Trans people are unique in their life experiences, and I can see the circumstances of such an identity tying brilliantly into a protagonist with superpowers that play on either the manipulation of time, empathy, or something entirely new.

I’m surprised we didn’t see a trans character tied into True Colours, but I’d rather a story like this feel natural instead of forced. Tell Me Why laid the foundation, and now I’d love to see a similar trans story explored in whatever Life is Strange decides to pursue next. There is opposition to be found, but these are all trumped by an element of support in favour of Tyler that rings true. The act of pursuing hormone treatment, changing personal details across myriad documents, and even accepting yourself in the presence of others are all explored to fantastic effect. It worked, and Tell Me Why remains a benchmark for queer storytelling that I point to whenever someone asks me about worthwhile trans stories in games.ĭespite following the story of a trans man, as a trans woman it still felt like I could relate to so much of the bullshit Tyler had to put up with. Perhaps this was overkill and a trigger warning would have sufficed, but it was so groundbreaking in what it was hoping to achieve that I can’t blame the studio for being careful. Dontnod made it clear that extensive research was done to be respectful to Tyler’s character, which included the release of an extensive Q&A before the game’s release that showcased how it would explore LGBTQ+ themes and the problems its queer characters would face throughout the narrative.

Download life is strange tell me why