Summary
Life is Strangewas a formative game for thousands of queer players. I mean, how could it not be? The episodic narrative adventure was first released in 2014, following the everyday life of anxious teenager Max Caulfield during her early days in college, until one day she suddenly gains the ability to influence time and space. This is a brilliant concept for any game, but the fact it framed everything around a young woman who was still figuring out who she was in a world that increasingly made her feel out of touch was a masterstroke.
It mirrored the confusion I had as a closeted trans woman starting university, who was busy figuring out who they were and what they wanted to do in life after finally being left alone to their own devices. It is a terrifying yet liberating journey that every young person goes on. In its explicitly queer characters and themes, however, Life is Strange presents players with an honest glimpse at their potential future, and a means to explore it without judgement.
When I first played Life is Strange I chose to save Arcadia Bay rather than Max’s girlfriend Chloe Price, which in hindsight, was a reflection of my own internalised homophobia rather than the decision I wanted to make.
The queer representation throughout wasn’t perfect by any stretch, and can feel clunky or heavy-handed right up until its very tragic and very sapphic conclusion. But it was a bold and beautiful step forward, forging an identity the rest of the series would build on.
When I think of queer video games, I think of Life is Strange. The two are inseparable, and to suggest otherwise borders on ignorance.
But publisherSquare Enix, who has handled Life is Strange since its inception, weren’t best pleased with the exploration of such diverse themes. A newIGN reportdelves into a history of toxic practices at developer Deck Nine, which was responsible for bothBefore The StormandTrue Colorsas creators Don’t Nod helmed LiS and LiS2.
According to sources at the studio, Deck Nine wasn’t even allowed to talk about protagonist Alex Chen’s queerness in press releases and review guides at all, with her canon bisexuality not mentioned until reviewers praised it, apparently under direction from those calling the shots in the boardroom. When it suddenly became a source of marketing and pride for Square Enix, it felt like the queerness at the centre of Life is Strange was only a cause for celebration when it could be leveraged for easy promotion.
It reeks of rainbow capitalism, a practice that still lingers in our everyday lives as queer identities become more and more recognized and accepted. We are still figures to be exploited at the end of it all, often for profit by companies that claim to stand up for us.
Square Enix is well aware that LGBTQ+ audiences would show up for new projects, but it still wasn’t willing to put in the work. The article delves into myriad problems at Deck Nine which are equally illuminating, painting a grim picture of the reality of telling these stories which, from an outside perspective, are all about emotion, heart, and being yourself.
I don’t understand the logic of trying to obfuscate queerness in Life is Strange, and the clear misunderstanding you need to have of its stories, themes, and characters to believe that the act of hiding this representation is a good thing. It is what the majority of players come to these games for again and again.
Life is Strange will always be tied to queerness, and no matter what twisted moves are made behind the scenes, nothing will change that.
Tell Me Why even centres entire stories around what it means to be transgender and working through past and present trauma to be your true self. However, this game wasn’t developed under Square Enix, so it’s possible that developer Don’t Nod was suddenly given freedom to be as fruity as it wanted to be. Given what we know now, it certainly explains why other titles seemed to beat around the bush.
This prejudice comes from an unjustified fear that putting Life is Strange’s queerness front and centre would turn off new players with homophobic beliefs, purely so they all would buy the game and draw the same bigoted conclusions anyway. Profit is the end goal over artistic expression, which is a huge middle finger to the developers who put so much of themselves into these stories knowing that pushback was inevitable.
Now we know this, the future of Life is Strange feels hollow, and it will be impossible not to second guess the pride Square Enix claims to have in this series when there is evidence of it throwing queer audiences under the bus, believing we are something to be ashamed of.
I’ve always believed that we shouldn’t look towards corporations for queer stories, because they will always have ulterior motives where representation can be cast aside the second it is no longer convenient for the bottom line. But that should never discount the people in the trenches doing everything they can to tell stories like this in such an environment.
They see the value in mainstream examples of LGBTQ+ representation and the audiences it will soon reach, acting as a light at the end of the tunnel for closeted people like me who played Life is Strange for the first time and saw a future I could eventually pursue. It gave me hope, and I can’t think of anything more valuable than that.
Life is Strange will always be tied to queerness, and no matter what twisted moves are made behind the scenes, nothing will change that. Max Caulfield, Chloe Price, Rachel Amber, Sean Diaz, Alex Chen, and myriad other characters have come to define modern day queerness for so many, showing them it was okay to be themselves or explore parts of life that once felt forbidden. It continues in comics and other side projects to this day, and will be remembered long after all the out of touch executives have faded away. It’s a gay game, and that isn’t going to change.
Life Is Strange: True Colors
WHERE TO PLAY
Life is Strange: True Colors follows Alex Chen, who heads to the town of Haven Springs. Tragedy strikes, and she must uncover the truth of it while dealing with burgeoning powers.
