Telltale Games may have become a household name last year with the release of The Walking Dead, but the developer is proving it is more than just a one-hit wonder. Sure, they followed it up with a sequel season that everyone is raving about, but in between they started another episodic adventure, The Wolf Among Us — and it shouldn't be overlooked.
Based on Bill Willingham's award-winning Fables comic book, The Wolf Among Us puts you in the role of Bigby Wolf, a man once more infamously known as The Big Bad Wolf. Now the sheriff of Fabletown, a hidden enclave of exiled Fables living in New York City, Bigby is tasked by bureaucrat Snow White to keep order within the society of mythical creatures and characters trying to remain undetected in the world of the mundane. Of course, things are never as easy as they seem and following the murder of one of Fabletown's citizens, Bigby sets off on finding the person, or thing, responsible.
So what makes The Wolf Among Us such an intriguing new series? Here are a few things players will appreciate.
Gritty twist on your favorite fairy tales
We've all grown up being read fairy tales. Beauty and the Beast, The Three Little Pigs, The Little Mermaid — these are just a few fairy tales present within The Wolf Among Us. But what makes the game unique is its dark and gritty take on these fairy tale creatures.
Each character has a distinct twist to the fairy tale from which they are from. Snow White, for instance, is divorced from Prince Charming which many believe led to her cold and independent stature.
Beauty is married to Beast, but had to leave all of their wealth behind when fleeing the Homelands. Struggling to keep up with bills, Beauty secretly sneaks off in the middle of the night for — well, you'll have to see.
It's these unique twists and surprises that make The Wolf Among Us a great experience for fans of these long-loved fairy tales.
Gameplay improves upon The Walking Dead
Much of The Wolf Among Us' gameplay is similar to The Walking Dead. For the most part, it's a point-and-click adventure — so you'll feel right at home with the way it plays. Just because it's similar doesn't mean it's the same, though. Telltale Games has listened to your requests and your feedback is reflected directly into the gameplay.
The most noticeable change is in the game's combat. Your decisions don't only come into play during conversations, but now during action sequences as well. The result is a much more intense, personal-feel to the gameplay.
Your decisions still matter, but on a more personal level
As is tradition with Telltale games, The Wolf Among Us is filled with decisions — and your choices matter. The choices you make reflect the story on both an more-general plot level and a personal level. Not all of your decisions impact the game's story, but rather how you choose to develop Bigby. You may play as the Big Bad Wolf in The Wolf Among Us, but despite his intimidating stature, there's also a more compassionate personality in there — it's up to you to let it out if you so choose to. Of course, you can always result to violence if you prefer the brutish approach.
The Wolf Among Us is off to a nice beginning. It may not have quite the following that The Walking Dead draws, but that doesn't make it any less of a good game. More importantly, it's more than just a follow-up to The Walking Dead. There's plenty of fun to be had with The Wolf Among Us and if you are fan of Telltale's past work, you'll definitely enjoy it.
