Tell Me Why

 PC
User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 296 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 296
  2. Mixed: 70 out of 296
  3. Negative: 116 out of 296

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  1. Vonn_Reiner
    Jul 26, 2023
    0
    This is a game that strives to push the envelope of narrative-based gaming but falls far short of its potential. The entire experience feels like an extended, ambulatory simulation that struggles to maintain interest. It disappointingly takes little advantage of the exciting possibilities that video games offer, focusing instead on a linear, poorly paced plot.
    The game suffers from a    This is a game that strives to push the envelope of narrative-based gaming but falls far short of its potential. The entire experience feels like an extended, ambulatory simulation that struggles to maintain interest. It disappointingly takes little advantage of the exciting possibilities that video games offer, focusing instead on a linear, poorly paced plot.
    The game suffers from a significant overdose of cliches, which undermine the narrative's originality. It further fails in its attempt to reflect a diversity of experiences, defaulting instead to an excessively Americanized perspective that doesn't resonate with global players.
    Tell Me Why is a walking simulator that, despite promising potential, is burdened by a lack of compelling gameplay, a surplus of cliches, and a failure to authentically represent a broad spectrum of experiences.    … Expand
  2. Mindurbidniss
    Jun 7, 2023
    0
    Got it for free on Xbox. Still not worth it. The writing and graphics are absolutely terrible. The gameplay is also non existent (and this is coming from someone who loves Telltale games). You basically just click to look at things and make inconsequential observations or replies.
  3. LordOfTruth
    Mar 5, 2023
    1
    Just finished playing this game and alongside a couple other ugly games, this almost takes the ugly crown.
    The gameplay first of all is not fun at all, same with the story it simply "Just Sucks." I can't put it in any other words than that.
    I felt almost like a bit of torture trying to play through this game, it again. Was NOT fun and the story is rubbish. I would NOT recommend this game    Just finished playing this game and alongside a couple other ugly games, this almost takes the ugly crown.
    The gameplay first of all is not fun at all, same with the story it simply "Just Sucks." I can't put it in any other words than that.
    I felt almost like a bit of torture trying to play through this game, it again. Was NOT fun and the story is rubbish. I would NOT recommend this game to anyone.
    Devs just wanna juice the consumer out by maknig episodic type games and we ALL know that, don't get fooled with this oddball Tr@sh of a game.    … Expand
  4. TheQweast
    Mar 3, 2023
    2
    One of the worst choice games I've played for sure. The stakes are nonexistent. The characters and the arcs they go through are just a disappointment. I think the whole trans idea and accepting who you are could have been done so much better and with some other situations occuring but as it is it's just so underwhelming.
  5. El_Misterioso
    Oct 25, 2022
    0
    Lo obtuve gratis, pero soy de los que piensan que un videojuego tiene que tener más gameplay que historia, simplemente aburrido, si quiero una historia con buenos personajes me voy a ver Breaking Bad, ya que la historia de este juego está al nivel de She Hulk, este "juego" es el peor del año no lo jueguen, es malardo autor matate xfa **** juego
  6. Gamerawy2002
    Oct 12, 2022
    0
    gay game
  7. XionSoul
    Nov 12, 2021
    0
    Un juego progre con gente enferma e ideología de género intentando normalizar algo que clínicamente está mal.
  8. infraphys
    Oct 2, 2021
    0
    sencillamente gratis en game pass

    Juego genial si jugaste el life is strange 1 ,2 y life is strange before the storm se basa en la misma jugabilidad

    el juego es bueno aunque me pareció corto no espere que fueran solo 3 capítulos, pocos personajes en la historia por lo que es muy predecible saber los personajes misteriosos críticos de la historia
  9. Archound
    Sep 20, 2021
    4
    Boring. I forced myself to continue in the hope it will get interesting. It didn't until the very end. Animations were also bad. Book of goblins (a selection of "fairytales" tied to the story) was the best part of the game.
  10. SAMPASC
    Aug 5, 2021
    0
    predictable history.
    slow and boring game.
    predictable end.
    boring puzzle.
    stupid motivation
    one of the worst games i played
  11. GAMRKNIGHT
    Jun 1, 2021
    0
    This is easily one of the WORST "games" that I have ever had the displeasure of playing. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS LITERALLY NO GAME. And on top of this, it forces politics down your throat to add insult to injury. It's disgusting that Xbox Game Studios, the publishers who introduced us to such masterpieces as Halo and Gears of War, now undermined to THIS?! And to add to this, I got this gameThis is easily one of the WORST "games" that I have ever had the displeasure of playing. Why? BECAUSE THERE IS LITERALLY NO GAME. And on top of this, it forces politics down your throat to add insult to injury. It's disgusting that Xbox Game Studios, the publishers who introduced us to such masterpieces as Halo and Gears of War, now undermined to THIS?! And to add to this, I got this game for FREE, and I still want a refund for the garbage. Buy something from a small Indie studio instead, Cuphead would be a great place to start. It's time to tell Micro$oft that we don't want this trash, we want real video games. Good day to you all.… Expand
  12. DylanColino
    May 16, 2021
    4
    Un juego con buena historia pero con un mal resultado

