Review

Developed by:Telltale Games Published by:Telltale Games Genre(s):
  • Adventure
  • Platform:
  • Handhelds
  • Microsoft
  • PC
  • Sony
  • Cost:$24.99 (For Full Season) ESRB Rating:MATURE Players:1 Release date:October 11, 2013 Reviewed on:PC
    9.2

    The Wolf Among Us Episode 1: Faith

    Telltale Games has made a reputation of making great adventure games based on popular media. Their biggest triumph came in the form of their award-winning Walking Dead series, selling over 8.5 million episodes. Of course, this level of success easily casts a shadow over Telltale’s newest series The Wolf Among Us. Obviously there was a lot of pressure to live up to their previous work. While I can’t say for certain how well this new series will do as a whole, the first episode has certainly piqued my interest!

    The Wolf Among Us is based on the acclaimed comic book series, Fables created by Bill Willingham. Now, before going further, I’d like to point out that I haven’t read any of the Fables comics. And if you’re like me, you may be wondering if The Wolf Among Us is worth playing. Well, Telltale made sure to make this game as approachable as possible; not only is this game official canon in the ongoing Fable universe but also takes place twenty years before the events of the first comic. Meaning, it’s the perfect starting point for those who are new to the series.

    The basic premise for Fables revolves around the lives of fairy tale characters that have been banished from their world by The Adversary, forcing them to live in ours. In order to function without attracting unwanted attention from mundies (short for mundane, a word for humans) they formed a secret community in New York City called Fabletown. It’s policed by high ranking Fables such as the bureaucrat Snow White and the reformed Big Bad Wolf, Bigby.

    Of course, this would leads to social and political conflict; seeing Bigby become the sheriff might not sit well with the three little pigs, for instance. Fables who were lucky enough to retain their wealth after being exiled or who’ve joined up with their makeshift government live in better conditions than everyone else. The lower classes aren’t treated with the same level of respect as the elite. Then there is the fact that they have to follow rules that may or may not benefit them. Many have to work hard just to afford the expensive glamour spells (making them look human) to avoid being sent to the Farm, a place far away from mundies. There is a lack of trust but an abundance of tension. Something bad was bound to happen eventually.

    The game’s narrative focuses on Bigby as he struggles with keeping order in all manner of the word. At the start of the game, we find that he has been called to address a disturbance at an apartment complex run by Mr. Toad (from The Wind in the Willows). Apparently there was a domestic dispute going on between two Fables. After a brief altercation involving an axe, everyone goes about their business – surprisingly this wasn’t anything out of the norm for Fabletown. What happens hours later however is another story. A Fable is brutally murdered and their remains are handled in a peculiar manner. This is shocking on several levels. One being that Fables have a resiliency that’s based on the popularity of their stories; a well-known fairy tale character would be able to survive injuries that would kill a human twice over. Even if they aren’t popular, they’re still hard to kill making a murder even less plausible. Stanger still, the killer seemed to want Bigby to find the remains. Everyone knows that there are serious consequences for this type of thing. So who’d want to murder a Fable and then blatantly notify the authorities?

    As Bigby, your job is to find out what’s going on while keeping a low profile. The last thing anyone wants is panicking in the streets and worse, the humans finding that Fables exist. Unfortunately this means shaking down some of the less desirable members of the community, possibly hurting your image. Playing “bad cop” is far from what is expected from a truly reformed big, bad wolf. This brings me to the game’s mechanics. If you’ve played Telltale’s past comic inspired game, you’ll know what to expect on a basic level. Everything you do and say will have lasting effects spanning the series. Characters will remember what you’ve done, form their own opinions, and treat you accordingly. This makes it tough being Bigby; he is constantly balancing the need to use aggressive fact-gathering tactics and the desire to be a reformed individual in the eyes of the community he has sworn to protect. What quickly became apparent was that you can’t please everyone. There isn’t a moral right or wrong, just a sea of greys and at the end of the day, someone isn’t going to like what you’re doing. Basically, it’s realistic in nature.

