her pen pals, we quickly get a sense of her character. Not often do we get to play as a character who has experienced the foster care system or been traumatized by it, but Deck Nine handles her situation with great care. We get to know Alex as a person, her upbringing, and her strengths. The main characters in "Life is Strange" usually come in pairs, such as Max and Chloe, Daniel and Sean, and Tyler and Allison. In "True Colors," Alex is completely central, so we constantly learn about her life.

Alex's empathic psychic abilities are also utilized in the exploration. Alex can use it to learn about a person's thoughts and feelings. Picking up something like a mug might reveal that someone is suffering from work stress, or holding a phone might reveal that the owner is anxious about receiving a particular call.

These supernatural tricks work really well in a story about a young woman learning to understand her emotions, but the logic of her power is inconsistent and a bit weak. When someone is feeling intense emotions, Alex is often overwhelmed by their presence, but there are times when this rule is completely forgotten. She has the ability to absorb a person's emotions and take away what they are feeling, but it doesn't really affect her own emotional state. Overall, this is not a problem, but there are moments in the story where her power feels like a tool of the writer to move the story along, rather than something Alex should learn to understand and control.

"Life is Strange" is known for its choices and the drama that spills over from them. The horror of "this action has consequences" can be gut-wrenching. In "True Colors," I didn't get that feeling so much. Important decisions don't pay off until late in the game, and that's a long time to wait to see how your choices turned out. Steph, the hip drummer in a beanie, and Ryan, the handsome park ranger, are best friends, but there are few choices that affect their interpersonal relationships. However, Alex can decide to go out with either Steph or Ryan and have a meaningful relationship. Both characters are great partner candidates who understand Alex and her strengths. It is great that Deck Nine continues Life is Strange's great queer representation by having Alex be bisexual.

True Colors has its pitfalls, but I've never enjoyed a Life is Strange game so much. Previous games in the series have dealt with incredibly heavy themes, such as convincing a friend not to jump off the roof of a building or experiencing terrible racism. So even when there are happy moments, they often feel like fleeting moments in an unfair world, bittersweet. True Colors has its fair share of drama, but it also has moments of incredible joy. There is a full spectrum of emotions, from white-hot anger over the death of a brother to the pure joy of LARPing with friends.

The scene where Alex throws the glass bottle across the room is shocking, not simply because of the act itself, but because women don't get the chance to do it enough. Women in games and media continue to be demonized for expressing themselves in this way, often labeled as hysterical, "crazy women," or overly emotional. Women's anger in the games is next to non-existent unless they scream like they are diving headfirst into a war. Alex's outburst of anger and frustration at her cruel circumstances is both unbelievable and heartbreaking at the same time.

True Colors is full of moments like this. It is a story of a young queer woman's unashamed crying, screaming, and experiencing the joy of being free of shame, and that is incredibly special.