Geek Kingdom: The Walking Dead Telltale Game

Liam Lavoie

My name is Liam Lavoie, and I’m here to bring you another issue of…

GEEK KINGDOM!

It has been 20 years since the release of the first issue of The Walking Dead and since then it has been engraven in modern pop culture as the definitive zombie apocalypse series. The show has garnered a massive following, with a whole host of media spin offs including a comic, a TV show, novels, and especially video games. With the popularity of games such as The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners for VR headsets, it’s time to take a look back at one of the first video game adaptations of the series, The Walking Dead Telltale Series.

What is the game about?

In this game, you play as Lee Everett, a convict who is being driven to prison. Unfortunately (or, fortunately if you're in Lee’s shoes), the police car crashes and Lee is thrust into a world where the dead have risen and are devouring the living. After escaping from the wreck and hiding from a horde of zombies, Lee must take care of a lost girl named Clementine and find her parents, all while dealing with bandits, drama and shocking revelations.

What’s the gameplay like?

Games made by Telltale have a very unique style of gameplay which happens to be less focused on action, and more focused on story, though there is plenty of excitement during the fight scenes. Most of the gameplay revolves around making dialogue choices during cutscenes. Every choice you make during these cutscenes will affect the story of the game. It decides who lives, who dies, how survivors think of you, and how Lee and the gang will deal with the problems they face during their fight for survival. Along with this, you will also be fighting zombies and other, not so friendly survivors, solving puzzles and making difficult choices.


How are the sound and graphics?

The graphics in the game are stylized and cell-shaded, going for a realistic-yet cartoony style, making the characters and environments feel right at home in a comic book. While the graphics are beautiful, the character models can be very janky, moving awkwardly when the camera changes, feeling very strange and unnatural. Fortunately, the soundtrack is incredible, fitting right into the creepy, desolate atmosphere of the show with tense action music and slow, unsettling guitar tunes.

What is the cost?

Though this game has been out for over a decade now, it still has a price range of $19.99 to $29.99 per season (which contains 5 episodes, totaling for around 10 hours of content), with all 5 seasons being bundled in a single definitive edition for $56.99. While this price is a little steep for a game that’s sort of “hands off” in terms of gameplay, with the quality of the story, and the over 40 hours of content, it’s sure to keep you busy for quite a while!

The verdict…

The Walking Dead has been one of the best gaming experiences I've had. Though the gameplay is very different from what is prevalent in the market today, it has the ability to suck you right into the story, getting you truly invested in the characters and their struggles. Now, I have only played the first season of the game for this review, and there are 3 other seasons, including 2 DLC episodes, but from what I’ve seen in this first season has absolutely astounded me.

VERDICT: 8.5/10

I hope you had a fun time reading this, and consider playing this one of a kind game. I’m Liam Lavoie, and this is the end of today’s issue of…


GEEK KINGDOM!

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