Review: Tell Me Why
- Platforms: Xbox One (Reviewed), PC
- Developer: Dontnod Entertainment
- Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
- Release Date: August 27th, 2020
Since the release of 2015’s Life is Strange, French developer DONTNOD Entertainment has been at the forefront when it comes to putting out excellent “choose your own adventure” style narrative games. After two successful mainline titles and a spin-off, DONTNOD is departing the Life is Strange universe and forging something new, in the form of another episodic story-focused adventure: Tell Me Why. Tell Me Why exceeds these previous titles with an engaging story, better visuals and performance, and a charming pair of protagonists.
Tell Me Why is the story of twins Alyson and Tyler Ronan, who are split up at a young age after the tragic death of their Mother. 10 years later they are reunited in their rural Alaskan hometown of Delos Crossing to sell their childhood home and find some clarity as to what happened on the night where their lives changed forever. They will soon find out that digging up the past can be turbulent in a small town, as the Ronan twins will have to rattle a few cages and do a little self discovery to get the answers they are desperately searching for before leaving Delos Crossing in their rear-view mirror for good.
Much like previous DONTNOD titles, Tell Me Why is a third-person narrative game where the player’s decisions shape the way the story unfolds. DONTNOD games typically have a bit of a supernatural gameplay feature that is heavily used in puzzle solving or progressing the story and Tell Me Why is no different. Alyson and Tyler both have the ability to see apparitions of past childhood memories, which are triggered by being in certain locations or even just hearing certain songs. This is often where the pivotal player choices come in, as Tyler and Alyson will each remember the past slightly differently and it will be up to you do decide which version of the past feels most true to you.
Another power that the Ronan Twins possess is the ability to communicate telepathically to one another, which is used pretty cleverly in dialogue situations with the citizens of Delos Crossing. Occasionally during a conversation with an NPC you’ll see a prompt that will trigger internal dialogue between Tyler and Alyson. This will give you insight to what the twins are thinking and often it will unlock additional dialogue choices to get information out of the NPC.
One thing that DONTNOD has done well and continues to do is creating characters that you want to root for and that are easy to invest in. Both Alyson and Tyler are compelling characters that you’ll want to journey with, and it’s interesting watching the twins reconnect and re-establish their strong bond after such a long time apart. Tyler Ronan is the standout character of the game, as you’ll experience through his eyes the life of a transgender growing up in a small town. DONTNOD worked closely with GLAAD to ensure that Tyler’s character delivered an authentic representation of the trans experience, and you can really feel the love and care they put into the character.
From a visual perspective, Tell Me Why is a major step up across the board compared to previous DONTNOD releases. The rural Alaskan setting is absolutely beautiful, and there’s plenty of eye-catching aboriginal art sprinkled throughout the game’s set pieces. While the majority of the character models are excellently done, specifically the Ronan twins, there are a few that look outdated, especially when standing side-by-side with the two protagonists.
Overall DONTNOD delivers yet another captivating story filled with intriguing characters and plenty of twists and turns. Whether you’re familiar with DONTNOD’s previous work or just a Game Pass subscriber looking for the next 10-15 hour game to pull you in, be sure to give Tell Me Why a try.
An Xbox One review code for Tell Me Why was provided by Xbox Game Studios
