In this game, 21-year-old Alex Chen, an American Asian who has just aged out of the foster care system. Her first action is to get in touch with her brother Gabe, with whom she has lost touch over the preceding eight years, when he aged out of the system. After that initial contact, Alex sets off for beautiful small town, Haven Springs, to reconnect with him.
However, unfortunately, things go wrong and Gabe is killed in a tragic and mysterious accident. Alex’s task, therefore, is to uncover the mystery behind her brother’s death. She is aided in her task by the fact – recently discovered – that she is an empath (which is less mind reading and more heart reading, sensing emotions rather than picking out details) who can pick up on the emotions of others.
Playing as Alex, you will explore the setting of Haven Springs (see below for some specific places to look out for) and communicate with the NPCs (Non-playing characters) who follow pre-set dialogue trees. Alex can see their emotions – they appear as colourful auras – and if the emotion is intense enough, it can infect Alex too, causing her to feel that same emotion.
As well as experiencing and sensing the emotions felt by others, Alex learns to both absorb and manipulate the strong emotions felt by others to help her in her mission. In order to find the truth about Gabe, Alex must help the townsfolk (the NPCs) process their own traumas so that they will then be able to help her solve the mystery of Gabe’s ‘accident’. Characters from other Life is Strange games, Ralph and Steph, appear in this one as potential love rivals for Alex’s affections.
