A New Frontier: Episode 2 – The Ties That Bind: Part 2
Telltale changed up their launch strategy a bit with A New Frontier, choosing to release two episodes instead of one. In many ways, there is an overarching plot that crosses over between the two episodes that (excuse the pun) ties the outset of Episode 1 with the ending of Episode 2 in an impactful and satisfying way. Without spoiling anything, it feels like Telltale actually mastered how not to waste any characters or narrative threads. There is a connection in almost everything you’ll see that will come back at some point.
Episode 2 keeps in line with traditional The Walking Dead beats but manages to put its own spin on them.
Javy himself doesn’t undergo much in the way of evolution, as the events at the end of Episode 1 have forced him to focus on the present, and the theme of “needing to keep moving” is once again the central objective. The goal takes on a whole new context, however, and it utilizes the classic “there’s this place we’ve never been that is supposedly a haven for survivors” beat.
Of course, the haven is not what it seems, but Telltale circumvents the predictability factor by cutting the bullshit and revealing very soon into your quest that the haven is indeed compromised. What’s left for the characters is the quest of having to face it anyway out of necessity, and there’s a distinct and engrossing sense of helplessness and foreboding on the part of the player. You know that things are bound to go wrong, but the fact that the characters know it as well firmly creates and unshakeable connection that narrative adventure games specialize in.
Clementine is still a part of everything that is happening, but her arc seems to be focused on what’s been going on in the time since the end of Season 2 rather than the present.
For her part, Clementine has become something of a reactive character in Season 3. She is still interesting, but she has evolved into a more hardened survivor, taking lessons from mistakes and scars from the past. This evolution has created a need to explain how and why she has reached this point, so a lot, if not all of Clementine’s best moments consist of flashbacks that take place pretty soon after the end of Season 2.
It’s hard to tell right now if Telltale will have enough time to take her arc from the past and place it into the present, but at the very least, what is here adds a new flavor to The Walking Dead’s narrative repertoire.
By the end of Episode 2, it’s clear that the story is ready to take itself in a new direction and what you are left with is an incessant need for more.
The only question that matters with narrative adventure games is whether or not a player wants to see more, and I can safely say that in my case, I can’t wait for Episode 3. Season 2 felt like a distinct step down from the majesty of Season 1, and a lot of that had to do with it trying to leverage past characters in new ways.
Telltale has apparently committed itself to telling a new story, albeit within the old story, but it works in the sense that I feel like I am learning something new. A New Frontier has a much better sense of balancing the old with the new, which is always tricky when trying to craft sequels.
Early Verdict:
It’s tough to dive in without spoiling the story, but rest assured, every square inch of this first two episodes appear to have been handled with the same amount of care and planning as every The Walking Dead game you’ve played to this point. Still, I’m one of those that believes that there’s nothing like an original, so Season 3 doesn’t have the same magic as Season 1.
What you are getting with A New Frontier is more of the same, which I imagine just about everyone with a remote interest in the game is expecting. Season 3 isn’t re-writing the book on narratively-driven adventures; it’s just delivering some of the best you can find in the genre.
If I had to score it now, A New Frontier is an 8.5.
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Xbox One, PS4
Developer: Telltale Games
MSRP: $24.99 (Season Pass) or $4.99 per episode
Introduction:
Telltale’s first season of The Walking Dead is one of the greatest games I have ever played, and for many, it was an introduction to the prowess that narratively-driven adventure games could have on gaming. It proved that if a story was good enough, it warranted a place among the greats that other developers release on a yearly basis; and did so by taking home Game of the Year back in 2012.
It’s weird in the sense that it feels like so much has changed, yet stayed the same since then. Telltale has completely transformed themselves into a factory of narratively-driven adventure games, releasing 2-3 different episodic IPs annually. It’s been a while since the studio has delivered a true Walking Dead game, with Season 2 releasing back in 2014. Sure, the studio kinda cheated and released a Michonne-focused mini-series last year, but it was far too brief and was meant to stand on its own.
A New Frontier picks up the Clementine narrative, though not in the way most fans were likely expecting. Clem has gone back to being a (somewhat) secondary character, and in her place is an all-new protagonist, Javier, a young 20-30 something whose relationship with his family is strained for reasons you can interpret through the subtext of the dialog. The first episode does its job establishing a context for Javier’s background without taking over the events of the present. Once we are thrust back, it’s clear that some time has passed since we were last here.
With that said, let’s talk about A New Frontier: Episode 1- The Ties That Bind: Part 1.
Player, meet Javier (AKA Javy), your new protagonist.
One thing that Telltale’s The Walking Dead has always been able to do well is to establish character. This is mostly emblematic in Season 1’s Lee Everett, who was something of a blank slate when we meet him as opposed to Clementine in Season 2, whose context players were already familiar with, resulting in a somewhat different vibe. At its outset, Season 3, in some ways, feels like a return to Season 1, as the first thing we are introduced to is a face we haven’t seen before.
Instead of memories of previous adventures and contexts flooding back, we are left to think only, “who is this guy?” In an entertainment world where leveraging the “OMG that character is back” moments often outweigh the importance of actual narrative chops, it is good to see Telltale take a risk, and go back to basics, and better yet, succeed at doing so. That’s not to say that Season 3 doesn’t have those “OMG” moments. Clem’s introduction is certainly one of them, and although it’s outrageously cliche, it still works like a charm.
Javier himself is a flawed individual, with a slightly seedier past hinted at. It’s nothing at or near the levels of Lee Everett, but it’s apparent that he’s been through some stuff, making him a very relatable and down-to-earth protagonist. It’s also that classic but effective subtext where the writers know exactly how much to reveal to the player, and then to let them fill in the blanks themselves. This kind of writing is also paramount because the importance of Javier’s past does not outweigh that of what we know as the present. And Episode 1, does not skimp on the present.
The supporting cast is as well thought out and delivered as ever.
With a new protagonist, comes a new supporting cast, and fortunately, Telltale has made it easy to dive right into getting to know Javier’s family. Your primary companions include Kate, Javier’s equally flawed sister-in-law with whom there is a mutual, but star-crossed attraction, Gabe, his troubled nephew, and Mariana, his innocent niece.
Each of the supporting character’s personas plays off of one another to create a very modern and believable family dynamic. Once the story flips to the present, the main hook with the family is that Javier is still adapting to being the father figure to two kids who aren’t his, without encroaching too much, while dealing with keeping his group alive and on the move. There is a lot at play here, and as usual Telltale has delivered multiple layers of character development to make for incredibly deep protagonists.
Telltale has not lost their touch on raising the stakes, developing villains, or stomping all over your heart.
If you’ve been exposed to anything The Walking Dead related, you probably already know that characters often are not long for the world they inhabit, and A New Frontier is the same way. As you might expect, Javier and his group are incredibly vulnerable in a fight, given that half the group consists of children. So, when Telltale decides to bring out the firefight towards the climax, it makes for very tense and costly encounter that ends up having legitimate long-term ramifications.
The New Frontier is the new antagonist this season, and in many respects, they live up to the cliches you’ve come to expect from The Walking Dead as a whole, be it TV, comics or the game. They are your typical thugs that demand retribution in the most brutal of fashions for things they deem actions taken against them, no matter what the truth of the matter actually is. We’ve seen this kind of thing before with The Governor, but it still works in the sense that the group is not unquestionably evil from top to bottom, so they also have a certain unpredictability factor to them.
Next, we'll talk about Episode 2.