The Wolf Among Us: Episode 4 Review

Is the penultimate episode of TellTale's Fables franchise worth sinking your teeth into?

A fatal flaw of many second-to-last entries of a series is that they usually only serve to hype up their finales, and so are often victims of originality and little plot development. This is partly the case for Episode 4 of 'The Wolf Among Us', which has already had it's fair share of dull moments throughout it's steady release pattern.

Though the majority of 'In Sheep's Clothing' serves as exposition for the series' final chapter, Episode 4 has a few stand out moments that'll keep the player interested. We're immediately reminded of the events of the night before, being forced to grimace our way through a button mashing sequence to repair a bloodied and bruised Bigby's broken arm. It's an opening that certainly pulls you back into the danger our main characters are facing, though the tension quickly dies down and we're faced with a lengthy dialogue driven encounter with Snow White and your porky flatmate Colin. In fact, several sections of this episode are driven by character interactions; with some being more bearable to sit through than others. Your encounter with Beauty and the Beast in particular is a bore to endure, as their sympathetic portrayal from previous episodes is completely reversed and are suddenly depicted as one-dimensional spoiled brats. 

Most of the characters also continue to be oblivious to the player's previous choices, as noted in my review of Episode 3 here, with very little dialogue variation on this part. There are a few more choices to make within this episode that will undoubtedly affect the player's experience in Episode 5, but it's a pity we have to wait for the finale to see our minor decisions come into play.

This episode does however contain another multiple choice segment, with each path, although both ultimately coming to the same conclusion, offering unique interactions and dialogue for the player. This certainly makes the user's journey more adapted to their playstyle and specific to their choices from throughout the series. It can be noted though that your choice here does not alter the overall outcome - Bigby still learns the same information either way. Although a neat addition to the series' gameplay, it would be better for future installments if these 50/50 choices had a greater impact on the overall story; the best of which was in Episode 1, but even then, the character in question has only appeared once in the series if you managed to save them, having no impact whatsoever on your journey.

There's also very little actual detective work within this episode - a lot of the revelations made were ones that I'd deduced of my own accord, and few answers are obtained for the more important questions at hand. Unlike previous installments, the player doesn't have the option to deduce the evidence through their dialogue choices, which I found to be one of the more interesting aspects of investigation throughout the series. It's for this reason that very little really progresses story wise within the episode, which means there's a lot to wrap up in the upcoming finale. 

However that doesn't mean the episode is without it's thrills. There's an excellent fight sequence where you face off against the fantastically designed Jersey Devil, another of the Crooked Man's goons, in a heart pounding quick time event, where you'll get some much needed help from an old friend. It's also key to note that the actual climax of the episode is incredibly successful at building up suspense and creating a very unsettling atmosphere for the player, and really hypes up the series' final episode. Just make sure you choose to 'Smoke' as your final option - you won't regret the fantastic cliffhanger you'll receive for it. 

Ultimately, Episode 4 of The Wolf Among Us is very hit and miss in terms of both gameplay and story, which leaves a lot to be desired. It's up to the final chapter then to give us a gut wrenching conclusion to TellTale's fairytale noir, where we can hopefully see all of our choices come into play when the case is finally closed. 

Score: 6/10

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 3 Review

The midway mark of TellTale's fairytale noir returns the series to its bloody brilliance.

 

 

Being the halfway point of any series is difficult as it is, let alone that of a franchise created by  award winning developers. Yet 'A Crooked Mile' serves up the perfect recipe for a detective RPG, and we finally get to see some of our all important choices come into play.

 

Picking up after the cliffhanger of Episode 2, Sheriff Bigby Wolf finds himself in a race against the clock to track the location of Fabletown's very own Keyser Söze, offering players the best multiple choice decision of the series so far. You quite literally become the detective, choosing where to investigate first, and fast. The story based timer and multiple story options that come with this portion of the episode are fantastic, amping up the tension to an insane degree where you'll stop at nothing to make sure you get the evidence you need. You'll find yourself tactically choosing what objects to click in order to find out what's important and vice versa, and the odd chiming of a clock in the background really helps to make the player feel completely immersed in this race against time. It's an episode that'll definetly be worth replaying to see what clues you missed out on first time around. 

 

The rest of the episode is also solid, with your playstyle finally seeming to have an impact on others. Characters will have different interactions depending on your previous choices, and each individual suprisingly begins to hold out on their own in this installment. You can find yourself empathising with Holly the Troll just as much as the protagonist you're playing. What can be pointed out though is that most changes in characters' behaviour seems to be based more upon major story decisions within the series (killing said person here, beating up said person there) rather than one on one character interactions. Despite backchatting to Snow White on every available occasion, she'll still be kind hearted towards you rather than tutting at your every move like in previous episodes. Hopefully this is something that can be improved in Episode 4.

