Steph Gingrich is the best character in Life is Strange: True Colors
Life is Strange: True Colors really caught me by surprise with just how good the game is after so many years away from the series, yet what has (slightly) shocked me the most is just how good of a character Steph Gingrich is. And I do mean as a character, not just as a romance option.
Steph Gingrich was first introduced back in the prequel game, Life is Strange: Before the Storm. She became a favourite pretty fast due to her being 1) bloody awesome and 2) for being open about her sexuality with her crush on Rachel Amber. Back in 2017, that was a refreshing attitude for a character to have.
Since her first appearance back in Seattle though, she’s now started again as a DJ slash radio host in the mountain town of Haven Springs. It’s here that Steph has made not just a name for herself, but found a home amongst the other denizens of this rural community. It’s also in this little town that Steph meets the protagonist, Alex Chen.
When Steph is first revealed in the newest game, you see her rocking out in her soundproof DJ studio. She’s an infectiously dynamic character from the get-go, moving around, bopping her head and just being free in her enjoyment of the music she’s listening to. The moment she see’s Alex looking at her, she doesn’t shy away from her stare and instead smiles and asks Alex to choose which song to put on next. Why? Because Steph is confident as hell.
Steph’s confidence already makes her super attractive, but also intimidating as hell. I completely envy her, because I’m still learning how to be confident around people, and so for Steph to be so unapologetically herself is something that I can’t help but want for myself because who wouldn’t?
That said, Deck Nine have really knocked it out of the park by conveying that the DJ is more than just a confident, lesbian chad that I swear every queer person has in their friendship group. This is really only seen by players who go out of their way to romance her and not Ryan, Alex’s other love interest, as you’ll be able to read her thoughts and feelings and find out that she’s actually freaking the hell out about Alex even paying attention to her. I can’t decide if it’s because she’s actually human like the rest of us and will freak out around cute girls, or if it’s because she lives in a community where meeting other queer girls is like finding a unicorn. Maybe it’s both. Either way, I appreciate the vulnerability of Steph’s character during moments like this. It’s just… far too relatable and that’s always been something Life is Strange has been good at, hasn’t it? Creating relatable characters.
Despite all this, Steph isn’t perfect. Much like Alex, Steph often goes out of her way to please others and that leads to her stressing over the most minuscule details. She’s either all-in or nothing and depending on your choices, that can lead to some pretty severe consequences. None that I’ll be divulging here of course, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Ultimately, what makes Steph stand out to me is that she’s just…pretty damn normal. She likes indie music, is a fellow beanie wearer, loves tabletop games, and gets flustered when pretty girls flirt with her. There’s no everlasting trauma – something which I usually quite like in my favourite characters – that she drops on you. That and unlike previous Life is Strange love interests, she’s not manipulative, a stalker guilt-trippy. Steph is just Steph, nothing more or nothing less
With Steph’s everything being so intriguing to me, it’s not exactly Rocket Science on why I think she’s the best character in Life is Strange: True Colors. For the most part she knows who she is and that makes her presence feel both comfortable and unique. That might not make her the most exciting in comparison to Ryan, who is equally angsty as he is adorable, but I’m glad I chose Steph to pursue in the end. She’s goofy and awesome, and I will be happy to keep waving my ‘Steph Gingrich is the best’ flag when I dive into her unique DLC Wavelengths later on this month.
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