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Call of Duty: Vanguard is the latest entry in the first-person shooter franchise, and it’s safe to say it didn’t blow me away. With the graphics outshining the story and the same repetitive gameplay, this isn’t the revival the franchise needed.

Introduction

We’re now on the 18th main game in the Call of Duty series, and it’s safe to say that the well seems to be running a bit dry for this first-person shooter series.

Call of Duty: Vanguard takes a lot of pointers from the games that came before it, so you should expect to undergo a very classic CoD experience, with a couple of surprises thrown in.

With a fairly short campaign, you’ll mostly be spending time in the multiplayer or Zombie modes, which do little to shake things up, but are a faithful recreation of what made players fall in love with the franchise. Here’s my full review.

Campaign mode

• Only nine levels in campaign mode
• Five playable protagonists
• Standard and bland WW2 backdrop

Call of Duty: Vanguard’ story begins near the end of WW2, when the Nazis are starting to scramble, with the plot revolving around a secret plot that will ensure the Third Reich’s victory in the long run.

Throughout the campaign, you swap between four different allies, with each character inspired by real-world heroes – with Lady Nightingale being my personal favourite. There is little subtlety here, with Vanguard attempting to pursue themes regarding race and gender, but it comes off as ham-fisted at best, and borderline offensive at worst.

A decent portion of the campaign revolves around flashbacks from each team member that took place before the war, giving you a little insight into their personality and their struggles. Though I doubt it was intentional, the game reminds me so much of Suicide Squad that it’s a little hard to take seriously, as The Expendables theming makes it hard to see any character as more than just a killing machine, despite the game’s efforts.

The end of the first mission shows the team getting captured by Nazis after infiltrating their base. The story then focuses on each character’s backstory through the flashbacks and cutscenes, with the Sergeant’s story coming first.

Sergeant Arthur Kingsley is a black man, which the Nazis do not like. The game drops any pretences around this character, letting the Nazi’s be as evil and racist as possible. At times it was quite fun to hate, with Kingsley himself being very likeable; but it didn’t seem like Sledgehammer Games knew what angle to take with him, making the race undertones feel odd and unfinished.

The third mission is easily my favourite, as we get to go back to the Battle of Stalingrad with Russian sniper Polina Petrova. Her story starts with her in the kitchen at home, with prompts that allow you to chat to neighbours as you wander through the town. Despite my personal annoyance at that, she shines as the best playable character; she can climb walls and duck in and out of grates, with the level design being more dynamic and personal than anything else in the game.

Her levels feel like a wonderful mix of Call of Duty and Tomb Raider, with options to be stealthy or go in guns blazing – if the entire game was based on Lady Nightingale, it would have been a different experience. The theme of gender is explored, though it’s not handled as obviously as Arthur, and it was satisfying to watch Petrova take out a man who called her a ‘little girl’ just moments before.

We then move forward to Wade Jackson, the cocky American pilot. The Battle of Midway was a wasted level, as you take to the skies to shoot down planes. This segment doesn’t offer anything you haven’t seen before and unless you adore slow dogfights and slow turns, I’d advise skipping this level altogether.

When Wade is on the ground he’s a much more likeable character. His special ability allows you to see enemies through walls, with a greater focus on stealth compared to all-out warfare.

And the last character we meet is the Australian Lucas Riggs, a loud-mouthed demolitions expert who can throw grenades with pin-point accuracy. Despite his constant crude dialogue, which gets progressively less funny as you go on, his missions are very standard and bland. They’re set in boring deserts with little more to do than run around blowing things up.

The main thing I can say for the Vanguard campaign is that I appreciate the effort put in to create a more diverse and interesting cast of characters, but I don’t think it was handled as well as it could have been. The prejudice against each character (apart from the American) is referenced multiple times throughout the game, but when the curtain falls Riggs is still hitting on Petrova.

