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The Walking Dead
Upon completion of a
certain part in Telltale’s The Walking Dead video game, I sat back and
wondered whether I had made the right choice given the options
available. I justified the actions I took over and over again, but it
still didn’t soothe my soul. Later in the day, the weight of the
decision making got to me and I blurted out to a friend “I was
responsible for someone dying!” Once they got over the initial shock of
the statement and I further elaborated that it was a video game that was
causing this guilt he shrugged off my confession and we continued our
day as normal. But that guilt stuck with me, all the way to the end of
the game and some time after. Choice and consequences are a big part of
The Walking Dead, and they are also what makes the game so special.
At the beginning of the game you are thrust into the
role of Lee Everett. Lee is currently on his way to prison, for a crime
that is not revealed straight away. Lee never ends up at prison though,
the police car driving him crashes and Lee wakes up to find the world
overrun by zombies. From here Lee meets a little girl named Clementine
and the two of them go on to join a ragtag group of survivors determined
to make it through the zombie apocalypse. Over the course of the five
episodes, the story remains impeccably well told, with each episode
containing a standalone narrative that also advances season long arcs.
Relationships between characters are believable, and people such as
Carly, Kenny, Ben, and Christa will be people you either grow to love
and trust, or people you grow to dislike depending on how you play the
game.
The main narrative thrust however, is Lee’s deepening
relationship with Clementine. Telltale must be commended here for doing
the seemingly impossible. The sidekick role is usually very troublesome,
as they either seem to be hopelessly incompetent or always in need of
saving. This goes double for when the sidekick is a child. The Walking
Dead eschews that and creates a realistic portrait of a 9 year old girl
in Clementine. Clementine is scared, who wouldn’t be? However she is
also strong, and as the game progresses caring for Clementine will
become as important as Lee’s survival.
Differently to most Zombie games, The Walking Dead
plays as a point and click adventure. There will still be moments where
you have to murder zombies in a variety of gruesome ways, but these are
mostly beside the point. Puzzles are also sprinkled throughout the game,
but none of these are particularly mind bending the way something from
Monkey Island or Sam & Max would be. The main focus in the gameplay is
that element of choice. Dialogue options are all timed, so you do not
get time to think of the best response in the situation. In addition,
there is no clear marker that one choice is inherently good, and the
other inherently evil.
Choosing dialogue mostly involves going with your
gut, and these choices will change the way other characters see you and
their trust for you. For example, revealing Lee’s past as a criminal may
be the honest thing to do, but it may also make people think twice about
trusting you. Not telling them however, runs the risk of someone finding
out themselves and the feeling of betrayal that comes with it. Some
choices may be small and effect nothing, whereas some choices may have
effects that reverberate throughout the entire season. Lives are left in
your hands, and the consequences of your actions are always felt.
On the slightly negative side, there are bugs in the
game. Glitches will randomly show up. In one playthrough I could not
progress without restarting the game due to the entire game world
flipping upside down. There have been reports of other game ending bugs,
nastier ones, but do not let that put you off. The game autosaves at
ever opportunity so no more that 10-15 minutes will ever be lost.
With each episode only taking about 2-3 hours to play
through they are the perfect length to spend an afternoon on before
moving to the next one. With all five episodes being available
immediately Australia, we do not have to subject ourselves to the
torturous wait between episodes, so the game basically begs for a season
long binge. It deserves it as well, because The Walking Dead is a great
game, one that truly pushes what can be done with a video game narrative
that cannot be done in film or TV. Just try not to feel too bad about
the choices you end up making during the game, it’s tough being the
leader in a post apocalyptic wasteland. |
