Game Discussion of The Week: The Walking Dead Season 1

Make Suggestions Good Again

I played the first episode because it was free, than I watched the rest.
Contrary to popular opinion, I don't think the Walking Dead Telltale series descended in quality as sharply... To me the first entry wasn't a good game, and most other point-and-click adventure games in existence may have done a better job than it did.

I've just started replaying this. From my first time playing, I thought it was fucking awesome. The story and the choices were so well written. Now after replaying it, my view has totally changed. The characters are all still great and I like the story. However, the choices you make don't make any difference in the end. No matter how hard you try to change the outcome from your previous playthrough, the same things happen. All characters deaths are predetermined (you might save them for another 10 minutes, but what's the point). Also, the gameplay was never that good, but now it only feels like a chore. Point-and-Click games aren't for me, and I wish there was some way to skip puzzles since I already know how to solve them. It's "QTE the Game".

I'll give it 3/5 solely for the reason that the first playthrough was so captivating. There is virtually no replay value to be found here. Has anyone else completed it?

It might as well have been part of the show. But the writing is at least better in the game than in the real show. In the real show they follow a strict formula ever since S1 which is: Being on the road, finding a new home, there's a natural enemy like a herd of Zombies or a broken perimeter, they find a group of bad people, they kill that group but their home is now destroyed in the process. Cue next season and restart the formula.

I remember this game getting a lot of attention, but I never checked it out myself because I don't watch Walking Dead. I don't mind a story based game, so long as the gameplay doesn't take a backseat. QTEs are a nonstarter for me.

It wasn't bad, but definitely not something I would ever 'play' again. I enjoyed the story but the interactive elements were superficial and poorly done(had the game freeze on me several times during zombie heavy moments or turn into a slide show). After this one I did play through Wolf Among Us about a year or two later and haven't touched a Telltale game since. I told myself a few times I'd play TWD season 2 but never did. I think 3/5 is about right, I did enjoy the story and characters enough to finish it. And the ending was good as it was, I don't feel like I'm missing much if it ends there.