The Walking Dead:
The Final Season
TIME TO BREAK OUT THE TISSUES! THE END IS HERE FRASER GILBERT
PUBLISHER TELLTALE GAMES, SKYBOUND GAMES / DEVELOPER TELLTALE GAMES, SKYBOUND GAMES / RELEASE DATE XBOX ONE / COST £19.19/$19.99
is that control has now reverted to
Clementine. She’s the main playable
character this time around, and it’s a
welcome change from her previously
limited focus. The core of the story,
however, is largely centred on AJ.
He’s now a curious youngster with a
hot-headed mindset, and your goal is
to shape his personality through your
actions, ultimately influencing his
decisions as the season wears on.
It’s a bond that mirrors that of Lee
and Clementine from the first season,
and there’s clear intent to recapture
that strong emotional narrative. Even
so, it never feels overly similar due to
the differing circumstances – AJ was
born into a post-outbreak world, and
acts far less innocently. His questions
present very few right or wrong
answers from Clem’s perspective, and
that dilemma of choice only adds to
the intrigue of the season.Knock ’em dead
The enhanced Telltale Tool engine of
Batman: The Telltale Series makes its
series debut here, too, and brings withAfter seven years,
four main seasons
and whole heap
of memories, the
conclusion to Telltale
Games’ The Walking
Dead has finally arrived. This season
in particular has endured plenty
of highs and lows, with Skybound
Games stepping in to save the series
following Telltale’s closure late
last year. And through all that, it’s
overcome the odds to deliver a fitting
finale to this treasured franchise.
The Final Season showcases a
now-16-year-old Clem, following her
continued attempts to raise young
Alvin Jr amidst the harsh reality of a
post-apocalyptic world. The Richmond
area she left in A New Frontier is now
a distant memory, and Clem and AJ’s
quest for survival leads them to a
former boarding school for troubled
youths. They soon settle into their
new group, but a hostile threat places
everyone in jeopardy.
It’s typically standard fare, but the
biggest difference from A New Frontier
it some interesting new quirks. Most
notable is the season’s new graphical
approach, which boasts greater detail
for its characters and environments,
and also takes on a ‘graphic black’
visual style. It results in a slightly more
comic-like feel than A New Frontier
offered, but doesn’t deviate too
heavily from the series’ typical look.
There are minor changes to
gameplay as well, but they aren’t
much of an improvement. You still get
the QTEs and time-limited choices, but
they’re entwined with a new over-
the-shoulder camera for exploration
and some combat. It’s a good idea,
in theory - there’s a greater sense of
freedom with it, but it’s so delayed
and unresponsive that you often end
up dying through no fault of your own.
There’s still a lot to enjoy about the
tried-and-tested gameplay mechanics
of The Walking Dead, though. Each
of this season’s four episodes are
littered with tense, well-thought-out
decisions that lead to some real edge-
of-your-seat moments. And while the
action sequences remain basic inshort
cutWHAT IS IT?
The fourth and final
entry in Telltale
Games’ popular
adventure series.
WHAT’S IT LIKE?
Life Is Strange, and
pretty much all of
Telltale’s episodic
games since 2012.
WHO’S IT FOR?
Fans of the first three
seasons, or anyone
who likes a good
(mature) story.080 THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE