LGBT video games in spotlight as popular Life is Strange series gives debut to bisexual character
- Life is Strange: True Colours allows players to pursue same-sex relationships as they journey their way through a supernatural version of small-town America
- It is the fourth full-length game in a series that has been praised for its portrayal of characters across the LGBT spectrum
With a bisexual protagonist who wields a mysterious superpower, the new instalment of Life is Strange is the latest in a growing array of video games that place LGBT characters in the spotlight.
Like previous games in the popular series, Life is Strange: True Colours allows players to pursue same-sex relationships as they journey through a supernaturally tinged version of small-town America.
“We really wanted to continue to honour the story of queer characters in Life is Strange,” says lead writer Jon Zimmerman of Nine Deck Games, the US studio behind True Colours.
The latest game follows Alex Chen, a young Asian-American woman who embraces her power to sense other people’s emotions as she investigates her brother’s death in the Colorado mountains. The series is also being adapted into a TV show.
The games have won critical acclaim for the sensitivity of their storylines since 2015 when French studio Dontnod produced the first instalment, which has sold more than 3 million copies alone.