The Walking Dead: Episode 1 Review

Posted By Shaun K. about 3 weeks, 4 days ago

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 Review

It is no secret that I am a big adventure game fan in general and of Telltale’s output in particular. And yet even I cannot deny that their last major title, Jurassic Park, was riddled with problems. While the company was clearly trying to move their approach to game design in a new direction, one heavily inspired by Sony’s Heavy Rain at that, a number of flaws quite simply held the game back from true greatness. With The Walking Dead, Telltale is taking another crack at this approach with one of the more popular original comic books to come down the pike in some time. Does the first episode in this five part episodic series succeed or is it simply time to put a bullet in the head of the whole thing and be done with it?

Back in my review of Jurassic Park I noted that I suspected that many of the problems that plagued that game were owed to Telltale trying something new and very different from their previous norm. And as I hoped, the developers have clearly learned from their mistakes while working on JP and proceeded to get the formula right this time around with The Walking Dead. I am not a big zombie fan and I do not regularly watch the show or read the comic (though I am more than familiar with the characters, setup, and all that), which makes it all the more remarkable how completely caught up in the game I became.

Uh-oh! That does not look good.

For those who have never heard of The Walking Dead, the series (which started life as, and continues to remain, a comic book before also receiving an extremely popular and critically well received TV adaptation produced by cable channel AMC) is set in a world that has been stricken by the zombie apocalypse. Where TWD differs from the countless other takes on this concept is in its strong focus on character and long form storytelling that attempts to tell what would really happen long term in a world where the dead can now walk. The series is dark, moody, stark as hell, and more than willing to kill off pretty much any character at any time. Multiple issues can go by without the appearance of even a single Walker (the primary term used by characters in-universe to refer to the zombies) and the story is far more about the human element (how we react to stress, loss, misery; what happens to people when civilization is stripped away, etc.) than it is merely trying to be the millionth iteration of zombies vs. humans.

All of which helped to potentially make Telltale the perfect company, thanks to their long history of strong writing, to take The Walking Dead series and adapt it into a video game. Thankfully, I am happy to report that the company, so far at least, has more than lived up their end of the bargain. Instead of simply retelling the story of the comic/show, The Walking Dead game follows the exploits of a new character, Lee Everett, as he journeys through the same general area of the main series in the days leading up to the start of the series’ story. This allows the game to forge its own path even while leaving room for some familiar locales and individuals to make an appearance or two.

The little girl is Clementine and Lee ends up stumbling upon her and becoming her protector.

However, the best aspect of the story for Episode 1 is how true it cleaves to the character driven aspects of the original. Set firmly in the comic book universe as opposed to the TV show (which is also one reason none of the actors from the show are used to voice the returning characters), the game never loses focus on what really matters: how the differing personalities that make up its cast clash and come together and (most importantly) how Lee reacts to all the madness that his life has essentially become filled with. Lee in particular shines as a terrific lead and while he has a somewhat typical ‘dark and mysterious past’, Telltale manages to imbue him with real life and depth. You cannot help but relate to the guy and already the thought of what his final fate might be when the credits for the last episode role fills me with excitement and dread. Actually dread is a feeling that players of The Walking Dead should prepare themselves to get used to, because the game does not pull punches. Episode 1 was so intense at times it left me exhausted once I was done playing and I mean that in the best possible way.

As for Episode 1’s gameplay, there are two ways to view the title: as a standalone product and as the first part in a larger series. While I will need to play more episodes before I can make any kind of true final judgment on the elements of the game that are meant to carry over into future episodes, I can already call the standalone sequences in the game a rousing success. As I said previously, TWD was clearly designed using a similar mold to Jurassic Park but it is obvious just how much Telltale has really learned from the process of making that game. TWD is much less of a direct Heavy Rain clone and instead takes aspects from that design approach and does a terrific job marrying them to the more traditional Telltale setup. Thus gone is the constantly shifting player character in favor of a single (very compelling) lead and similarly they have wisely abandoned the ‘jump between screens and/or QTE event’ as a substitute for player movement from Jurassic Park in favor of direct control (most of the time at least) ala a more standard adventure game.