    Los gráficos del juego son muy muy buenos, la iluminación y las texturas son muy buenas, las animaciones están ok; los escenarios son espectaculares, están súper detallados y grandes El juego sigue más o menos la misma temática de Life is Strange pudiendo tomar decisiones, que para mí están muy desaprovechadas, no aportan a la    Un juego con buena historia pero con un mal resultado

    Los gráficos del juego son muy muy buenos, la iluminación y las texturas son muy buenas, las animaciones están ok; los escenarios son espectaculares, están súper detallados y grandes

    El juego sigue más o menos la misma temática de Life is Strange pudiendo tomar decisiones, que para mí están muy desaprovechadas, no aportan a la historia ni tampoco son muy importantes.

    La temática de la historia está muy buena, pero llena de drama, hay muchas cosas exageradas e innecesarias, además de que el juego tarda muchísimo en arrancar, el primer capítulo es eterno y muy aburrido.

    Lamentablemente esta desarrolladora sigue sin invertir en captura de movimiento o por lo menos en qué los gestos faciales sean menos robóticos.    … Expand
  13. Dedubzees
    Apr 13, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Some people make beautiful games, some make intriguing games others make action packed games. This falls into none of those categories. If this game were a food, it would be a saltine cracker without salt. Graphics seemed circa 2010

    Gameplay was boring, nothing special here.

    Story was very preachy. A lot of dialog options give you only snide, arrogant comments. Politics were up front and center. I don’t care if someone is trans and won’t judge them for it. However the storytellers trying to preach to be upset because this dudes mom wouldn’t let him transition when he was a little kid is ridiculous. Trans individuals unfortunately have a hard time in life and have a high suicide rate, transitioning most of the time causes permanent changes, most children who identify as the opposite gender change their mind before they are an adult. Therefore, you will never convince me that transitioning little kids is ethical. TLDR: Graphics 3/10
    Gameplay 2/10
    Story 0/10
    Politics -10/10
    Virtue signaling and boring.    … Expand
  14. MichaelHawk
    Mar 16, 2021
    0
    Low effort, pointless, and pandering. This like most episodic games in the past 5+ are an easy way for developers to make money as long as they find a niche that think it's a masterpiece
  15. valrond
    Mar 10, 2021
    1
    This is not a game. This is an interactive story. If you like woke "`proggresive" stuff that you see everywhere nowadays, you may find it mildy interesting, if not, there is nothing to see here. There is no playability. At all. Even stupid tap mobile games have more playability than this. The story is quite boring, so there's that, a narrative driven interactive woke novel. I'd rather playThis is not a game. This is an interactive story. If you like woke "`proggresive" stuff that you see everywhere nowadays, you may find it mildy interesting, if not, there is nothing to see here. There is no playability. At all. Even stupid tap mobile games have more playability than this. The story is quite boring, so there's that, a narrative driven interactive woke novel. I'd rather play some crappy spectrum games from 40 years ago than this thing.… Expand
  16. Nowis
    Feb 3, 2021
    0
    This is a pathetic propaganda game and besides that even the game is trash. I highly not recommend to buy it or even try it. Seriously, pathetic.
  17. Bloodnes
    Jan 21, 2021
    4
    Зачем эту чушь воплощать в игру ? Крыша совсем едет не спеша у людей...Какие-то меньшинства пытаюсь себя запиарить ? Вымрут как динозавры 100%
  18. AntiPCPolice
    Jan 9, 2021
    0
    What an obnoxious, pretentious, lazy, virtue signaling snoozefest of a game!
  19. mike4156
    Dec 5, 2020
    0
    the game lacks any sort of engagement feels like idk what theyre trying to do
  20. viroodiem
    Oct 1, 2020
    2
    Basically this is Dontnod thinking that Life Is Strange just wasnt pandering enough to the PCSJW tropedom..

    Its made well with only a few glaring bugs. Though the game itself is a pretty hands off, on rails with little meaningful puzzles or other action mechanisms worth speaking of. Even when comparing them to the likes of the various Telltale model of adventure games, and their    Basically this is Dontnod thinking that Life Is Strange just wasnt pandering enough to the PCSJW tropedom..

