It is officially June and that means another Pride Month is upon us! Taking place annually, Pride Month is the perfect way to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, whilst also remembering the ones we have lost, the rights we have fought for, and the ongoing struggle that many queer people face each day, 57-years on from the historic Stonewall Uprising.
Celebrating queer voices across the media is more prevalent than ever throughout the month of June, and the video game sphere is no exception. With some of our favorite AAA releases featuring gay main characters, such as The Last of Us‘ Ellie, Horizon Zero Dawn‘s Aloy, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s Ciri to name but a few, it is also worth remembering the smaller video games that shine a light on diverse writers, stories and characters, and one such example is Tell Me Why.
Released back in 2020, Tell Me Why is an episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and consists of three chapters. The game tells the story of twins, Tyler and Alyson, who have the ability to communicate with each other via telepathy. We follow them as they return to their hometown in rural Alaska after ten years away following the death of their mother.
Since its release, Dontnod has been praised for being the first major video game studio to feature a playable transgender main character as well as casting a transgender actor to take on the role of Tyler. Whilst creating a transgender character is all well and good, their story still has to be told respectfully and, luckily, Dontnod has also been praised for its competent handling of Tyler’s story and transition.
That is why Tell Me Why is the perfect game to get stuck into this Pride Month, and luckily, it is completely free to download and keep on both Xbox and Steam. Available at no cost up until 1 July, Tell Me Why may be available courtesy of the Xbox Game Pass, but fear not if you are not a subscriber, as it is free to download for any Xbox user for the next few weeks. As mentioned, this deal also applies to PC gamers who use Steam.
Here at Screen Rant, we awarded Tell Me Why with an impressive 8/10 in our review. In the review written by Rob Gordon, the following can be read: “All in all, Tell Me Why is another strong effort from Dontnod. The care it takes with its characters is to be applauded, and although it doesn’t always hit the perfect spot with its themes, the fact that it is discussing them at all is commendable. Those who enjoyed Life is Strange will get a kick (and a cry) out of its cast and plot, and at least it’s not afraid to talk about uncomfortable topics in an age where so many developers are trying so hard to be apolitical.”
So, if you want to celebrate Pride Month with a banger of a game, look no further than Tell Me Why, which is free to download up until 1 July.
- Released
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August 27, 2020
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ due to Drug Reference, Mild Blood, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Dontnod Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
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Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4