Two years ago Telltale Games announced an agreement with Warner Brothers to develop two video game series based on their comic properties. One was the massively popular The Walking Dead. Everyone knows that The Walking Dead went on to win several game of the year awards and ended up being a turning point in Telltale’s game development career. Sure, they had been making episodic games for years to minimal success and praise, but The Walking Dead truly was what put them on the map. The other game that was announced was a game based on the Vertigo comic Fables.
Fables, not having nearly as much brand recognition as The Walking Dead kinda got swept under the rug. It’s delay didn’t help much either. That’s Fables game, is finally out under the name The Wolf Among Us. Having never read any of the Fables comics I was unsure of what to expect out of the game. I expected it to play like the other Telltale games but I wasn’t sure if I would like the source material, and to be honest I’m still not sure if I’m a fan of that source material.
The Wolf Among Us brings together many classic fairy tale characters in the setting of New York. A quick explanation at the beginning of the game explains how it all the characters ended up in New York, but much like the dream surfing equipment in the film Inception, it’s not really explained that well. The audience is asked to just go with it. I don’t know if that comes from the comics or if it is a product of this game, but I respect a storyteller’s ability to not sweat the details. The premise is remarkably close to that of the TV show Once Upon a Time.
Unlike The Walking Dead, this game is not a horror title. It is Telltale’s best attempt at making a super serious murder mystery game. While a lot of the things will seem very familiar like the gameplay and art style, the characters and the tone are very different. The Walking Dead, was very drab and hopeless, and The Wolf Among Us is much more bold and striking in its presentation. That’s not saying it’s better its just a sign that the developer knows the way to a properly position their stories.
You play as a human version of the Big Bad Wolf, or as he is known by the other characters, “Bigby.” The characters seem to be aware of their previous lives as Fable characters, but them being stuck in New York creates social issues that may or may not mirror those of normal people. Bigby is the sheriff in charge of keeping order in the designated Fable town of New York. The player will recognize many of the characters immediately while others will need some introduction. This is an interesting approach as it creates a false sense of buy in to the story.
Character’s Like Ichabod Crane and Snow White are introduced fairly quickly, but since none of the characters are really in their familiar scenarios much of the novelty of them being included is only skin deep. Unless the story ends up tying directly into the old fairy tale world the inclusion of all of these familiar characters just seems like a series of gimmicky non-sequiturs.
Having previously played The Walking Dead on Xbox 360 I was used to playing this style of game with a game pad. I started playing The Wolf Among Us with a keyboard and mouse and quickly switched to a game pad, or in my case, a 360 controller connected to my PC. I strongly suggest this game we played with a game pad as the controls with the keyboard and mouse or rather erratic.
So, Is it good? Hell yes! Telltale learned a lot making The Walking Dead and it really shows in this new game. They have gotten better at building an environment and immersing the player in the story. The murder mystery grabs you immediately and towards the end pays off in a big way. Naturally chapter one ends on a huge cliffhanger to get you to come back for more.
Should you play it? It really depends on whether you like Telltales games or not. This is very much a point and click adventure and if you liked The Walking Dead play The Wolf Among Us immediately. This first chapter is a strong start to what is hopefully a strong series.
Verdict: It’s Solid, very Solid but you may want to wait until other episodes are out and confirmed to be good before diving in.
