Game Review: The Walking Dead In Harm’s Way

Playing through The Walking Dead, I often forget the Clementine, the player character, is a little girl. That seems pretty absurd considering it’s a third person game and we’re always looking at her, but I do anyway. Quite regularly, in point of fact. That’s only possible because of the richness of the character and her stoic willingness to doing whatever it takes to survive and keep her friends alive.

What’s funny is that I’m not the only one this happens with. Even the other characters in the story – especially Kenny – count on Clementine to do every dirty job that comes up. Again, this comes from her unshakeable ability to function despite unthinkable pressures. I was really happy to see The Walking Dead address this, since it’s one of those ironclad gaming conventions that really doesn’t make any sense.

Don’t get me wrong, having the protagonist do pretty much everything of interest makes sense from a gaming standpoint, but it’s outright ridiculous when viewed through a narrative lens. The Walking Dead, and other Telltale games are about the story foremost. Gaming elements help with immersion and make the story more dynamic, but the narrative is paramount to the experience.

So how did this come up? Well, as per usually, the group finds themselves in a tight spot, and rely heavily on Clementine to pick up all the slack. Finally, after Kenny goes back to that well one time too many, he gets called on it, and it’s my personal high point of the episode.

And that’s saying something, because a heck of a lot happens in “In Harms Way”. At the end of the previous episode, our heroes were being dragged back to Carver’s camp to face god-knows-what. When they arrive, it’s every bit as brutal as it appears, although Carver and his cronies constantly dangle the opportunity to be welcomed into the fold. Whether this is a genuine offer, or simply a ploy to keep everyone working and not asking questions is unknown. But you can probably bet on the latter.

With that as the backdrop, the game really hits its stride. There are a lot of great segments throughout the story, with plenty of intrigue, violence, and a liberal does of zombies for good measure.

This has probably been the most focused episode of The Walking Dead Season Two, which has it’s pluses and minuses. The story has never been stronger. On the other hand, it seems like there’s less to do when it comes to exploration and game play. Telltale, as always, strikes a pretty good balance, but I can’t help but feel the balance was slightly off this time around. Not enough to ruin the experience by any means, but just enough to notice.

That said, The Walking Dead continues to be an excellent narrative and gaming experience, with well drawn characters and difficult moral decisions. I can’t wait for the next installment.

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