All in all, you can skip out on the campaign, though I would recommend playing the third and sixth levels, as Petrova is more fun to control than the other characters, and her distinctive style and attitude was one of my favourite parts of the whole game.

It’s also worth mentioning that Vanguard’s campaign mode is shockingly short. I managed to finish the game in around seven hours, though I think you could do it even quicker, depending on which difficulty you play.

Multiplayer

• The same core gameplay as previous entries
• A few more features than before, including Combat Pacing
• 16 maps available at launch

There is a lot less to say about the Multiplayer mode in Vanguard, as it really doesn’t do much that I haven’t seen before. I won’t say that it’s not a good time to run around guns blazing, but if you were after something comparably new, you’re out of luck.

The Multiplayer mode relies heavily on the idea that you will be happy to keep coming back, with weapons challenges that expect you to grind for days on end to earn another camo for your favourite gun. These aspects are well-used and give players something to work for, but I wish that there was more to come back for that wasn’t just surface upgrades.

Speaking of surface upgrades, Call of Duty seemingly still hasn’t mastered how to tell you that you’ve unlocked a new skin, as I was frequently getting notifications for skins I’d unlocked hours ago. It’s a small thing, but in the same way that sometimes the subtitles don’t at all match the audio, it gets a bit annoying after a while.

But moving on to what you can actually play in Multiplayer, there are the same modes as usual with a new one thrown in for good measure. Champion Hill is Vanguard’s latest mode, in which you play in either a team of two or three against seven other teams. Your squad will share lives, so for the first 60-second deathmatch you need to make sure both you and your teammates stay out of trouble.

This mode was refreshing. I played with strangers online, but I can imagine playing with your friends would be even more entertaining since you’re very much relying on each other. I wouldn’t say it’s ground-breaking, but it’s still a nice addition to the usual Deathmatch and Search and Destroy modes.

The other new mode is Patrol, although it’s essentially an evolution on the Hardpoint mode from previous Call of Duty entries. Your team needs to keep control of a constantly moving object, with only one team being allowed in the circle by the end of the match. This mode may have been my favourite, as the necessity to keep moving makes it grippingly frantic towards the end.

The other modes are tried and true: Free-For-All is fairly obvious, kill anyone and everyone, with the first to hit 30 kills taking the victory. Hardpoint is the same as Patrol but you will be controlling a stationary object. Deathmatch put you in one of two teams, competing for the highest number of kills within 10 minutes. Kill Confirmed is the same as Deathmatch, but counts the number of dog tags you’ve collected rather than your kill score.

Another new feature, Combat Pacing, allows you to increase the number of people in a match, with different levels of intensity to choose from. This means that any thrill-seekers can go into Blitz (which is 24v24) while people looking for a more relaxed killing spree can go Tactical Combat, which is 6v6.

As far as new things go, the last thing to mention here is the maps in Multiplayer mode. There are 16 maps in the game currently, with more coming next month. Dome has made a comeback, but this time it looks a little worse for wear. The war-torn aesthetic fits with the game well, and I appreciated that the game was trying something different on something familiar.

One of the best aspects of these maps is that some are destructible. Hitler’s own aeroplane base – the map Eagle’s Nest – shows this off best, as you can crash through the floor onto unsuspecting enemies. It adds a level of unpredictability that I really enjoyed, and it’s fun to see how each player chooses to use the environment.

All in all, the Multiplayer mode is certainly fun, but it doesn’t do anything crazy or interesting enough that will make me switch over to Vanguard permanently. The game looks and handles well, so it’s up to you whether it’s worth rebuilding back up to that high Prestige level, considering the last couple of CoD games have been remarkably consistent in terms of multiplayer.

Zombies

• Almost no change from before, nothing new has been added
• Feels more random than before
• Lack of local split-screen is a big disappointment

Vanguard also features the series’ iconic Zombies mode, letting you shoot the rotting and frozen corpses of Nazi scum. However, it seems that little has changed compared to previous entries, since there is almost no new content whatsoever here, making the Zombies Mode feel like an afterthought.

