Overview: 5.0/5.0
Life is Strange 3 Tell Me Why is the latest narrative adventure game from DONTNOD Entertainment. Tell Me Why has all of the components of a Life is Strange installment, except the name -- which, after the reception of Life is Strange 2, is understandable. DONTNOD has an established pattern of telling extremely relevant stories with a supernatural twist, and Tell Me Why is no exception.
In Tell Me Why, you play as twins Alyson and Tyler Ronan, who are endeavoring to clean out their childhood home after some extended time apart. As you might expect, the pair spends much more time exploring childhood memories than they do sorting through furniture. In particular, the twins find themselves uncovering new information about the circumstances of their mother’s death.
Of course, leave it to DONTNOD to use the pretense of a mystery game to explore identity, transgender acceptance, anxiety, complicated family relationships, mental health and its criminalization in American society… Oh yeah, prepare to be emotionally devastated. And I mean that in the best way possible.
Narrative
Okay, I can’t talk about this without spoilers because, well, it’s a mystery game. But I’ll do my best to spoil as little as possible. Of course, you could always just go play the game instead, which is what I’d recommend.
The opening of this game starts with a child being questioned in an interrogation room. Eventually the officer is able to coax the child to say the following: “My mom tried to kill me, so… so I stabbed her. I killed my mother.” And then we see the title screen.
Talk about a hook.
We eventually learn that this child is one of the Ronan twins, who were separated after the night of this event. A decade or so later, they are reunited to sell their childhood home. Alyson has lived in the area, being raised by one of the responding police officers. Tyler has been in some sort of juvenile rehabilitation facility out of town. As the twins try to re-establish their relationship for the future, they also explore their past and start to unravel what really happened the night that tore them apart. The game explores many difficult themes along the way, including issues of identity, parenting, and mental health.
Characters
Representation is important.
DONTNOD has already made a habit of telling stories of traditionally underrepresented groups in video games, without making it the focal point of the characters’ identities. In this instance, Tyler happens to be transgender. It’s relevant to his narrative, but it is by no means presented as the defining aspect of his personality. As another example, at one point in this game, Alyson experiences a panic/anxiety attack, which is something I’ve never seen in a game before. As someone who has struggled with anxiety, I was extremely grateful to see a realistic portrayal of my own challenges represented in that medium.
DONTNOD continues to create games that quickly establish a rich world full of well-rounded characters with tangible depth. Beyond Alyson and Tyler, the world of Tell Me Why is populated with a variety of wonderfully unique people. Even the twins’ mother, who is deceased long before the events of the game, is carefully developed as a meaningful presence. What I appreciate about these stories is that the characters are human. They aren’t mission-givers or set dressing. They’re messy and relatable. They have mental health challenges, they respond to conflict imperfectly, they have intentions that don’t necessarily align with the end result.
Environment
Unsurprisingly, this game is absolutely beautiful, with a soundtrack to match. (If the number of screenshots is any indication of the aesthetics, I only took… 104. Yikes.) The detail of each individual scene is set against lovely Alaskan landscapes, all in the typical stylized art of DONTNOD. And the game gives you plenty of opportunities to sit and stare at the scenery until you’re ready to move on. There’s something enchanting about the art style of these games, down to the characters’ eyes. (I’m also convinced that with each DONTNOD game, the hair animation gets increasingly impressive, particularly for longer hairstyles.) Overall, it’s just a really pleasant experience and only contributes to the player’s immersion in the game.
In addition to the “real world” of this game, the chapter summaries are presented as paper dolls animated in a fantasy world of trolls and princesses, to align with the bedtime stories Mary Ann would write for the twins. These are adorable, but with enough of a dark palette to suggest to the player that something sinister may be lurking underneath.
Mechanics
Like previous DONTNOD games, Tell Me Why focuses on choice-based gameplay and gradually introduces a supernatural element. Yet, they continue to iterate on the way this is included. In previous games, you may have been the person with powers, or been in close proximity to them. In this game, the supernatural power is one that the twins must use together. [Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.]
By focusing on their bond as twins, Alyson and Tyler are able to visualize their memories. They’re able to watch scenes from their past with new perspectives. This is a fascinating gameplay mechanic, particularly for a mystery game. And it’s not entirely new, but it is extremely well-executed. Unlike other games that may let you replay a past event, this game also accounts for the fact that human memory isn’t perfect. At times, you will need to decide which version of the past is the truth between each of the twin’s memories.
In addition to this shared memory visualizations, you can also use the voice. In other words, the twins are able to communicate telepathically with one another. Having a secret conversation to make sure you’re on the same page while interrogating someone? Yes please. My only complaint about this mechanic is that I wish they would have given even more opportunities to use it!
Technical
Not much to say here. The game ran smoothly for me on PC. I didn’t encounter any lagging or game-breaking bugs. I had to readjust once or twice to activate a hotspot for opening a door, etc. (But that could be more of a commentary on my lack of skill with WASD controls than anything else.)
Summary
In this game we see dark situations with the creativity of a young mind and innocent moments corrupted by the overactive imagination of a child, somehow woven together in a deeply tragic narrative. However, we also experience the nostalgia for someone else’s childhood, and it’s beautiful. The history of the twins is grim, but this is not a story without hope, or without agency. Tell Me Why happened to strike a seemingly infinite number of chords relevant to my own life, and that may not be the case for everyone. Regardless, it proved to be a satisfying mystery that secured my investment before the opening title screen, despite not knowing anything about the game before starting. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who likes other choice-driven narrative mystery games. And if you’re not a fan of puzzles, this game gives you the option to break things open instead!
Welcome to the rollercoaster of emotions that you would expect from the finale of Life is Strange: Before the Storm. In case you were craving a few hours of whiplash between heartbreak, turmoil, anxiety, adrenaline, affection, and heartbreak again, Deck Nine has your back.