History VideoGame / TellMeWhy

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The twins' PsychicLink is definitely neither mundane nor imaginary like they thought it might have been. But the characters in The Book of Goblins, especially the creepy ones like the Mad Hunter, might have been more than just dreamed up character. [[spoiler:In the flashback at the end of the first chapter, we get a brief flash of Tyler seeing the Mad Hunter (though at the time, he was running for his life, so it's veracity is somewhat questionable).]]

''Tell Me Why'' is the first major studio game to feature a {{transgender}} protagonist in the form of Tyler; to help with his portrayal, LGBTQ advocacy organization [[UsefulNotes/LGBTCommunity GLAAD]] was heavily involved with development. Additionally, the game contains depictions of the [[UsefulNotes/NativeAmericans Tlingit people]] and mental health issues, which had guidance from the [[https://www.hunaheritage.org/ Huna Heritage Foundation]] and [[https://checkpointorg.com/ CheckPoint]]. An FAQ containing detailed content warnings and information can be found [[https://www.tellmewhygame.com/faq/ here]].

* ApologisesALot: {{Downplayed}} with Alyson. When Tyler calls her out for this on the boat, she apologizes for that, too.
* AnimalMotifs: The characters within the Ronans' childhood fantasy book, ''The Book of Goblins'', appear to be heavily inspired by people they knew, supported by the themed collectibles being located near their corresponding person.

** The game has [[spoiler:two different epilogues, though what causes them is unclear. In one, Tyler is moving out to a new life outside the house, and can explore the now-empty house before driving off. In the other, Alyson moves back into the house, and she can explore her settled-in house before writing a new entry into the Book of Goblins.]]

** The same could be said for [[spoiler:Eddy. He consciously isolated Alyson from Tyler for seven of the ten years they were apart, keeping her away from her last remaining family member and that potential source of emotional support. Furthermore, she doesn't seem to have ever received professional mental health care for what she went through — despite the fact that surely ''seeing your brother kill your mother in self-defence'' would still be an awful thing to witness, even if it was believed you weren't directly involved. Again, this does not seem to be at all malicious, and instead is very much framed as him doing what he believed was right for Alyson — but it's clear she's very screwed up about all of it.]]

** The same could be said for [[spoiler:Eddie. He consciously isolated Alyson from Tyler for seven of the ten years they were apart, keeping her away from her last remaining family member and that potential source of emotional support. Furthermore, she doesn't seem to have ever received professional mental health care for what she went through — despite the fact that surely ''seeing your brother kill your mother in self-defence'' would still be an awful thing to witness, even if it was believed you weren't directly involved. Again, this does not seem to be at all malicious, and instead is very much framed as him doing what he believed was right for Alyson — but it's clear she's very screwed up about all of it.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Mary-Ann was infamous for sleeping with married men. The Ronan twins' father Tom Vecchi is married to Tessa. While Mary-Ann always rejected Sam's advances, Sam's wife Laura divorced him over his feelings for Mary-Ann.]]

** Depending on the state of their relationship in the end, [[spoiler:the twins decide whether or not to give up their voice, as a showing of their bond to each other. The two epilogues play out subtly differently depending on the state of their bond. If Tyler is moving out, if they still have their voice, Tyler will move in with Alyson and Michael in Juneau. If not, Alyson will be in Juneau with Michael, but Tyler will be heading to Kodiak to work a job with the wildlife in isolation. If Alyson is moving in, if they still have their voice, Alyson will be calling Tyler up for inspiration on the next chapter of the Book of Goblins and be encouraging on his next endeavor, whether it be in Kodiak or in Juneau with Michael, and still talking to each other with their voice cities apart. If not, their conversations will be cold and distant and they won't use their voice.]]

----
''[[Music/BackstreetBoys "Ain't nothing but a heartache..."]]''

* CuttingTheKnot: Occurs a few times when dealing with Mary-Ann's puzzles. You can solve them as intended, or simply go for the brute approach to speed things along.

** The game has [[spoiler:two different epilogues, though what causes them is unclear. In one, Tyler is moving out to Juneau with Alyson and Michael, and can explore the now-empty house before driving off. In the other, Alyson moves back into the house while Michael and Tyler move to Juneau, and she can explore her settled-in house before writing a new entry into the Book of Goblins.]]

** The first poster is a time travel movie featuring a camera and a butterfly. The film's tagline was "[[VideoGame/LifeIsStrange Life is weird]]"
** The second poster is a wine glass with the words "Red Queen". Tyler even says, [[VideoGame/{{Vampyr}} "What is glass but tortured sand?"]]
** The third one is a reference to ''VideoGame/RememberMe''

* MultipleEndings: The game has two endings. [[spoiler: By the end, you can choose to have Alyson and Tyler believe that Mary-Ann was going to kill Tyler that night, or believe Tom’s version of the events which has him believe that Mary-Ann was trying to kill herself, meaning the entire incident that lead to Mary-Ann’s death [[PoorCommunicationKills was a misunderstanding]]. The game doesn’t confirm which ending was what actually happened.]]

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: The twins' father doesn't seem to be in the picture; Sam mentions that Mary-Ann "never had a man around", and following her death, Alyson was sent to live with the local police chief. [[spoiler:Their father is revealed to be a married man willing to go to extremes to stop his affair with Mary-Ann from going public. Chapter 3 reveals that the married man was Tom Vecchi, who the player previously interacted with on several occasions.]]

* DrowningTheirSorrows: Sam's descent into alcoholism began when Mary-Ann died. [[spoiler:It's implied that they were having an affair and her death devastated him.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: [[spoiler:Mary-Ann was infamous for sleeping with married men. The Ronan twins' father was married, while whatever happened between Mary-Ann and Sam led to his wife divorcing him.]]
** It’s revealed in Chapter 3 that [[spoiler: Tom Vecchi, the husband of Tessa, is the twins’ father.]]

It's December 2015, and 21-year-old Tyler Ronan is finally leaving behind his past at Fireweed Residential Center to reunite with his twin sister, Alyson, after ten years apart. While [[ChildhoodHomeRediscovery revisiting their childhood home]] in the rural {{UsefulNotes/Alaska}}n town of [[SmallTowns Delos Crossing]], they discover uncertainties surrounding their [[MissingMom mother's death]] and [[DarkAndTroubledPast difficult childhood]], sparking their search for resolution by investigating the [[CloseKnitCommunity town and its guarded residents]]. During their journey, the twins rediscover their [[TwinTelepathy childhood telepathic bond]] and develop the ability to visually manifest and [[RashomonStyle debate their differing memories of the same events]].