It’s the same routine as usual; run around and shoot zombies, unlock more loot and keep going until you’re eventually overwhelmed. While the graphics and end-of-the-world aesthetic kept me entertained, the overall Zombie experience is the same as it’s always been, with the only real difference being the sense of randomness that comes with each new run.

The lack of local split-screen also seemed like a big misstep, as the most fun you can have in this mode is with friends. You can play online with friends instead, but lack of couch co-op play is still disappointing.

In a very similar vein to the multiplayer mode, if you’re a fan of CoD Zombie’s then you will have a good time. But with nothing new on offer, there is very little here that you haven’t seen before.

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Final Thoughts

Call of Duty: Vanguard does have its moments, even if they are quite few and far between. The campaign goes back and forth between innovative and entertaining, to repetitive and bland, while the Multiplayer and Zombie modes don’t bring anything new to the table other than how impressive they look.

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Alan Wake Remastered is a solid visual update to a classic survival horror game that first debuted on the Xbox 360. Though the gameplay does on occasion feel a little dated by today’s standards, the game’s solid writing and upgraded graphics make it an excellent game nonetheless.

Introduction

Alan Wake Remastered is an updated version of the classic survival from Remedy, the developer behind classic series including Max Payne and Control.

At its heart it’s a story-driven thriller that sees you take the role of best selling author Alan Wake as he attempts to find his missing wife in the mysterious town of Bright Falls.

The Remastered version is being pitched as the “ultimate” way to experience the game, which originally launched in 2010, featureing updated 4K graphics plus a number of other visual upgrades.

Having run through the entire game, I can confirm it delivers on this promise, making it a great option for any horror fan yet to experience Alan Wake. However, a lack of upgrades to the core gameplay can make certain parts feel a little dated. Here’s my full review.

Gameplay

• Alan Wake is a survival horror game
• It focuses on defeating enemies using light base weapons and guns
• There have been no changes made to the original

Alan Wake is a survival horror that tasks you to survive and make your way through various scripted levels over six chapters in the fictional town of Bright Falls.

The gameplay is simple: monsters in the dark want to stop you from getting from one end of the map to the other, so you need to either sprint your way past or gun them down. The latter isn’t so straightforward as it sounds though, requiring you to strip enemies, known as “Taken”, of their defences with light before killing them using conventional weapons.

Outside of occasional flashback segments, each level takes place in a different part of Bright Falls, which is a fictional “rustic” town in Washington State, which acts as a good catalyst for the game’s horror focus.

The mechanics are fairly simple, but generally quite effective. The night time settings in the mountainous forest town offer a claustrophobic feel, with enemies literally surrounding you at every turn. You can fortunately find a safe haven in well lit rooms or underneath lampposts, but the game does a decent job making you never feel truly safe.

This is largely helped by the fact that, unlike many modern horror games, such as Evil Within 2, or Resident Evil Village, the game’s chapters are linear, not open world. The only exploration takes place between each point of light where there are sporadic item caches, which can be found by following directions that only become visible when you shine your flashlight on them.

You can also find a number of collectibles, including coffee thermouses and pages of a mysterious manuscript by Alan, which offer short details about the unfolding plot.

However, Remedy has chosen to leave the original gameplay untouched, so there are a few bits that feel slightly dated. This is particularly true with combat. Alan Wake’s combat was a breath of fresh air when it first launched, with the focus on using light to weaken enemies offering a layer of strategy missing on other survival horrors at the time. This largely remains the case now, with the management of your flashlight’s batteries being just as important as how you conserve your revolver’s ammo.

But the gunplay and item management feels a little light for my liking. Your choice of weapons are limited to a basic revolver, a shotgun and a hunting rifle. Outside of that, flares act as a secondary light source for when you’re getting mobbed by enemies and flare guns act as grenade launchers.

