The Game Census
Tell Me Why cover art

Tell Me Why

DONTNOD Entertainment · Xbox Game Studios · 2020-08-27

SteamAmazonMicrosoft StoreGame Pass

AdventureFree To Play

Modes: Single player · Perspectives: Third person

Releases: Aug 27, 2020 (PC (Microsoft Windows)), Aug 27, 2020 (Xbox One)

Tell Me Why is the multi-award winning episodic adventure game from Dontnod Entertainment in which twins use their supernatural bond to discover the truth of their troubled past.

Tell Me Why is a 2020 Adventure, Free To Play game priced at free-to-play, with a Very Positive review sentiment (82% of 16086 reviews) and an owner estimate of 500,000 .. 1,000,000.— census verdict as of 2026-09-20

46
playing now
82%
positive of 16k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
500,000–1,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
81/100
critic score (9 outlets, IGDB)
75/100
IGDB user rating (140 ratings)
6
Nexus mods (2.3k downloads)
10h
to beat · completionist 12h
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
Free
steam price (US)

46 players in-game as of 2026-10-15 03:00 UTC (census sample)

Tell Me Why is a 2020 episodic adventure game developed by Dontnod Entertainment and published by Xbox Game Studios. The game consists of three chapters released for Windows and Xbox One in late 2020. It follows a pair of twins, Tyler and Alyson, with the ability to communicate with each other through telepathy, who reunite after ten years in their hometown in rural Alaska and investigate the death of their mother. A recurring theme of the story is the fallibility of memory, as the narrative explores the twins' childhood trauma and how they may each remember pivotal moments differently.

Trailer

Tell Me Why trailer thumbnail

Tell Me Why - Official Chapter One Launch Trailer

≈1,000,000 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 46 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 1,194 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~149/week).
  • · Review velocity down 23% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 3% of 29,024 Adventure games in the census by review count.

Current store prices

Microsoft Store$4.99-75%

Deal snapshots via CheapShark, refreshed daily.

12-month high $19.99 · on sale 3 of 9 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
1.6k1.6k20202026Week of 2020-08-01: 270 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 452 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 53 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 165 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 187 positiveWeek of 2020-12-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2021-01-01: 172 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 501 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 160 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 309 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 54 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 155 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 1,563 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 335 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 540 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 97 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 291 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 58 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 277 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 180 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 45 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 217 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 175 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 200 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 26 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 116 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 114 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 81 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 621 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 127 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 262 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 135 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 127 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 151 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 93 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 100 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 79 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 574 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 206 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 261 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 61 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 33 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 97 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 147 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 23 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 91 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 119 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 505 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 194 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 288 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 67 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 43 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 124 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 125 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 30 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 158 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 40 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 139 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 32 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 29 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 91 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 28 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 31 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 430 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 156 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 205 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 54 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 119 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 20 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 86 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 19 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 24 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 89 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 92 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 27 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 25 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 18 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 61 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 21 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 292 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 107 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 130 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 41 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 73 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 20 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

