TELL ME WHY FOR FREE

There are little things like a calendar he uses to remind himself to take testosterone and side comments he makes about getting top surgery that contribute to making him feel like authentic representation. So please take what I say with at least some salt, as I don’t pretend to know or understand everything about being trans.įrom my limited perspective, I think Tyler himself is written and portrayed quite well as a trans man who has fully accepted himself but still has to deal with a world that doesn’t always do the same. Even so, I would like to talk a bit about how Tell Me Why handles its trans protagonist, but I want to be very clear here that I am speaking from the perspective of an allied member of the queer community. I hope that the same can be said for trans gamers who may play this game, but I cannot speak from experience here, being cis. Anyone who has lost a parent or family member and then has to wade through emotional fallout while dealing with their left-behind property may see a part of themselves in Tell Me Why.

Not every story needs to be intensely dramatic or bombastic, and I found the twins’ quest to learn more about their troubled mother pretty relatable, especially the sequences that take place while they’re cleaning out their mother’s house. The stakes do feel lower as a result, but I kind of liked that aspect of the game. The twins can speak with each other telepathically, and they can also see ghost-like memories from their childhood. Contrary to what you might expect, this doesn’t heavily impact the story, as the differences in the twins’ memories are more like different shades of the same color than wholly different events. Occasionally, the twins remember a certain event differently, and you must decide whose memory you trust more. This becomes one of the primary methods for recovering information about their mother, and alongside various dialogue choices, it also affects their relationship. Upon arriving at their old home, the twins discover that this power also lets them view old memories from when they were kids. Tyler and Alyson have a special gift they call their “voice,” which enables them to communicate telepathically.

Like with other DON’T NOD narrative adventure games, there is also a supernatural element to Tell Me Why. In the process, they find some information that conflicts with their memory of the events that led to their mother’s death, and they decide to find out more about what really happened. A decade later, Tyler - who has since transitioned via hormone therapy - is reunited with his sister, and the twins return to their hometown of Delos Crossing to sell their mother’s house. Tyler is sent away to a juvenile detention facility and his sister, Alyson, is raised by their Uncle. When he shows his mother, she freaks out and attacks him, leading young Tyler to accidentally kill her in self-defense. Ten years before the start of the game, 11-year-old Tyler Ronan, who was born a girl but knows he is a boy, cuts his hair short. The bond between these two siblings is one of the best things about the game. I think there are a few issues with how the narrative relates to this character, which I’ll get into later in the review, but I still greatly enjoyed getting to know him. It’s refreshing to play a game starring a trans character who is presented respectfully and authentically. As a queer woman, I thought it would be interesting to play and review the game for Pride Month, and I’m glad I did for the most part. If you’re wondering why we’re only now reviewing the game and if it has something to do with Pride, well, yes.

TELL ME WHY FOR FREE

Initially released in 2020, Tell Me Why was made available for free during Pride Month in 20 on account of the game featuring a trans man as one of the two sibling protagonists.

The haziness of the human mind is at the center of DON’T NOD’s Tell Me Why, a narrative adventure game about two siblings who must come to terms with their mother’s death after spending ten years apart from each other in rural Alaska. And memories of physical or emotional trauma can sometimes be the hardest to recall clearly, especially if a lot of time has passed or a person was very young when the traumatic event happened. When two people talk about a shared memory, they often remember certain parts differently, particularly if it was an emotional or contentious event. We think we remember moments in our lives accurately, but time can distort our perception and make it hard to recall details.

Tell me why