There’s no upgrade system for any of them. Inventory management and crafting mechanics are non-existent and health auto regenerates, removing the need for any form of healing items. The latter is a particular annoyance, as it makes it all too easy to backtrack to previous safe zones when you muck up.

I’m also disappointed by the aiming system. The game sees you use Alan’s flashlight to aim, with the central circle of light acting as your reticle. This is innovative, but, to make it work, Remedy forces an auto aim setting on you. There’s no way to turn it off, which is really annoying. Fighting enemies with auto aim removes a lot of the fun of shooting, especially in the easy and normal settings, where ammo is fairly plentiful. Alan’s dodge ability is also oddly effective, with it being all too easy to dance circles round enemies once you get used to the timing.

I’d forgive this if combat wasn’t so central to the experience. It would be nice to also have a stealth option to vary the gameplay up, especially given the fact Alan’s meant to be a novelist rather than a super soldier.

Being fair, this is the same issue I have with a lot of games getting the remastered treatment. Mass Effect Legendary Edition had the same problem during combat heavy periods due to a lack of gameplay updates when I played it last year. But it’s something that puts me off most remastered games in general.

Graphics

• 4K graphics, Nvidia DLSS
• But no Ray Tracing

That doesn’t mean there’s not been plenty of great work done to the Alan Wake remaster. For starters Remedy has completely updated the game’s graphics, giving it 4K textures that look outright gorgeous on the RTX 3080 powered PC I tested it on. Remedy has also added DLSS support to the game, meaning it can run on playable framerates on lower specced machines.

The work has paid off, with the updated version living up to Remedy’s claim that the Remaster is “the best way to experience Alan Wake”. The character animations and models look brilliant in 4K and the game’s tense, claustrophobic maps have aged amazingly well.

The only minor shortcoming is that the game doesn’t support Ray Tracing. This is a graphical setting featured on most top end graphics cards and games consoles, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It lets games render more realistic lighting effects and shadows in real time.

Though there are technical reasons for this, Ray Tracing on a game all about using light as a weapon seems like a no-brainer and a missed opportunity.

Story

• The story remains the game’s strongest selling point
• Unless you are a completionist there is little replay value

Remedy is a company with a singular focus: creating strong, narrative-driven, single-player games. Alan Wake is the epitome of this featuring a strong story with a cohesion and rhythm completely missing in most recent AAA horrors.

Not giving any spoilers away, but the game exudes clear influences from some of the biggest horror movies around. These include combat segments clearly inspired by Phantoms to chilling twists that would give Stephen King a run for his money.

Alan Wake’s strong, utterly engrossing, plot does such a good job, that even with the slightly old school gameplay, you’ll want to keep venturing forward until the game’s conclusion.

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Final Thoughts

Alan Wake Remastered does a decent job of updating Remedy’s classic survival horror to look like a current generation game. The only minor quibble I have is that, given its focus on light vs dark, Ray Tracing is an odd omission. This, plus its stellar writing, which has aged surprisingly well make it a great game for any player yet to experience Alan Wake.

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FIFA 22 offers a better game of football than before and a whole load of new features for PS5, Xbox Series consoles and Stadia. Shame it’s let down by countless bugs and a lack of true improvements in many modes.

Introduction

FIFA 22 is the latest entry in the long-running football sim and it’s the first to really feel like it’s designed with the new-gen of consoles in mind.

This year, more than most, is a sizeable step forward in terms of gameplay for the series. FIFA 22 offers the best game of football from EA Sports in a long time, with new PS5 and Xbox Series S|X exclusive motion capture improving the overall experience no end.

Yet, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed. Areas like Career Mode still feel limited, Ultimate Team continues with its loot box-heavy approach and there’s a lack of polish I don’t usually expect from a FIFA game.

Gameplay

• Much improved gameplay on PS5, Xbox Series consoles
• More fluid animations
• Harder, but more rewarding

Gameplay is, of course, king when it comes to a football game. This is how PES thrived for so many years even though it lacked the modes, licenses and general finesse of FIFA.

