The Walking Dead is a pretty popular TV series, and Telltale Games have created a video game adaptation of it, and I have to say, they succeeded pretty well. If you are looking forward for some intense moments and a proper engrossing story, then you’ll like what you find here.
As the name suggests, there are zombies here and the story is about survival and trying to find a way out of the mess the situation that the non-dead people find themselves in, and trust me, there aren’t many in the first episode titled ‘A New Day’.
The story is well told and the characters are voiced well, although there aren’t a lot of dialogues here. The writing is pretty good as well, and you actually feel the connection between characters. For example, Lee (an escaped fugitive) ends up being the caretaker of a girl called Clementine, who he finds in an abandoned house as he tries to escape from being eaten alive.
I will try not to spoil these scenes here, as they’re pretty vital and are the main reason why the story is so impactful on the viewer. I said viewer here because there’s not a lot of gameplay, and the controls are much like what you would find in games developed by David Cage (like Heavy Rain).
I think that’s sort of perfect for this, as the tension conveyed by such slow controls is pretty effective. Imagine being close to eaten by a zombie and the only way to escape is by finding a shotgun nearby and blowing its head off — such a slow gameplay mechanic feels right for story heavy games like these. The one thing to consider here is that the decisions you make in the game will affect the outcome of the story in the end.
I, like always, choose the neutral way — I simply cannot be a bad guy even if I try hard for some reason, but if people choose to play this way, expect some heartbreaking scenes. Episode one is two – three hours long depending on how you play it, and there are some amazing moments here that will truly send a chill down your spine.
Some people will be annoyed with the slow and unresponsive camera especially if the 360 controller is used (and is recommended), but the PC controls aren’t that bad either. It’s a sort of game where you lie back on your couch and press a button to view a cutscene.
The only thing that drags down these episodes that Telltale has planned, is the lack of gameplay on offer and stiff camera. Other than that, if you loved games like Heavy Rain, this will give you enough value for your money, especially if you are prepared to wait for all the 4 episodes to be released by Telltale. This is a promising series and one that is worth buying.
This game was reviewed on the PC.
THE GOOD
Engrossing story. Good voice acting. A breath of fresh air.
THE BAD
Lack of significant gameplay. Camera controls are a bit shoddy.
Final Verdict
If you loved games like Heavy Rain, this will give you enough value for your money, especially if you are prepared to wait for all the 4 episodes to be released by Telltale. This is a promising series and one that is worth buying.