    The realism seeps into the puzzle elements as well. Telltale doesn’t treat them like puzzles in that you aren’t searching for an item to use on a door or trying to figure out some intricate riddle to move the story forward. There were items that to collect but their inclusion seemed optional, at least in this episode. Most of the time, you’ll investigate crime scenes by combing the environment for clues. Although you get to decide how much digging to do, finding more evidence makes it easier to catch someone in a lie or rule out certain suspects. That said, the game will still go on even if you aren’t a super sleuth. There is an overwhelming feeling of control in these parts of the game. In other words, I like what Telltale did here!

    Adding to this are more dramatic segments where you have to make a choice on where to go or who to pursue. Time will move on no matter what you pick and you can’t be in two places at once; these situations will haunt most players as the possible consequences of making a decision one way or another is painfully obvious. The fact that these moments are so unpleasant, causing me to second guess my choices, is a testament to the game’s well written narrative. One of the things I didn’t like though was the flow of certain conversations, a complaint I had with The Walking Dead. Answering characters quickly to avoid a silent response seems to cut them off mid-sentence. Also, some of the responses available to you could be misleading at times; Bigby would say more than I bargained for, resulting in an undesired effect. A minor complaint as this didn’t happen very often and there were enough instances to curve a character’s view of you, even if tempers flared. It’s handled better than in the Walking Dead but I feel it still should be noted.

    Gameplay did include more than searching crime scenes and questioning suspects, there were also quick action segments. Compared to previous titles, Telltale has improved the game mechanics here as well. You don’t have to be precise with your clicks anymore. As long as the curser in the hotspot area you’ll perform the required action when left clicking. This makes it easier to participate in fights when you first encounter them. The Wolf Among Us also features more streamlined QTEs (quick timed events). Though I dislike them as a game mechanic, they were utilized well here; they don’t get in the way of the onscreen action and provide ample reaction time. For instance, one QTE involved Bigby choosing where to throw an enemy after securing them in a headlock. After viewing different objects in a room, and picking one, Bigby will run them into it. This element added something visceral, making Bigby seem like a force to be reckoned with, even if your opponent is bigger than he is.

    Visually The Wolf Among Us is a treat. It has the comic book styling’s introduced in The Walking Dead but with bolder strokes, featuring a vibrant color pallet meshed with light film noir aesthetics. I cannot say that the graphics are necessarily better than that of previous Telltale titles, but they do have a different vibe that complements this new world. The voice work is top notch as well. Though there’s no little child to win me over, I still cared about some of characters because of how real they all seemed (ironic seeing as how they are all fairy tale characters). The same appreciation can be displayed towards characters who got on my nerves. The fact that they could get under my skin, again goes back to the good writing and acting.

    What I love about Telltale is that they don’t just copy and paste what’s found in the comic books. With the Wolf Among Us, they’ve managed to create something special while still prioritizing Bill Willingham’s vision for the comics. And sure, that may be jumping the gun but I doubt they’ll drop the ball later in the series. The writing, voice acting, graphics, and gameplay are all great in their own right. What we’re witnessing here is the start of another blockbuster series. Will it ultimately be more successful than the Walking Dead? Well, there’s no TV show feeding the hype train. That said, I’d imagine that anyone who fell in love with Telltale’s hit series last year will have a deep desire to experience The Wolf Among Us, whether you have a history with Fables or not!

    Gameplay:

    10

    So far, the gameplay holds up to the well written story. Hopefully, it won’t be pushed to the side in the later episodes like in the Walking Dead.

    Graphics:

    10

    I love the pastel colors and heavy lines representing the strokes of the artist’s pencil.

    Sound:

    10

    Great voice acting; convincing enough for me to relate to many of the characters.

    What's New:

    9

    The improved action segments and decision-based gameplay fits the series well!

    Gameplay:

    7

    There is a yearning to replay this episode to see what happens if I make different decisions. At the same time, the fact that each episode builds off of your save files makes me not want to go back until I’ve seen everything through to the end.

    Final Score:

    9.2

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