Ever had one of those days…?

The one major exception to this is an extended sequence where players need to sneak around a location killing zombies stealthily and it really works brilliantly as a set piece. For a little while, The Walking Dead almost becomes a stealth action game and instead of feeling jarring or off-putting, the approach works very well as a means of getting across how dangerous the world really has become. Finally, Quick Time Events are used far more sparingly in TWD overall and when they are employed; their usage always makes sense and adds to the intensity of the moment instead of distracting from it.

I mentioned previously about gameplay elements that are meant to carry across multiple episodes of The Walking Dead and this is where player choice really comes into play. While Jurassic Park made a half-hearted attempt at implementing such a feature, ultimately the lack of consequence stripped this element of any real effectiveness. Whereas while The Walking Dead is ultimately a very linear game, with the overall outline of the plot remaining the same no matter what the player does, it is in the details where a player’s choices can truly have a dramatic effect. Even in just this first episode alone, players can end up establishing dramatically different relationships between Lee and the rest of the cast, plus there is at least one point where players are tasked with choosing which of two major characters die. It will be a tricky balancing act to maintain over the following episodes, but if they can fully pull it off it, then this element will make The Walking Dead something truly special indeed.

While not the primary purpose of the game, zombie killings will indeed play a role in the proceedings.

Player choice also gives the game some real replay value. The episode is divided into a good number of smaller chapters, with the game also giving players multiple save slots and the ability to copy a save into one of the other slots so they can really mess around and experiment. My only big complaint on this front is that the does not allow players to skip cutscenes or speed up dialogue, which I could see dampering some people’s desire play through the game multiple times. Hopefully this something that Telltale will give serious consideration to patching as the series continues. Conversation also plays a big role in the kind of choices players face and, in a really nice touch many of these give players a timer in which they have to select response if they want to prevent the game for choosing for them. It is just one more way Telltale manages to continue to insert tension throughout entire episode. And while it is hard to get a full handle on just how much effect player choice will really have in the long haul, a trailer for the next episode that plays out very differently depending what choices a player makes bodes well.

Visually, The Waking Dead’s graphics do a more than respectable job of recreating the look and feel of the comic book (again as opposed to the TV series) and this is another area that sees major improvement over Jurassic Park. There the more stylized character designs ultimately took away from the strong sense of visual realism that was always a hallmark of that franchise. But The Walking Dead has always been presented in a highly stylized manner to begin with and thus the style works far better. Telltale’s engine is still showing its age at times via smaller details like certain character animations and textures, but for the most part the game does an excellent job of bringing the world to believable life. Aurally, the game fairs just as well with a terrific voice cast across the board helping to sell the believability of the characters. Meanwhile, the game’s music and sound effects do a nice job of enhancing the mood, be it quiet contemplation, tense anticipation, or outright fear.

When there is no more room in hell… Wait. Wrong series. Never mind.

If future episodes of The Walking Dead can match or even exceed the quality of Episode 1, the series might just end up being Telltale’s best game to date (thought my personal favorite will likely remain either Monkey Island or the last Sam and Max series just because of my own sensibilities). There has been doubt for some time whether or not the company could truly make the transition to darker and/or more serious fare and Jurassic Park did nothing to settle these concerns. Thankfully then, The Walking Dead proves once and for all that Telltale can do far more than just make people laugh. This is a game that will go over equally well with people who are massive fans of the property (be they comic readers, show watchers, or both) and complete newbies alike. Episode 1 works well as an enjoyable two to three hours in and of itself but it is the game’s Mass Effect/Dragon Age like approach to choice that remains its most intriguing element. The end of the world may have come in the universe of The Walking Dead, but the game itself is nothing less than a terrific start to what promises to be a superb series. Run, don’t walk, and get yourself a copy of this game as soon as possible.

A review copy of this game was provided by the game’s publisher for PC. The reviewer spent approximately five hours playing the game and completed it.

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 Review

By Shaun K.

Does the first episode in this five part episodic series succeed or is it simply time to put a bullet in the head of the whole thing and be done with it?