The Walking Dead is a remarkable experience, simply put. With it’s incredibly well voiced characters to the deep impacts in the story you can create, The Walking Dead deserves to be considered in the top echelon of PlayStation Network titles.
TellTale Games have brought something to gaming that is revolutionary which is the story and even though the main premise of The Walking Dead is about escaping a zombie outbreak, the characters themselves are more of a threat. You play as Lee Everett, a man who was charged with murder and was on his way to jail the driver crashes the car. Lee makes it out alive but now he finds himself in a world with very little future and people with fear. With fear comes distress, and with distress comes unreasonable decisions from the people of the world. As Lee Everett, you will resolve many problems along the way and many hard decisions will be laid in your wake as you try to escape the zombie apocalypse. Plus, the main protagonist looks after a girl named Clementine who has been separated from her parents and throughout the story, she is the one you will want to protect the most as she grows up in this inhospitable world. Will you kill someone to save the people you love like Clementine? That’s a question that arises in the game constantly and this concurrent theme during the narrative is what makes The Walking Dead stand out. As a result, you will feel the tension and become emotionally attached to the characters in the game.
The characters and the story of The Walking Dead are not the only parts of the game you will become attached to as its point and click adventure mechanics really pull people into the experience. If you want fast paced action, this game is not for you. The Walking Dead features a slow methodical way of experiencing the world as you interact with objects and characters to figure out how to get to another section. The situations Lee finds himself in, are locked doors, finding clues or how to escape out of a dangerous situation. Not many games are in this style of gameplay and it is refreshing to solve a puzzle in the game. On the other hand, some puzzles are too perplexing with no clues as to how to solve a solution. This can lead to repetitive navigating revolving around one area trying to find that one item you cannot find. This takes out the immersion at points as well if there’s an imminent zombie attack incoming while you’re looking around for an item at a snail’s pace. What makes the game more interesting to this reviewer is how you interact with the characters. They will remember everything you do such as not giving them food or being on one person’s side. Also, in conversations, the amount of time you have to respond is reduced to a few seconds and your answers can affect the entire game from there on. This game, also, will have events in which you will have to do quick time events which can be good or bad in your opinion but , I found the quick time events to be incredibly nerve-racking and fun to play through. If you fail to be in time, there may be a chance of one of your favorite characters dying! Also if you fail a quick time event in a situation which only affects yourself, there is a satisfying checkpoint system which gets you back a few seconds from where you were. The Walking Dead, despite a few perplexing sections, achieves to give a rewarding puzzle gameplay with a rapid conversation system which will keep your heart racing.
Another way of TellTale Games making The Walking Dead stand out, other than its conversational mechanics, is its art and graphic design. This studio has crafted a look which took inspiration from the original graphic novels and made them 3D. This design allows the characters to express their emotions really well and the world around these well crafted characters is exceptionally detailed in terms of the buildings, signage and the devastation that the “Walkers” have caused. The Walking Dead did have some errors in presentation, however, as freezing of the game happened rarely and at one time, the camera went below the ground but TellTale Games have found a way to make their games look remarkable despite of a smaller budget.
Another aspect of the Walking Dead that this reviewer can’t knock is the game’s sound design. The soundtrack is beautifully orchestrated by Jared Emerson-Johnson feels just right for The Walking Dead as the main theme stirs a feeling of hope within a lost world. Emerson-Johnson fits the tone to the tee with the game’s narrative events and adds so much emotion to the scenes a player will witness while playing through the game. Also the sound effects, this reviewer argued during our Game of the Year session, was the main reason why this game should have won “Best Sound Design” as it creates so much tension within even the loading screens. In addition to that, the voice acting is some of the best in the industry by far as their remarkable talent stirs your emotions to the highest they will ever be in gaming. There are a few hiccups such as cutting out some of the voices as the game loads but overall, the sound is incredible from an independent developer.
The Walking Dead is split up into five episodes which are around 2-3 hours each; this is fantastic for an indie game and it’s also at a low price of $24.99 giving you great value! Plus, you will be able to go back and alter decisions, changing how the story goes along, which creates more replayability. However, there are no trophies for inspiring you to go back as each player receives a platinum trophy for finishing the game.
TellTale Games’ recent interpretation of The Walking Dead series shines with a gripping narrative, a rewarding (but sometimes frustrating) point and click gameplay mechanic, immersive sound design, and remarkable graphics. In conclusion, this title is definitely worthy of the praise it has received and PlayStation Euphoria as well would recommend The Walking Dead to anyone who wants to try something new or is a fan of point and click gameplay.
9.0/10
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