Game Review: The Walking Dead

In 2012, The Walking Dead: Season One was released as an episodic extension on The Walking Dead television universe based on The Walking Dead comic series. In the game you are introduced to the story in medias res style right before the start of the zombie apocalypse as a middle aged Black Male protagonist named Lee who is, for unknown reasons, hand cuffed in the back of a state trooper car. Lee is being driven to a prison while the officer is talking about past trips of convicts pleading their innocence. While talking with the officer your character is given the choice between various responses including staying silent. During this conversation the officer becomes increasingly distracted of the interstate in front of him and collides with a walker, unknown to the officer or Lee. The car veers off the road launching the officer from the vehicle and leaving Lee restrained in the back seat. At this point you now gain full control of Lee being tasked with escaping the destroyed vehicle and checking on the well-being of the officer. After discovering the officer was dead Lee frees himself from the cuffs while the officer turns presenting Lee and the player with their first real encounter with a walker.

After surviving the walker attack Lee wanders into a nearby neighborhood to look for others and supplies. In doing so Lee searches a seemingly deserted house with traces of family pictures and a voice message. After listening to a voice message intended for the young daughter of the family, Clementine, you discover that the dead are rising everywhere, and Clementine is left without any supervision. From this point on you are now tasked with the safety of Clementine and yourself.

The structure of this game is very different from others in the zombie genre and the television series. While most zombie games focus on violence and the use of first person perspective, the telltale adaptation of The Walking Dead uses moral decisions and relationship building to drive the story. In this game words are your best weapons to survive in a world where the living can be more dangerous than the walking dead. While there are plentiful action scenes the outcome of these events can be decided based on your relationships with those in your current group. Throughout the story you are faced with many decisions that might have equally negative outcomes for yourself or the group making it difficult to complete a perfect run of the game.

Overall the episodic nature of the game forces the player to question their decisions during the months until the next episode is released. Not only this, but the wait may also affect the decisions that the player chooses to make because they may not remember all the details of months prior just their general feelings towards certain characters. The game also employs a nontraditional art style that resembles a comic which is rarely paired with violence and gore in the way that it is utilized by The Walking Dead. Instead of having full freedom to fight in games such as Dark Souls you must rely on quick decision making through object interactions and quick time events. Due to this lack of freedom the player is constantly on edge as to whether their decisions may deem fatal or make for less ideal situations in future episodes.

The Game was very well received even by those who were not fans of the television series. This game is often likened to adventure games from the mid-1990s earning it awards in “Best Narrative”, “Outstanding Achievement in Story”, and “Best Performance by a Human Female” for the performance of Clementine.