the Andrew Bailey

The Walking Dead

Hey look, a game for Halloween! (Yes, I planned this one, unlike last time.) I've finished playing through The Walking Dead, the game that Telltale Games got popular on. This is one of those games from the zombie craze that reached its height around 10 years ago. I think this rode the coat tails of a Netflix series based on the same comic series, but the game has different characters and story. It merely takes place in the same world.

Screenshot of zombies walking down a street.

Like other recent Telltale Games series, there are things to say, and choices to be made. Gameplay involves choosing dialog options, with the occasional interruption to explore a room, to button mash, or for a quicktime event. Before going into this, I knew that most of the choices don't have much effect. At most, it determines which characters get killed, or who helps you do things. Occasionally, there are stressful situations where something needs to happen fast, or you're dead. When faced with dialog options, there is always a timer, so you need to be timely in your responses, unlike some RPGs.

The story happens during a zombie apocalypse. (Big surprise, huh?) Your player character is Lee, a former history professor that's been sentenced to prison. Because choices don't seem to matter, and because there's not much gameplay besides advancing the story, there's no point into going into detail on the story. You team up with some survivors, and try to stake it out in Georgia. Each episode starts off rocky, but just as things get settled, something new gets thrown into the mix. You don't get one episode in before you realize that the zombies aren't the only monsters around here. What stands out is how depressing the story is. It took me about 2 weeks to complete it, just because I didn't find the story compelling. I'm pretty sure this is classified as 'grim dark'.

I'm not enthusiastic, but if you like clicky story driven horror games, this will be right up your alley. If you'd prefer something more bombastic, check out Dead Space. If you'd like something light and humorous, try Sam and Max or Tales from the Borderlands. If you'd like something with a more meaningful story, try Witcher 3.

Posted under Gaming. 0 complaints.