In recent years it has felt like gameplay was less of a focus, with superficial improvements to game modes and the constant eagerness to keep on pushing FUT (FIFA Ultimate Team) taking precedent.

That’s not the case here though, with FIFA 22 finally pushing forward the actual virtual game of football into a far more interesting place. Well, at least on the newer consoles. This review is purely based on the PS5 (and Xbox Series consoles) so it could be a very different experience on older consoles and PC.

HyperMotion is the shiny, poster-friendly name for these improvements and while I would normally pass something named like that as just media fluff, the changes here actually make a welcome difference.

Animations have now been motion-captured by some actual players and that helps movement feel so much more natural. Keepers react differently, players trip and fall after a particularly hard shot and the ball doesn’t always feel it’s doing the same thing. In so many of the previous years, I have eventually gotten bored after a few months of playing FIFA due to the same animations and player movements occurring constantly. It seems like that won’t be an issue here.

The game just also feels a lot more fun to play. It’s a little slower, with less of a focus on bombastic end-to-end contests that end 6-5 with five goals from Mo Salah and a number of hilarious goalkeeping mistakes. This puts more of a focus on actually picking the right players, building up play through the middle of the park and utilising fast wide players.

A new feature called Explosive Sprint allows those fast wingers, especially the likes of Sancho and Sterling, to burst away from dawdling centre backs and really put those pace and acceleration stats to good use. This is welcome, but the AI utilises these skills well too, so it does make things a little tricky.

Actually, I would say this is a much harder game than before. Probably not for the ‘FIFA Pros’ but for lowly League 1 players like me. I could barely score in the first few games I played, and when then the goals finally started to flow (thanks Erling) I was conceding more. If you’re used to focussing your play down the wing and crossing in for a tap-in then you might have to update your game.

There’s much more of a focus on passing too. HyperMotion adds in a bunch of sleek animations that make controlling the ball and spraying out a Beckham-esque crossfield more realistic. But really, you just need to pass the ball to actually break down even a basic defence. This added difficulty is satisfying though and very much welcome.

If you’re reading this and feel me complimenting the game for being ‘harder’, ‘slower’ and less ‘bombastic’ is completely the opposite of what you want out of FIFA then yes, you might be disappointed. Those crying out for arcadey fun might be disappointed.

Graphics and Presentation

• Visuals can look great, but there’s an obvious gulf between players
• Poor commentary
• Plenty of bugs

While the gameplay additions make this a better game of football, there’s still a lot of places where FIFA 22 feels very janky.

There’s a general sheen to the game running on the PS5 (reviewed) and Xbox Series consoles. Sweat is more noticeable on knackered players’ foreheads, while shirts move in more realistic ways. 

The strand hair system, first introduced in the updated version of FIFA 21, gives certain players almost ridiculously luscious locks. My eyes were stuck on Cavani’s glorious barnet as he rose for a header and I could barely focus on defending the set play.

But really, these improvements only heighten the contrast between the parts of the game that look good and the areas that don’t. Properly scanned player faces look great, but these are mostly just the big names. Start a career mode with Leeds, Brentford or even Leicester City and you’ll notice many faces simply plucked from a generic design. The difference between, say, Jadon Sancho’s face to Wesley Fofana’s is frankly odd.

The game is also very buggy. On numerous occasions players have disappeared during celebrations, referees have awarded the match ball to a blank space and celebrating teammates run through the crowd to congratulate a last-minute winner. I know these quirks have been present in previous years, but it feels so much more common here.

It’s also worth mentioning that the commentary is frankly awful. BT Sports Italian co-commentator and ESPN regular Stuart Robson replaces Lee Dixon, and his insights are rarely welcome and always irritating. At least the excellent Alex Scott pops up occasionally with score updates from other games.

