I mean, The Walking Dead was one of Telltale's most enduring properties for a reason. Part of that is the source material (of which I'm actually pretty unfamiliar, outside this game and discourse surrounding the TV show), but it says a lot about the strength of the writing that major characters like Lee, Clementine, Kenny, Ben, and so on ended up being so memorable (and well-acted!) despite being created for the game. I would argue that these characters are more memorable for what they do than who they are - Kenny being the main counterpoint, but compare him with Duck and Katjaa - but the game is great at scenario writing, and that's all the more important for what The Walking Dead is going for.
Yes, it's been said before that for as much stock as the game puts in emphasizing "So-and-So will remember that...", the overall plot structure is pretty linear. I didn't play much of Telltale's late-run games, so I'm not sure if this is an issue that ever gets addressed. But I get and accept it as it is in its continuum. Telltale was formed by ex-LucasArts creatives, whose adventure games featured few game over scenarios as a counterpoint to early Sierra's harsh difficulty curves and easy-to-softlock puzzles. The Walking Dead isn't the first of its style from Telltale - Jurassic Park preceded it - but it's clearly a bold new take on their approach to adventure games previously driven by the Sam & Max template. Telltale is effectively reintroducing deaths and bad endings to their take on the genre here, the means by which they choose to do so being the illusion of depth and choice. For an initial attempt, I'll allow some leeway.
And for what it matters, Telltale nails this game design's thesis statement with Lee's encounter with The Stranger in the final episode. I hope this is a device Telltale employed more in their other games, because that moment of forced introspection, as well as the player's freedom to repent or double down on decisions made, does a LOT to wrap up the ludonarrative.
The Walking Dead has been made available on just about every platform since its release, but getting it bundled with my Vita made for a GREAT experience - both a pleasant surprise and a fun exercise to wander around my little studio apartment while mulling over or reeling from decisions. It's genuinely hard for me to imagine playing it on any other system, and part of why I haven't played Season 3 despite owning it is because it didn't get a Vita port. Nice while it lasted.
For maximum effect, I recommend playing each episode a week apart. Really sells the TV show vibe Telltale went for with the episodic releases.
Yes, it's been said before that for as much stock as the game puts in emphasizing "So-and-So will remember that...", the overall plot structure is pretty linear. I didn't play much of Telltale's late-run games, so I'm not sure if this is an issue that ever gets addressed. But I get and accept it as it is in its continuum. Telltale was formed by ex-LucasArts creatives, whose adventure games featured few game over scenarios as a counterpoint to early Sierra's harsh difficulty curves and easy-to-softlock puzzles. The Walking Dead isn't the first of its style from Telltale - Jurassic Park preceded it - but it's clearly a bold new take on their approach to adventure games previously driven by the Sam & Max template. Telltale is effectively reintroducing deaths and bad endings to their take on the genre here, the means by which they choose to do so being the illusion of depth and choice. For an initial attempt, I'll allow some leeway.
And for what it matters, Telltale nails this game design's thesis statement with Lee's encounter with The Stranger in the final episode. I hope this is a device Telltale employed more in their other games, because that moment of forced introspection, as well as the player's freedom to repent or double down on decisions made, does a LOT to wrap up the ludonarrative.
The Walking Dead has been made available on just about every platform since its release, but getting it bundled with my Vita made for a GREAT experience - both a pleasant surprise and a fun exercise to wander around my little studio apartment while mulling over or reeling from decisions. It's genuinely hard for me to imagine playing it on any other system, and part of why I haven't played Season 3 despite owning it is because it didn't get a Vita port. Nice while it lasted.
For maximum effect, I recommend playing each episode a week apart. Really sells the TV show vibe Telltale went for with the episodic releases.