Welcome to Prime Month, the annual tradition that celebrates queer culture and the ongoing fight for equality. We've already received a helpful message from everyone's favorite LGBTQIA+ icon, Master Chief, and now we're going to launch straight into the next big thing to come out of Pride: a free game giveaway.
But not just any game. Tell Me Why is Dontnod's narrative masterpiece telling the story of two twins who reunite to solve the mystery of their dead mother. The twist? Tyler and Alyson can communicate telepathically and share memories in the form of visions. Also, Tyler is trans, and depending on your choices in-game, he can get into a relationship with Michael, who is both gay and indigenous.
As Stacey tells it, Tell Me Why has a sort of rugged and real queerness that you rarely find in today's games. Sure, Apex Legends and Overwatch will throw in a gay character here and there to be inclusive, but will any of them talk about testosterone shots? Or actually have two men kiss on-screen?
Tell Me Why goes places no other games dare tread, and it does so absolutely fearlessly. So it's really the perfect game to play during Pride Month.
"Since Tell Me Why’s release late last summer, the team at Dontnod and Xbox Game Studios Publishing have been humbled by and deeply grateful for the many gamers – especially trans and queer gamers – who have found understanding and hope in our game,” wrote Dontnod in its Pride announcement. “We’ve received heartfelt messages from players all over the world about how Tyler’s homecoming as a trans man and Alyson’s struggle with trauma have impacted them, encouraged them, or made them feel a little less alone, especially amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and pervasive transphobic rhetoric in places like the United States and the United Kingdom."
You can download Tell Me Why absolutely free on Steam, Xbox, and the Microsoft Store from now until June 30. And once downloaded, the game is free to keep forever.
Although you won't need to spend money on Tell Me Why, Dontnod encourages players to donate what they would have spent on the game to trans and queer charities. For example, you can help Gearbox fight anti-trans legislation in Texas.