Game Modes

• FUT remains very much pay-to-win
• Volta feels closer to FIFA Street than before
• Minor changes to other modes

There isn’t a big new game mode introduced in FIFA 22, nor is there the now traditional story arc tied in. Instead, there are smaller tweaks to series stalwarts like FUT, Career Mode and Volta.

I enjoyed Volta when it arrived a few years ago, but it never quite scratched the FIFA Street itch. It was fun, but it felt too much like the same FIFA game transported from pitch to park.

Thankfully, Volta is a little more fun this time. While the outrageousness might have been ditched from the main game, the street portion gets it added it swathes. There’s more skills, more ludicrous power-ups and just generally a more fun game. It’s still not FIFA Street, but it’s not too far off.

I’m less enthused about Career Mode, though that’s probably because it’s the area of the game I play the most. I disliked a lot of new additions in FIFA 21, as things like training were (and still are) ridiculously boring and make practically no difference to how well your team actually play.

This year, there’s more of an RPG focus in the ‘Player Career’. There are numerous objectives to meet every game and ticking these off help you unlock new skills and work your way up to a starting place in the first team.

Then there’s Create A Club which I admit I was eager to try out. Sadly, this mode feels half-baked. To begin with, you can choose a team to replace in any league that’s licensed and then create and design a crest, kit and stadium. You then choose how much pressure you want from the board and whether you want your squad to be good or not. A five-star team, for example, gives you a bunch of players rated around the 80-90 mark. You can even give yourself a healthy £1billion transfer kitty.

The biggest letdown with Create A Club is that your team is just filled with non-descript generated players with blank expressions. I want a team full of real players, not one with all the charisma of a new-gen on Football Manager.

Many will buy FIFA simply for Ultimate Team, the loot-box focussed portion of the game that makes the big bucks for EA every year. I will happily admit I rarely play this mode outside of reviewing FIFA as I get no pleasure from getting comfortably beaten by players far better than me and spending money to even have a chance of winning.

Loot boxes and the whole pay-to-win aspect aside, there are some changes to FUT. You can at least see what you’re spending some money on with the new Preview Packs feature which lets you look inside one FUT pack a day. There are also changes to the leagues and the addition of some checkpoints to make losing a little easier to take. Still, the focus on spending real-life money to get the chance of picking up a top-quality player will likely never feel quite right.

You can easily play FIFA 22 without touching Ultimate Team, and that’s exactly what I will be doing going forward.

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Final Thoughts

There are a number of welcome changes in FIFA 22. The gameplay is more rewarding and the animations are finally interesting. There’s more intricacy to build-up play and often a much more satisfying finish.

But there’s also no getting around the large number of bugs, the fairly modest improvements in various game modes and the continued focus on paying to win in FUT. FIFA 22 is certainly more Europa Conference League than Champions League. 

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Deck Nine and Square Enix took a gamble on making Life is Strange: True Colors a full game from the get-go as opposed to an episodic adventure. But the decision has paid off, delivering one of the series’ more refined entries to date. Haven Springs is a joy to explore, and Alex’s emotional journey is one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

Introduction

After the surprisingly effective Life is Strange: Before the Storm, developer Deck Nine has returned to helm the series for its latest mainline outline, Life is Strange: True Colors.

At a time when the supposedly new and improved Telltale Games is still hard at work on upcoming titles, and Quantic Dream sticks to the time-consuming process of delivering near Hollywood-esque visuals, it’s the Life is Strange series that has been left to carry the baton of choice-driven narrative adventures.

And thank goodness I say – so far the series has done a tremendous job of blending the supernatural with young adult drama, delving into the themes of responsibility, consequences for one’s actions and now, with the latest instalment, the emotional effects of grief.

Gameplay

At its core, True Colors remains faithful to the main mechanics of the Life is Strange series. The game is driven by conversations between the player and NPCs, and also items in the environment, which can open up new dialogue options, or even offer solutions to various puzzles. Spontaneous conversation (introduced in Life is Strange 2) makes a return here, giving you the chance to respond to dialogue that occurs while you’re exploring the environment.

