Less than three weeks after Life is Strange: True Colors (read our review) released, its prequel DLC Wavelengths is out too. This two-to-three-hour piece of additional content centres on fan-favourite supporting character Steph Gingrich, who plays a key role in True Colors, and serves as a tenuous link between the third entry in the Square Enix franchise, and the first Life is Strange game.
As a bit of context, Steph made her debut in Life is Strange: Before the Storm, a popular DLC addition to Dontnod’s beloved original narrative adventure, which combined teenage drama, murder mystery, supernatural elements, and heart-wrenching player choices. Developers Deck Nine took over from Dontnod in making Before the Storm, and Steph was one of their additions to the town of Arcadia Bay, a Blackwell Academy student alongside troubled Chloe Price and golden girl Rachel Amber.
Equal parts nerdy and cool, Steph appeared as a passionate enthusiast of tabletop role-playing and cult sci-fi movies. Crucially, she was the first openly queer character in the Life is Strange universe. Those details immediately won Steph, voiced by Katy Bentz, a loyal fanbase. It also didn’t hurt that the character is edgy, but not nearly as caustic, angsty and self-destructive as her punky friend Chloe.
When Steph popped up in Life is Strange: True Colors (also made by Deck Nine), fans wanted to know how Arcadia Bay’s “Queen of the indoor kids” ended up in remote Haven Springs, Colorado, as the town’s resident DJ and lone record store employee. While main game True Colors touched on the topic of how Steph abruptly bailed on her flourishing indie band to settle in Haven, the Wavelengths DLC provides a much more detailed answer as to why.
Essentially, Wavelengths is a brief, but increasingly engaging character study of one of Life is Strange’s most popular characters. Set over the course of one year, broken down into four key days across the seasons, Wavelengths delves beyond Steph’s confident exterior to find out what really drives the “flaky lesbian punk nerd.”
When Wavelengths starts, there’s a very good chance that players will recoil in disappointment. A few minutes into the game, it looks like all you’ll be doing is performing a tedious checklist of tasks – just like a real job – confined to the claustrophobic KRCT radio booth, and record store that houses the station. Take calls. Read ads. Tidy up. While the station’s playlist keeps defaulting to country music, the most you can do in your uncharacteristic (for the franchise) first-person state is fidget with items in the booth, like a bobble head and lava lamp, and throw sticky dinosaur toys at a bulletin board.
Fortunately, things become a lot more interesting and engrossing when the player reaches the second “chapter”: Summer and the last day of Pride. Having initially conned her way into the job with the help of best friend Gabe Chen, a few months in, Steph has found her groove and has free rein to reinvigorate the store, while blasting hits from the likes of Hayley Kiyoko and Portugal. The Man, chipping away at an original song and running a virtual role-playing session for her old high school friend Mikey (also returning from Before the Storm).
It’s worth mentioning that a big part of Wavelengths is Steph speaking to radio listeners. Armed with her d20 dice, she acts as a playful psychic, helping people cope with upcoming situations that they’re nervous about – from confrontations with unhygienic roommates to pastime-ruining school bullies; from HR disciplinary committees to extravagant, unwanted Christmas presents from a grandparent.
Adding a bit more urgency is that, unlike Life is Strange: True Colors, every choice is timed. Steph is unable to agonise over her advice, but her most memorable moments see her encouraging listeners to own their otherness. Just as she has.
Bittersweet memories about Pride, in the closing moments of Summer lead into a dark October, literally and figuratively. The Fall “chapter” is the meatiest of Wavelengths by far. At the start of the game, the player is asked if they played the original Life is Strange, and, if yes, what final decision they made. That information matters because on Halloween, Steph is haunted by the ghosts of her past – the bad things that have happened, and her guilt over past behaviour.
Some players may feel cheated that Steph is alone in Wavelengths. While she fields calls and messages from her friends, Gabe, Ryan, and even devil cat Valkyrie, don’t make an appearance until the final scenes of Wavelengths. Then again, that appears to be the point.
While it’s typically solitary by default to be a queer person in a small town, our heroine is treating her stint in remote Haven Springs as an escape. It’s a convenient way to put herself out of reach, and ghost people she cares about. The end goal really of Wavelengths is to show Steph acknowledging, and then breaking her isolating habits, so that she will stop running from the hurt of the past. She must reach the point, psychologically, that Alex Chen meets her at in Life is Strange: True Colors.
While not exactly subtle, this personal journey, supported and conveyed by wonderfully nuanced facial animation, is the greatest strength of Wavelengths. So much so, that you start to resent featherlight puzzles and other filler content that distract from Steph’s transformative introspection.
This isn’t to say that Wavelengths is relentlessly heavy. Steph is a witty character, with light-hearted radio banter and chuckle-inducing observations about her environment. Then there are her too-real interactions with other queer women in Colorado via dating app Smoulder. They’re as relatable as her memories of past pivotal LGBT+ experiences, and it’s a treat to see the gay experience spotlighted so low-key realistically in a prominent game.
Wavelengths is carried over its more wobbly bits by Steph’s likeability. Apart from the tedium of the “chore” gameplay, there are some graphical glitches and the franchise timeline seems distractingly off. Mikey references how “it’s been a year,” but the events of the original Life is Strange occurred in 2013, while Wavelengths is set in 2018, five years later. There’s also an intriguing sub-plot about the store’s previous owner that gets disappointingly clipped short.
Wavelengths is included with the Deluxe Edition and the Ultimate Edition of Life is Strange: True Colors. Owners of the Standard Edition can get Wavelengths by purchasing the Deluxe Upgrade, which also includes Alex’s True Colors Outfit Pack.
Of course, the big question is whether the add-on content is worth it. If you’re a Steph fan, definitely! Wavelengths fleshes out her character and motivations substantially. If you’re a more casual Life is Strange player, however, you can get away without playing it. It’s nice to experience – full of warmth and tenderness, like Steph’s new Haven Springs “family” – but isn’t unmissable.
You can also watch the second Launch trailer for Life is Strange: True Colors Wavelengths here.
| Life is Strange: True Colors Wavelengths review | |
If you’re a fan of Life is Strange’s Steph Gingrich, a playthrough of her dedicated DLC Wavelengths should definitely be on the cards. Although there are tedious gameplay distractions, and a few other niggles, this two-to-three-hour prequel to Life is Strange: True Colors remains a moving, relatable and credible character study. |
8 |
| Life is Strange: True Colors Wavelengths was reviewed on PC | |