If you’ve played and enjoyed Dontnod Entertainment’s Life Is Strange, answering this question is pretty straightforward: yes.
Tell Me Why, developed by the same studio, is another narrative-driven experience where your choices subtly shape the emotional direction of the story. The game unfolds across three episodes and takes its time building momentum. It’s a slow burn, with the underlying mystery becoming increasingly intriguing before eventually leading to a conclusion that is largely in your hands.
The story follows twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan. Once inseparable during childhood, the two haven’t seen each other in nearly ten years. Tell Me Why begins with their reunion in the small Alaskan town of Delos Crossing, the very place where they experienced a deeply troubled upbringing.
Once they arrive, the twins quickly realize they still share a telepathic connection. They’re able to revisit memories together, but those memories don’t always match. That discrepancy becomes a major obstacle as they try to uncover the truth about what really happened during their childhood, and the circumstances surrounding the death of their disturbed mother, Mary-Ann.
Themes That Unfortunately Still Feel Relevant Today
Tyler’s memories of both his childhood and the night of his mother’s death are far more intense than those of his sister Alyson. Tyler is a transgender man, something their mother strongly disapproved of in his recollection of events. Sadly, this aspect of the story still feels painfully relevant today, and likely will for quite some time.
Tell Me Why handles the topic with a surprising amount of care. Tyler is voiced by August Aiden Black, a transgender man who also provided Dontnod with personal insight during development.
While I personally couldn’t fully relate to Tyler’s experiences, it was obvious that a great deal of attention went into portraying the physical and psychological struggles that can come with a transition like this. It feels authentic, and goes far beyond a few superficial throwaway lines.
Tyler’s transition, and his mother’s reaction to it, forms one of the game’s central plot points. I can easily imagine this hitting especially hard for players who have gone through similar experiences themselves.
Where Tyler is determined to uncover every last answer about their past, Alyson is much more hesitant. Although she recognizes that their childhood was far from perfect, the version of Mary-Ann she remembers was considerably warmer and more understanding. Part of her simply wants to sell the family home as quickly as possible and move on with her life.
This clash in motivation, combined with the twins’ conflicting memories, naturally creates tension between them. How they work through that tension, which path they ultimately follow, and whose version of events comes closest to the truth is largely up to you and the choices you make.
Gameplay Consists of Investigating Environments, Making Choices and Solving Diverse Puzzles
The gameplay in Tell Me Why is fairly simple. Throughout the game, you’ll explore a variety of small-scale environments like the twins’ childhood home, the local police station where their uncle works, or a supermarket. Within these areas, you can inspect certain objects and characters, after which you’ll hear Tyler or Alyson’s thoughts and interpretations.
In most cases, these interactions are entirely optional. Personally, I always try to inspect everything I can, since it adds a lot to understanding the characters, their backgrounds, and the way they think.
The more important objectives revolve around speaking to certain characters, solving puzzles that range from simple to challenging, and collecting specific items.
During conversations, you’ll occasionally choose Tyler or Alyson’s responses. These decisions influence your relationship with other characters, as well as the bond between the twins themselves. Do you show empathy and understanding toward the other person’s choices, or do you judge them for the way they think and act?
Your decisions carry emotional weight throughout the story, even if they don’t massively alter the outcome on a technical level, with a few exceptions. So don’t expect dozens of branching storylines like you’d find in Detroit: Become Human.
The puzzles themselves are fairly varied, and often quite enjoyable to solve, which isn’t always an easy feat. If you do happen to get stuck, Dontnod gives you several ways to move forward. Sometimes by allowing you to ask your sibling for a hint, and sometimes in a far less subtle fashion by simply letting you smash the puzzle box to pieces.
The Graphics Weren’t Top-Tier Even in 2020, but They’re Good Enough to Deliver the Right Emotions
You may still be wondering whether the visuals hold up by today’s standards. Naturally, that depends entirely on how important graphics are to you, and how demanding you tend to be in that department.
Tell Me Why originally released in 2020, and even back then it wasn’t exactly considered a visual powerhouse. Don’t expect photorealism, but rather character models and an art style comparable to games like Life Is Strange: True Colors and Twin Mirror. What matters most is that the visuals are expressive enough to convey the emotions the story is aiming for, and for the most part, they succeed.
The environments themselves fare a bit better. The small Alaskan town provides a strong backdrop for the mystery, with its snowy streets creating an atmosphere that feels cold, isolated, and deeply personal. It comes across as the kind of place where everybody knows each other, making it an effective setting for Tyler and Alyson’s story.
The visuals may not age like fine wine, but narratively, the game still holds up remarkably well. The dynamic between the twins is compelling throughout, once again proving that Dontnod remains one of the strongest developers when it comes to character-driven storytelling.
The story takes its time building momentum, so don’t expect a constant barrage of plot twists and cliffhangers. But if you’re willing to immerse yourself in the characters and atmosphere of Tell Me Why, it remains an easy recommendation for fans of the genre.
