14 DAY TRIAL // Xbox Game Studios unveiled last week at X019 in London the new game from Life is Strange developer DONTNOD – Tell Me Why, a narrative adventure set to arrive in Summer 2020. The game will be available via Xbox One, Windows 10 PC, Xbox Game Pass, and Steam, and it's the first-ever game to feature a transgender as a major character.
Tell Me Why is set in Alaska and places players at the heart of a mystery in an intimate, true-to-life story that feature twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan. They are using their bond to unravel memories of a loving but troubled childhood.
Both brothers are playable characters and equal heroes in the story. For this game, DONTNOD has worked closely alongside Microsoft and the LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD in shaping Tyler as an authentic representation of the trans experience, as well as a genuine, multidimensional character.
“The core mechanic of the game is the special bond Tyler and Alyson share and is also a theme strongly anchored into the DONTNOD storytelling approach. Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe. Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond—and the future course of their lives,” explained Florent Guillaume, Tell Me Why‘s Game Director.
Just like Life is Strange, Tell Me Why is an episodic adventure, although DONTNOD said that their upcoming game, which is comprised of three chapters, will release on a “clear and predictable schedule.”
Tell Me Why will release with Xbox Game Pass and will also be available for purchase on Xbox One, Windows PC and Steam. Curiously enough, there's no mention of a PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch version, which means Tell Me Why is likely to be a timed exclusive title.