Of course, it just wouldn’t be a Life is Strange title without the existence of a super power to spice things up. While Max had time travel and Daniel had telekinesis, the heroine of True Colors, Alex Chen, is able to detect someone’s emotions, indicated by a colourful aura that envelops their being. This supernatural power feels far more intertwined with the series’ emphasis on establishing relationships with other characters.

This extra layer of empathy allows Alex to understand the reasoning behind a person’s state of emotions – a secret piece of information that might not be shared otherwise. It isn’t just people that Alex can scan, as certain objects around the game’s setting of Haven Springs can also be analysed for the strong memories associated with them, helping to establish a sense of worldbuilding that simply wasn’t possible in previous games.

The more considered superpower isn’t the only thing that’s different, however, as a lot of work as gone into making the game more accessible. For instance, timed choices can be lengthened, and any moments that require quick reactions can be skipped entirely.

What’s surely to appeal to Twitch streamers is the addition of ‘Crowd Choice’ which allows your viewership to vote on what happens next, with extra tweaks including how the votes are tallied and the period of time given to vote. It’s impressive stuff, and it makes a great deal of sense for a game that a large portion of people will simply watch opposed to playing an active role. Now, they can do both.

Story

In a series like Life is Strange, True Colors’ success is pinned almost entirely on its central narrative. To make things even more daunting, this is the first game in the franchise that hasn’t been released episodically, instead opting for a full story that’s ready to play from day one.

This move has paid off, with True Colors offering up a far more grounded story by comparison to any other Life is Strange title, but one that is succinct in knowing exactly what it wants to say, all the while reaching its conclusion without any unnecessary fluff to pad out the journey.

True Colors sees Alex Chen, a young woman who’s been in and out of orphanages for several years, finally escape the system to live with her estranged older brother in the idyllic Colorado town of Haven Springs. While the mountain town appears to offer some much needed refuge for someone with such a troubled past, Alex’s moment of bliss is cut short when a tragic accident seemingly claims the life of her brother Gabe.

With many mysteries left to solve surrounding the accident, True Colors feels a world away from the multi-state trek of Life is Strange 2, instead deciding to contain the story to the centre of Haven Springs and its various shops and hangouts. The decision to stick to one location also lends itself well in allowing the player to more deeply connect with Haven Springs, just as Alex does, the longer she stays there.

The town itself is also filled with plenty to do. There are several mini-stories happening about the place that can be missed entirely if you don’t pay attention, so exploration is always encouraged. There’s also two arcade cabinets with proper games loaded on to them for some sweet high-score chasing.

I won’t spoil any of the major plot points here, but I will say that I was thoroughly pleased with the story’s conclusion, and I’m quite eager to go back and see how the five other endings fare.

Graphics

At multiple points during my playthrough, I found myself dumbstruck at just how far the series’ art style has come along. Character detail and animation for instance, while not on the same level as something like Detroit: Become Human, are leaps and bounds ahead of anything the series has put out before.

The visual improvements are emphasised with Steph Gingrich’s character. When you compare her character model in Before the Storm to True Colors, it feels as though a greater attention to detail has been applied, allowing her personality to shine through in a more natural way as a result.

Unfortunately, the technical achievements of Life is Strange: True Colors are marred somewhat by an abundance of glitches. During my playthrough, scene transitions were all over the place and in one instance, the credibility behind a heart-to-heart conversation was decimated when Alex broke out into a T-pose. I can only hope that these glitches are fixed soon so that they don’t impede on anyone’s enjoyment of the story.

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Final Thoughts

Deck Nine and Square Enix took a gamble when ditching the episodic blueprint for Life is Strange: True Colors. But the decision has paid off, delivering one of the series’ more refined entries to date, and one that isn’t hampered by needless padding. Even though it’s held back slightly by one too many glitches, Haven Springs is a joy to explore, and Alex’s journey of grief and the importance of expressing your emotions is one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

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