The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode One: In Too Deep (Video Game)
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Telltale Games
Available on PC, PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS
Rated M for Mature
In 2012, Telltale Games rocked the world with the release of The Walking Dead adventure game. In the span of just five episodes, they changed the video game landscape permanently, and rocketed themselves into stardom. It didn’t just piggyback off of the success of the wildly popular show and comic book series, but created a new and deeply engrossing story worthy of the title. It broke the rule of licensed games being cheap cash-ins, and was well worth the dozens of Game of the Year titles it earned. It’s as unmissable as the show or comic for fans.
While Telltale grew by magnitudes in fame and budget, they never lost their soul. They have stuck to the episodic, budget priced, incredible quality product. They have refused to succumb to price inflation, and their quality has only gone up with the increased scope of their titles. Last year’s Tales from the Borderlands is one of the funniest games I’ve ever played, and the second season of The Walking Dead adventure game managed to take an already incredible story to new heights.
Until now, their stories have been separate from the main plot. It’s in the same universe as the comic books, but Lee and Clem were generally far removed from Rick and his band of survivors (save for some brief cameos). With The Walking Dead: Michonne, Telltale has a shot at supplementing the main storyline of the comic book series. It’s a huge opportunity for an already legendary studio.
Fans of the comic will remember that for a brief period after the defeat of The Saviors, Michonne goes off on her own. While we get some hints as to her motivations, we never really see what happened to her during this time. Enter The Walking Dead: Michonne. Starting right after she leaves, this miniseries will follow her exploits with a different band of survivors aboard the ship “The Companion.”
We’re on a boat aaaand, it’s going… kind of depressingly.
Episode One, “In Too Deep,” sets the tone at a much faster pace right off the bat. The game opens with a pursued Michonne fending off a group of zombies, flashing between present day and a hallucination of an apartment during the outbreak. After a number of quicktime events prompt you to slice and slash your way to victory, your very first choice is whether or not you try to shoot yourself in the head. They only have three episodes to tell this story, no time to pussyfoot around!
I won’t go through all of the plot points, since that’s most of the fun that comes out of these games. Overall, this episode feels much more brutal. It’s closer to the 400 Days supplemental episode than either Season One or Two. It makes sense, since at this point in the series no one should be a stranger to killing both zombies and other people. Michonne is a well established badass action chick, so the zombies here are more spectacle and plot device than actual threat.
Less cowering in terror, more head slicing.
The Walking Dead game series is no stranger to death and torture, so it’s not an out of place level of violence. It feels natural for the spot in the timeline. It doesn’t sacrifice the narrative action, though it does feel a bit rushed. We’re asked to decide the fates of characters we know little about, and I just wasn’t as invested in the cast. The trademark Telltale brand of uncompromising storytelling is still in full effect here, so don’t take this as a big complaint. It’s still miles above most video game narratives, just a couple paces behind the other seasons.
Although, it does offer up some pretty good “WTF” mystery moments.
If I were to point out a shortcoming, it’s the limitations inherent in working with an established character. Michonne has been around the comic book and show from near the start, and we already have a pretty good sense of who she is. The game follows the signature “choose your own adventure” format, but some of the dialogue options seem a bit out of place. Michonne is a stoic hardass, but not without heart, and they do an admirable job of towing this line. This is also the only The Walking Dead game I’ve felt that staying silent was a valid option, and that’s mostly due to her character. It gets in the way a bit of making your own story, but perhaps that was intentional. I don’t like it as much, but it is Michonne’s story after all.
This is only the first episode, but if “In Too Deep” is an indicator of what’s to come, it will be a story worthy of the comic book canon. I don’t think it’s as good as either of the previous episodes, but those are as close to perfect as I’d ever be willing to call a game. I liked this episode, but I’ve been stung before by episodic games, so I’m not willing to call this great just yet. What it is is a great start.
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Game
Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