    Its made well with only a few glaring bugs. Though the game itself is a pretty hands off, on rails with little meaningful puzzles or other action mechanisms worth speaking of. Even when comparing them to the likes of the various Telltale model of adventure games, and their descendants like Life Is Strange, Detroit/Heavy Rain etc.

    One thing this potentially has going for it is that this is something unique for Xbox. That said, Xbox is NOT a platform for this sort of game because microsoft actively rejects adventure/RPG gamers as gamers at all. So most people seeking these kinds of experiences would gravitate more toward Sony, Nintendo (for anime variants) and PC before focusing their gaming on Xbox platform. But for that handful of gamers who only have an Xbox and want this kind of content it will surely be welcomed.

    The real problem is that this sort of adventure game has long since become formulaic and predictable. Its supposed to be focused on the narrative possibilities rather than gameplay mechanics and yet they only try to explore a VERY narrow arena of "progressive" story types.

    This falls into that same comfortable rut that others have worn for it and basically brings nothing to the table to justify its existence.

    I would say the rather pedestrian and predictable plot knocks off 5 points because everything this offers you have seen better elsewhere. Loses another 3 points for the pushing the socio political agenda because people do not play games to be preached to, Its supposed to be a form of relaxation and escaping reality. So fixating on social causes completely misses the point of being entertainment. The only real positives are the mechanics, graphics, acting and sound. In a narrative driven game those are not the relevant factors. Well acting is important but writing is infinitely more important cause the best actors in the world cant make a terrible script outstanding.

    So 2/10 seems fair and accurate representation of what this offering merits.    … Expand
  21. Pistaczio
    Sep 24, 2020
    0
    one giant agenda, hateful childish decisions, hot garbage, too much politics, feels like The Last Of Us Part 2 all over again, what a joke
  22. Mandulum
    Sep 24, 2020
    0
    No surprises from the gameplay so it lives or dies by its story. I enjoyed it. Even more so, I liked the week-apart release schedule!

    Date Completed: 2020-09-20
    Playtime: ~ 10h
    Enjoyment: 8/10
    Recommendation: Fans of this style of game will like it.
  23. ParmalatBr
    Sep 20, 2020
    0
    Um jogo baseado em escolhas onde você não sente que suas decisões impactam o final do game.
    Com investigação em alguns momentos que me surpreendeu, alguns puzzles são realmente divertidos e interessantes de se resolver.
    Jogo divertido mas faltou o sentimento de peso nas decisões.
    Deu pro gasto.
  24. AlphonsoDavies
    Sep 17, 2020
    0
    More like Tell Me Why Anyone Should Buy This? Oh DONTNOD... Rushed ep 5 of LiS1, made LiS 2 so embarrassingly laughable, even made Vampyr look horrid, and now TMW? Still below average voice acting, Jump Force has better lip sync, the story- ehm... well... Lacks what a story should have.
  25. LightLion
    Sep 12, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pior jogo que já joguei, entregam o plot nos 5 primeiros minutos de jogo, pra quem consegue ler nas entrelinhas, desenvolvimento extremamente lento, as escolhas não fazem a menor diferença, nem mesmo no final é mais parecido com uma novela em que você escolhe a próxima cena do que um jogo em si, não há jogabilidade é… Expand
  26. New_Guy
    Sep 12, 2020
    4
    The main characters are one dimensional and are closed minded to their detriment. Graphics are OK, but need better lighting and facial animations. Nature is depicted beautifully. Game mechanics do not bring much to the table and are sometimes nonsensical.

    This is not a story about humans. This is a story about a cardboard cut out painted to look human, put in a cage, on hormones.    The main characters are one dimensional and are closed minded to their detriment. Graphics are OK, but need better lighting and facial animations. Nature is depicted beautifully. Game mechanics do not bring much to the table and are sometimes nonsensical.

    This is not a story about humans. This is a story about a cardboard cut out painted to look human, put in a cage, on hormones. Fitter, happier, more productive.    … Expand
  27. Ndi
    Sep 10, 2020
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a terrible story for a story driven game.

    It was interesting at first, kept me guessing, maybe something supernatural will happen (magic brain link) maybe the clues would pan out, maybe the delivery will contain subtle hints. I actually thought that one of the twins is not real - the embodiment of someone's mental strain.

    Well, _none_ of it pans out. The magic link is just THERE. The mother died because of a misunderstanding. Also, she was on her way to suicide anyway so don't feel bad. Also, she has a kid, died, goodbye. Also, someone is trans for no reason. Also, someone is gay for no reason. None of it pans out, it's just a story someone covered in glue and rolled through a Tumbr thread. This is how 5 YO tell stories.

