Alex's empathetic abilities are a key element of Life is Strange: True Colors. Alex possesses empathy powers and abilities, which lets her see, manipulate, and absorb emotions from others.
Empathy[]
Alex has the ability to absorb, manipulate and see emotional auras around people. This power is shown to be dangerous if she is exposed to really strong emotions which can influence her to act on the emotion that person is expressing. (ex. Alex unintentionally absorbs Mac's anger towards Gabe and she beats him up.) She can also channel this power through her hands like the other protagonists in previous installments.
Alex's powers also affect the environment, this is seen when Alex kisses Ryan (determinant), their auras get so strong that it spreads through the mountains and the tree that Ryan planted starts blooming flowers, showcasing her empathy affecting the environment.
Limits[]
- Alex claims that she cannot turn off her empathy and often acts up whenever a person experiencing a strong emotion appears near her.
- Alex has to be in close range with someone to see their emotions and hear their thoughts.
Consequences[]
- Since she feels what others feel, Alex becomes heavily influenced by them. Like when Mac barges into Gabe's apartment and beats him up unprovoked, Alex began to feel his anger and despite her attempts to fight the anger, it overtakes her to the point where she beats up Mac and accidentally punches Gabe when he tried to intervene. Finally, when she takes an emotion away from someone, it becomes a part of her briefly, like if she took Charlotte's anger and hears Gabe's call to Mac, she gets in a fit of rage that makes her friends leave her alone. This is also seen when Alex removes Pike's fear of Typhon, the latter gains more confidence, but Alex almost has an anxiety attack in her apartment.
- Although she has well-meaning intentions, Alex taking someone's essential emotions, such as grief, and speeding up the process can cause more harm than good, essentially leaving them numb like an empty shell. On a positive note, her taking away someone's fear could give them the confidence they need to convince them to see the errors of their ways and do what's right.