111232026-09-15 12:00 — 59 players2026-09-16 20:00 — 58 players2026-09-18 04:00 — 29 players2026-09-19 11:00 — 43 players2026-09-20 19:00 — 90 players2026-09-22 03:00 — 47 players2026-09-23 10:00 — 55 players2026-09-24 18:00 — 64 players2026-09-26 01:00 — 51 players2026-09-27 09:00 — 54 players2026-09-28 16:00 — 52 players2026-09-30 00:00 — 36 players2026-10-01 07:00 — 39 players2026-10-02 15:00 — 66 players2026-10-03 22:00 — 71 players2026-10-05 06:00 — 39 players2026-10-06 14:00 — 84 players2026-10-07 21:00 — 48 players2026-10-09 05:00 — 23 players2026-10-10 12:00 — 45 players2026-10-11 20:00 — 111 players2026-10-13 04:00 — 48 players2026-10-14 11:00 — 50 players2026-10-15 03:00 — 46 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
85630Sep 2020Aug 2026Sep 2020 — avg 212 · peak 1,311Nov 2020 — avg 42 · peak 139Jan 2021 — avg 72 · peak 253Mar 2021 — avg 188 · peak 879May 2021 — avg 64 · peak 173Jul 2021 — avg 205 · peak 599Sep 2021 — avg 113 · peak 254Nov 2021 — avg 61 · peak 153Jan 2022 — avg 68 · peak 157Mar 2022 — avg 43 · peak 112May 2022 — avg 42 · peak 100Jul 2022 — avg 116 · peak 354Sep 2022 — avg 55 · peak 146Nov 2022 — avg 39 · peak 93Jan 2023 — avg 55 · peak 123Mar 2023 — avg 34 · peak 74May 2023 — avg 30 · peak 81Jul 2023 — avg 137 · peak 1,160Sep 2023 — avg 47 · peak 119Nov 2023 — avg 40 · peak 103Jan 2024 — avg 42 · peak 105Mar 2024 — avg 35 · peak 88May 2024 — avg 39 · peak 282Jul 2024 — avg 136 · peak 523Sep 2024 — avg 66 · peak 174Nov 2024 — avg 57 · peak 120Jan 2025 — avg 62 · peak 128Mar 2025 — avg 52 · peak 125May 2025 — avg 53 · peak 375Jul 2025 — avg 128 · peak 349Sep 2025 — avg 68 · peak 141Nov 2025 — avg 58 · peak 136Jan 2026 — avg 72 · peak 142Mar 2026 — avg 48 · peak 107May 2026 — avg 47 · peak 98Jul 2026 — avg 90 · peak 216Aug 2026 — avg 70 · peak 134
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$29.99$0.002020-07-232026-10-142020-07-23 — best price $29.992020-11-25 — best price $20.092020-12-01 — best price $29.992020-12-10 — best price $20.092020-12-14 — best price $29.992020-12-22 — best price $14.992021-01-05 — best price $29.992021-02-11 — best price $14.992021-02-15 — best price $29.992021-03-09 — best price $0.002026-06-01 — best price $0.002026-08-26 — best price $4.992026-09-02 — best price $19.992026-09-09 — best price $19.992026-09-16 — best price $19.992026-09-23 — best price $19.992026-09-30 — best price $19.992026-10-07 — best price $19.992026-10-14 — best price $4.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

679992026-06-04 — 679 pageviews2026-06-08 — 332 pageviews2026-06-12 — 391 pageviews2026-06-16 — 540 pageviews2026-06-20 — 367 pageviews2026-06-24 — 313 pageviews2026-06-28 — 365 pageviews2026-07-02 — 212 pageviews2026-07-06 — 217 pageviews2026-07-10 — 155 pageviews2026-07-14 — 163 pageviews2026-07-18 — 156 pageviews2026-07-22 — 112 pageviews2026-07-26 — 137 pageviews2026-07-30 — 137 pageviews2026-08-03 — 116 pageviews2026-08-07 — 155 pageviews2026-08-11 — 145 pageviews2026-08-15 — 130 pageviews2026-08-19 — 129 pageviews2026-08-23 — 134 pageviews2026-08-27 — 136 pageviews2026-08-31 — 145 pageviews2026-09-04 — 134 pageviews2026-09-08 — 307 pageviews2026-09-12 — 146 pageviews2026-09-16 — 125 pageviews2026-09-20 — 153 pageviews2026-09-24 — 124 pageviews2026-09-28 — 109 pageviews2026-10-02 — 100 pageviews2026-10-06 — 127 pageviews2026-10-10 — 99 pageviews2026-10-13 — 118 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

30
achievements tracked
77.2%
earned "Rear View Mirror"
20.3%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsFull controller supportSingle-playerSteam AchievementsFull controller supportCaptions availableSteam CloudFamily Sharing3 DLC

7 supported languages: English, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - Brazil

Post-launch support: 3 DLC released, first 2020-08-27, latest 2020-09-25 (Steam store data)

Console footprint

PlatformPlayers trackedCompletionTrophies/achievements
Xbox Series, Xbox One, Windows (Xbox)33,19312%30
Steam (Steam)11,88415%30

Players tracked by Exophase (achievement/trophy trackers) — a sample of the player base, not total sales.

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

DramaLGBTQ+EpisodicAdventureCinematicEmotionalStory RichAtmosphericExplorationSingleplayer

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Players also track

Rusty Lake HotelOmensight: Definitive EditionUnforeseen IncidentsQuern - Undying ThoughtsGreedFallBlacksad: Under the SkinThe Room 4: Old SinsTwin Mirror

Similarity via IGDB.

Official site ↗Wikipedia ↗Discord ↗