The Life is Strange franchise has become a surprise hit with gamers around the world thanks to its engaging, straightforward plots and a narrative driven by strong characters. The latest entry, Life is Strange: True Colors, continues that trend while growing beyond the stories the previous entries told. Like its predecessors, True Colors is an original story with new characters, this time moving the action to Colorado.

Ahead of the game's September 10 release date, CBR had an opportunity to play the first chapter. True Colors marks a massive change for the series as the original developer, Dontnod, is no longer involved with the project. Instead, Life is Strange: Before the Storm developers Deck Nine have taken over the project. While Deck Nine's take on Life is Strange continues a lot of the tone and aesthetic from the previous entries, it's hard to deny that this feels like a maturation of the series.

Related: Life Is Strange: True Colors - Trailer, Plot, Release Date & News to Know

Life is Strange True Colors Alex Chen on a rooftop

A lot of that has to do with the main characters. Players are Alex Chen, an Asian-American woman with a complicated past who is exiting the foster care system. Alex makes her way from Oregon to the sleepy town of Haven Springs, where her brother Gabe lives. Unbeknownst to everyone around her, though, Alex also has a unique ability -- she has the empathic ability to read strong emotions, but she hasn't completely mastered this skill. As a result, Alex can find herself overtaken by stronger emotions and lose control.

While some major elements of the story that we won't spoil here revolve around Alex's unique empathic power, that ability is a very small part of the first chapter. You have the option of reading emotions and learning more about the townsfolk, but you'll spend most of the episode doing it the old-fashioned way. There is an instant attachment to Haven Springs. The people are charming and the town is a living, breathing, fleshed-out thing. Haven Springs is an ideal representation of small-town America at its finest, and anyone who has ever lived in it will immediately recognize it.

Life is Strange True Colors leads Ryan, Alex Chen and Gabe Chen

That small-town mentality lends itself to an entire chapter of exploring the town, meeting its residents and getting to know everyone. It is a refreshingly quaint bit of gameplay, but the stories are incredibly engaging. Reviewing Alex's text messages reveals a tragic past that the game wouldn't have told you about otherwise. Everyone has opinions about Alex and her brother, and they're more than happy to gush about how far they've come in such a short time.

Related: Life Is Strange: Remastered Collection, True Colors Coming to Nintendo Switch

Accentuating this trip through the town is the game's excellent soundtrack. From original songs to licensed tracks, including one particularly poignant moment using a Radiohead song, the game uses music in exciting ways to tell its story. Between the game's incredible use of music and the humanizing conversations with the townsfolk, we instantly fell in love with the town and its people. True Colors puts in the effort to make you care about these characters, and it pays off in spades.

Life is Strange True Colors Alex Chen playing guitar

Of course, there's more to the game than just meeting the townsfolk. Alex will be tasked with all sorts of adventure game-style tasks, from completing tasks as a server to solving a puzzle based on clues hidden in images or finding a missing bottle of liquor. They do often have outcomes that will come back to help or haunt you in later chapters, though, much like the ongoing conversations.

The chapter does end on a pretty massive cliffhanger, though. Fortunately, there won't be the month-long wait between episodes as there were with previous entries. This could be to the ultimate benefit of the series, as players can enjoy the story in one go rather than having to wait. We can't wait to get back to Haven Springs to dig deeper into the game's ongoing mystery. You'll be able to jump in as well when Life is Strange: True Colors releases September 10 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Google Stadia.

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