Game Review: The Walking Dead - Season 1

The Walking Dead is a well-known name in the genre of Zombie media. Starting originally as a comic book series in 2003 by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore, the franchise grew larger in popularity when AMC produced a live-action TV adaption in 2010.  By the early 2010’s, the franchise was enjoying a peak popularity like no other media franchise at the time.  With the show drawing in record viewership and the comics selling numerous issues, there wasn’t a zombie fan out there who didn’t see the appeal in the world The Walking Dead was portraying.  It only made sense then, that in the wake of that major popularity that video game adaptions would also come into the mix. With such a thematic core to its world, it was a compelling choice to take The Walking Dead’s first foray into the video game space and make a choice-based narrative adventure; even more interesting was the legacy this seemingly simple experience ended up leaving in its wake. 

Originally released in 2012 over the course of 5 episodic installments and an additional DLC episode, Season 1 of The Walking Dead Game was developed and published by Telltale Games.  At the time, Telltale Games was known mostly for their interpretations of Sam and Max and Tales from Monkey Island.  Originally formed by former alumni from LucasArts, the point and click formula that defined so many of their older games is ingrained in the DNA of all of Telltale’s games.  In The Walking Dead’s case, that formula was still present, but a far greater emphasis was placed on the narrative core of the experience.  Like the comics and television show that came before it, narrative storytelling was a large factor to why The Walking Dead was so well-loved.  Telltale Games clearly didn’t want to lose sight of that core quality and designed the game in a way to emulate its televised predecessor.  The episodic format and emphasis on a choice-based narrative won a lot of people over and the eventual success of Season 1 brought Telltale a plethora of awards and recognition that would see them projected into the mainstream. It’s important to reflect however and consider if that success was warranted, that’s why I was eager to replay all of Season 1 and confirm if the legacy this game created was still worthy all these years later. 

The plot of Season 1 is centered around central character Lee Everett.  On his way to jail for a tragic murder, the ex-university professor gets a darkly ironic bit of luck when his cop escort ends up crashing off the highway in the very start of the Walker outbreak.  By chance, Lee meets a little girl by the name of Clementine who we learn has been living on her own after the outbreak started due to her parents being stuck in Savannah, Georgia.  Promising to look after Clementine, Lee ends up coming into contact with a group of survivors in his home town of Macon.  After a close fight to escape the town, Lee and his fellow survivor group take up residence in a nearby motel as they seek to navigate a new and dangerous world they can barley recognize.  As the season progress, the stakes for Lee and Clementine grow even more dire as their group is faced with a number of dangers and betrayals which will require the pair to form a closer bond as Lee gets a second chance and becomes a parental figure for Clementine and protect her from the dangers that lay ahead.

The core narrative is why I hold Season 1 of The Walking Dead with such high regard.  Every single episode of this season utilizes a smart set up while using its foundation to progress the incredibly intimate story between Lee and Clementine.  The relationship that these two characters share, has and always will be one of the best video game pairings of the modern era.  Lee as the player character has the ability to be played and tailored how you desire when it comes to personality, but the key element that shines through is his need to protect young Clementine from the dangers of the new world they live in. Clementine in return, serves as a bright and innocent anchor that helps keep the player grounded in their fight for survival.  Their parental relationship defines the very core of the season and it’s a testament the timeless legacy this game so easily established.  On top of the relationship between Lee and Clementine, what helps this Season’s story define itself so well is the scenarios each episode pits you in and the further means of defining your relationship with the extended cast of survivors.  Every character in the first season feels really well defined, to a point that you feel a great sense of weight when you say or do something that may change the relationship you have with them. Despite the different scenarios you will face, the fact a lot of these key characters remain a part of the progressing story helps add even more to the stakes and tensions you face.

What helps tailor and define the narrative experience is of course the gameplay behind it.  From a narrative perspective, the biggest gameplay element is the dialogue and choice system.  You have the ability to choose what Lee can say in response to interactions with characters, and the dialogue you can choose will be remembered and brought back up in some way or form later down the line.  The ability for dialogue to define your relationship with these characters on such an intimate level is groundbreaking even now, let alone back in the pre-gen days of 2012. On top of the layered dialogue system is the choice system. Throughout the course of the season, Lee will face intense and morally ambiguous moments where he will be forced to make a key decision.  This decision for example can be between saving one life or the other, or siding with one person or the other.  These key decision moments serve as a branching point which your game will split off into its own variation depending on the choice you make. While you can argue Telltales choice-based system is more surface-level than anything, I feel in Season 1 a lot of the key choices you make DO matter and weigh into the narrative right into its final moments. That ability to individually define your experience to that of other players is an ultimately rewarding feature that adds a lot of replayability to the game.

The other gameplay formats the game utilizes is the titular point and click format.  The player will have full control of Lee’s movements as he explores a collection of highly detailed environments.  When you’re not in dialogue sections, the game will ask you to think logically and attempt to overcome a number of established puzzles littered throughout the episode.  Stuff you interact with and pick up, can be used in other sections and it invites a nice level of logical deduction to your experience to consider how you might overcome certain scenarios.  I think time has dated the control scheme a little bit and I’d be lying if I said some of the puzzles weren’t a bit simple but I think these gameplay segments don’t last nearly as long to devalue the core experience. What I also appreciate is the game’s ability to shift up the perspective and play style as the episodes progress, it’s obviously limited in its creative scope but the variation is much appreciated in any case.

Part of the Telltale Game iconography is its visual style.  Like all of its modern titles, Season 1 of The Walking Dead utilizes a cell-shaded art stye for its overall design. This is a smart choice when you consider its original intent is to inherit and emulate the comic-book stylings of the original source material. The cell shaded look helps the game’s artistical style stay consistent and remain timeless in the ever-evolving world of video game graphics.  The use of color and expression is also duly noted in the game’s overall impression with its environments and characters. Jared Emerson-Johnson also deserves major praise for his contribution to the game’s original soundtrack.  His compositions are arguably the life and soul and serve as a big part of the games emotional impact; Alive Inside will always remain in my Top 100 video game tracks.

I’m happy to confirm time has not eroded any element of the original legacy behind Season 1 of The Walking Dead Game. I never would have thought all those years ago when I first downloaded this game that this game would become as big as it did.  Not only did it deliver an emotionally charged narrative experience, but it defined a whole genre unto itself.  It cemented a core legacy that cannot be blemished, come to think of it; I truly owe a lot to this game.  I genuinely feel I wouldn’t be the person I am today or have the relationships I have with some truly amazing people if it wasn’t for this game. I know that may sound rather sappy, but it’s true.  I owe a lot to this game and the legacy it established and for that reason I will always consider this game as one of the very best.