‘Life is Strange: True Colors’ review bombed by Chinese gamers upset over in-game Tibetan flag

October 21, 2021

Square Enix’s “Life is Strange: True Colors” was review-bombed last month by Chinese-speaking players after they noticed the Tibetan flag in-game.

What happened: The Tibetan flag was discovered flying on the entrance of the shop named Treasures of Tibet in the game, according to PC Gamer. The feature prompted the players to leave negative reviews on the game’s Steam page, with some of them expressing their views on the One-China policy.

“The game contains elements of Tibetan independence, implying a split of China,” one Steam user wrote in their review, with another user proclaiming, “Tibet is a part of China.”
“Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Tibet have been Chinese territories since ancient times,” another user wrote in their lengthy review in Chinese and English. “No matter how the obsolete think, they will eventually return to the mainland. I suggest that NEETs read more books, stop being stupid and find a job to support themselves. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Tibet is part of China forever.”
Developed by Deck Nine and published by Square Enix, “Life is Strange: True Colors” was released on Steam on Sept. 9. The story follows protagonist Alex Chen — who is of Chinese and Vietnamese descent — as she attempts to find the truth about her brother’s so-called accidental death while embracing her psychic power of empathy.

The issue: Tibet was an independent Buddhist nation in the Himalayas before its annexation by Communist China in 1950. The Dalai Lama and around 100,000 Tibetans were forced into self-imposed exile after the invasion and overthrow of the Tibetan Government in 1959.

The issue of China-Tibet has transcended outside of politics and into entertainment. In May, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige expressed regret that they cast Tilda Swinton for the role of the Ancient One — a Tibetan man in the comics — in the 2016 film “Doctor Strange.”
‘Dr. Strange’ co-writer Robert Cargill told Double Toasted before the movie’s release that depicting and casting the character as Tibetan would have risked “alienating one billion people” and its prospects for release in China.

Featured Image via IGN

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