    The voice acting is atrocious because the trans character isn't a voice actor. It's an "instagram model" (whatever that is) that got the part because he's trans IRL. He can't act, doesn't enunciate, slurs words and I needed subtitles to understand. Emoting is bad and the script doesn't help. Many of the people acting aren't actors but SOME ARE and the difference is jarring.

    At some point the girl confesses to the murder and after you click through she just goes "OK" and goes back to smiling because confession is just a badly made dialogue tree and NOTHING CHANGED. You read that right. We confessed to murder and lying to a cop and nothing changed.

    Someone just took a short story (there is a misunderstanding, mom dies), soaked it in glue and just rolled it up in stuff that nobody asked and will never pan out. What was the point of the psychic link? Why is magic here all of a sudden? Why did the mother protect her door with a puzzle? Why is the puzzle a combo in the kid's book - the only book they had access to? Why is there an old lover? Why is there a different dad? What was the point of the dead kid? Why was anyone trans? What was the benefit to the story? How did she make the room and lights change color with 1980 technology. How do you not notice her working for a year in a barn? Why puzzles?

    I can't stress this enough. You introduce MAGIC PSYCHIC LINK into a realistic story and never address it or give it any weight.

    That's now how you write a story - someone is insane in the story they need to do something insane; you don't just take Moby Dick, make one of the sailors trans and republish it as a walking sim.

    I'll leave you with this:

    TL;DR
    On the dev's site there is an FAQ about endings and the dev explains that all endings are good for the trans character because trans people went through enough already.    … Expand
  28. KlausVonHertzon
    Sep 9, 2020
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Another trash, dog **** game from dontdot entertainment and the casual gamers liked this game.... what the hell is this?… Expand
  29. hokest
    Sep 8, 2020
    4
    The story seemed very interesting but the presentation is terrible. It’s too slow paced to be interesting, the tasks like starring at a landscape, looking for a screwdriver or buying snacks in a shop could’ve been easily skipped to make the story flow better. The weird silent pauses and drawn out scenes really don’t help out here. It really tired me out so much I couldn’t finish the firstThe story seemed very interesting but the presentation is terrible. It’s too slow paced to be interesting, the tasks like starring at a landscape, looking for a screwdriver or buying snacks in a shop could’ve been easily skipped to make the story flow better. The weird silent pauses and drawn out scenes really don’t help out here. It really tired me out so much I couldn’t finish the first episode. I really loved their previous games, every Life is Strange game they made, so it’s sad this didn’t live up to my expectations. I hope they change the way they write their stories in the future - it’s supposed to be engaging and gripping, not so boring it makes you exhausted. The first 30 minutes of the game could’ve been easily cut to 5 minute gameplay. I understand they want to flesh out the characters, but they weren’t fleshed out well either: they were also very uninteresting. The graphics and the art is very good though, as long as the music, also the story could’ve been very interesting so that’s why I gave 4 points out of 10.… Expand
  30. Steyraus
    Sep 8, 2020
    1
    Games it self is completely boring with a ridiculous story, bad writing unrelatable characters. Jerky animation and visually its like a 360 game running at a higher resolution. You walk around looking and picking up stuff, your characters blab boring stuff, you find what you need and use it then sit though minutes of cringe cut scenes rinse and repeat. Feels very budget and uninspired.
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Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 34 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. RPG Fan
    Jun 27, 2022
    79
    Tell Me Why is kind of a fascinating experience. It feels personal and down-to-earth, even if it can at times be a little dull. The struggle of its twin protagonists to come to terms with the death of their troubled mother is relatable, even if the game never definitively answers their questions about her. Tyler’s experiences as a trans man feel genuine, and the game treats him with respect, even though it also capitalizes on his trauma to move the plot along. In the end, memories can only reveal so much, particularly when they conflict with someone else’s, and the only peace you can really have is the peace you choose to make for yourself.
    Read full review
  2. Adventure Gamers
    Feb 16, 2021
    80
    What it lacks in its limited characters and locations, Tell Me Why makes up with a personal, intimate narrative that nicely captures the essence of everyday life and offers a much-needed examination of the human condition, all wrapped in a beautiful presentation in true DONTNOD style.
    Read full review
  3. CD-Action
    Nov 16, 2020
    70
    It’s still good old Dontnod but Tell Me Why falls short of the studio’s previous achievements. Outdated engine aside, the game lacks interesting interactions or a relationship as powerful as Chloe’s and Max’s friendship in Life is Strange. Its simple story is quite linear and fails to surprise, and supporting characters are rather bland. [11/2020, p.62]
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