Review

The Wolf Among Us Episode 2: Smoke & Mirrors

It’s been four months since I had the pleasure of reviewing the first episode of Wolf Among Us. If you haven’t read my review for “Faith” (and you should), the gist of the game’s overall quality was that it lived up to the caliber of work we’ve come to know from Telltale Games in some places and raised the bar in others. The second episode, Smoke & Mirrors aimed to continue this trend, offering up an even darker look into the world of Fables!

The first episode ended on a cliff hanger; another murder was committed, another head was found. Smoke & Mirrors picks up right after this gruesome discovery. Bigby, due to his close relationship with the recently deceased, seems to be worse for wears. Knowing that he can’t let his emotions get the best of him due to his reputation of being the big bad wolf, he carries on with his investigation as best he can. Regardless what he (the player) does though, things get more complicated as more Fables learn about the latest killing.

What’s really interesting about this episode, besides the mystery itself, is how it is much more streamlined than the first one. This can be seen in multiple areas of the game. For instance, the story in this episode unwinds in a way that made it easier to be negative – as if I was being pushed towards using more violent means of getting answers (not surprising considering Bigby’s personal ties to the case). I’m sure the writers wanted players to feel a sense of urgency; not only to solve the case before someone else is murdered but also to seek justice for Bigby’s dead friend. This is at least how I began to feel; I wanted to get to the bottom of what was going on and at the same time, didn’t appreciate any hostility from others concerning how I went about my job. That said, I was still able to keep my cool. Telltale made sure to temper these negative responses with options to the contrary. Instead of destroying a seedy night club owned by an uncooperative suspect or threating someone who tried to interfere with the case, I was able to “talk” my way through tough situations.

What this precarious combination of aggravating situations and optional pacifism showed me was that Telltale was still able to get into my head. The story was skewed in such a way, that it made it easier for me to empathize with the main character. At the same time, they still allowed for personal choice. I was able to move through the story the way I felt Bigby should as opposed to being put on rails. Of course, the story will still conclude how the developers chose. Nevertheless, I felt as if I was actually making a difference or at the very least, changing the world’s perspective on the main character.

When it came to gameplay, certain elements were toned down in favor of others. There aren’t as many fights, chase sequences, or branching paths this time around. This wasn’t a bad thing either as it made certain events more meaningful. When the fists finally start flying, it’s for a good reason – not just to pad the experience with more action. Not to say that was the case with the first episode. Just that the developers didn’t try to up the ante for the sake of a “sequel”. As far as the branching paths, are there any events that allow for dramatic changes to the story? No, in this episode the happenings are more intimate in nature. Being nice when talking to a kid who happened to see the victim’s body or loosening a suspect’s cuffs during an interrogation are the types of decisions you’ll be faced with. However, characters will still remember what you do, so don’t think these smaller moments aren’t important.

I guess what I got from this episode was that it was more realistic in terms of emotional driven characters; I was able to better identify with the Bigby and what he may or may not have wanted to do this time around. At the same time, Telltale didn’t take control away from the player. I was never exclusively given seemingly negative (or positive) options to choose from. Not only that, but things moved faster as there was a greater sense of urgency. Sure, there wasn’t as much on the action side of things. Which, one could argue that this meant less overall gameplay. And due to the fact it seemed to take forever for this episode to be released, players who quickly completed it might have felt a little cheated. I see it as a quality vs quantity – when action was incorporated it was way more entertaining than having multiple QTE’s sprinkled here and there for the sake of providing “more gameplay”.

My only concern was that this episode did seem to let certain cats out of the bag a bit early. I didn’t expect to find out who did what and why as quickly as I did. Based on how Smoke & Mirrors ended, there doesn’t appear to be a reason to prolong the narrative past another episode. This could be a red herring though; since it is so early in the season, there has to be more to the mystery. Whatever the case may be, I’ll be eagerly awaiting my chance to once again don wolf’s clothing!