 

Choices also appear to be limited in some instances. For example, when questioned if you believe a character is guilty, the vocal options are "No, he's guilty.", "What do you mean?" and "How do you know?" Spot the difference? The player's own deduction of the mystery is therefore limited in expression, and offers little expansion when it comes to your own theories.

 

 

The episode does however introduce new characters to the franchise's folklore - including comic staple Flycatcher and the ruthless Bloody Mary, an antagonist exclusive to the TellTale's take on the Fables comics, and a villainess that will certainly leave a lasting impression next time you look in a mirror. 

 

The series is fundamentally a murder mystery, and as is typical of the genre we get a few red herrings and more questions appearing than actually being solved by the end of it all. It's a lot to answer for in just two more episodes, and although very little moves forward in the grand scheme of things, we do get the resolution of one character's arch, though even that is cut short by the game's phenomenol climax.

 

Whilst previous episodes had few truly intense action moments, the finale of 'A Crooked Mile' is, in short, badass in every sense of the word. Combat remains to be basic, but little impact is needed to exaggerate the brutal showdown that takes place, and is by far one of the series highlights. We see Bigby as we've never seen him before - and it's a beatdown that will certainly be hard to forget.

 

All in all, the third installment of 'The Wolf Among Us' can sometimes leave you howling for a full moon, but successfully hypes up what's sure to be a heart pounding penultimate episode.

 

 

Score: 8/10

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 Review

The second instalment of TellTale's five-part Fables tribute lacks the full moon of its predecessor.

 

'Smoke and Mirrors' picks up practically minutes after the cliffhanger of Chapter 1, and we're immediately transported back into the beautifully stylised world of The Wolf Among Us. Having waited over four months for this next instalment to the franchise, Episode 2's long awaited release is only somewhat justified by it's actual content.

 

This chapter is much slower in pace, with very little actual story progression. Episode 2's plot is similar to a jigsaw puzzle, in that the majority of gameplay is based solely on detective work - from analysing a crime scene to interrogating a suspect. However, playing 'Smoke and Mirrors' is essentially like completing a jigsaw that came with specific instructions. When analysing evidence, the correct response seems the most obvious out of the four options, making your job as Sheriff feel like child's play, and the game's climax is unsurprising thanks to a sporadic change of one character's mannerisms. Most players will have the intellect to work these things out for themselves, making Bigby's investigation less mysterious and therefore less interesting.

 

In addition, the player's choices are limited to minor decisions in comparison to Episode 1's, where you felt as if everything you did had a huge impact on your case. Here, we have your quint essential good cop bad cop - play Bigby nice, or play him as the Big Bad Wolf he was born to be. These black-and-white decisions literally come to the point where an entire scene revolves around provoking your suspect through either mild intimidation or by brutally destroying his possessions. In this case then, the game is very bland to play out in some sections, in that you're limited to only develop Bigby's character down one of two paths.

 

 

Despite these flaws, the episode still holds up well and features many new characters who you'll just love to hate. Georgie Porgie is no longer an innocent little boy, but the owner of Fabletown's sleazy strip club The Pudding 'n' Pie, and early on we meet the kind hearted but obnoxious Jack of beanstalk-climbing fame, who doesn't quite know when to keep his mouth shut. These new additions to the game's universe add yet another layer of depth and dimension to a franchise that is already so rich in detail and well thought out. The gorgeous neon colour palette is shown off in all of it's glory in the strip club scene; paired with the game's brooding soundtrack, it's just stunning to experience.

 

Existing characters aren't left out though, with your choices from the previous episode playing a big part of several scenes in the episode. The suspect you arrested in the former's climax will give you entirely different information to what the other criminal would have said, allowing both you and Bigby to slowly solve the mystery in a unique way. Characters will interact with you based on how you treated them previously, and Bigby himself is developed fantastically over the course of the narrative. Adam Harrington's voice work shines through, perfectly delivering each line with such emotion - you BECOME the Wolf, with the player's choices parallelling the mood of the protagonist. Why wouldn't you hit that person when Bigby scowled at them like that?

 

 

With a story that's grim, gruesome, and everything in between, 'Smoke and Mirrors' is a satisfying addition to the The Wolf Among Us' evergrowing Fable universe, but lacks the proper story progression or diverse choices that would make it surpass Episode 1. Let's hope then that this is the only slimy hairball we'll see in the series.

 

Score: 7/10

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 Review

TellTale Games have huffed, puffed and blown me away with this fantastic first chapter of their adaptation of the comic series, 'Fables'.

 

 

After the huge success of The Walking Dead, developers TellTale Games had a vast amount of pressure placed upon them when coming up with their latest comic adaptation, The Wolf Among Us. Following the typical TellTale point-n-click style, Episode 1: 'Faith' gives us a flavour of what is to come over the series; and so far, it's delicious.

 

Having no prior experience to the comics, I found myself getting easily immersed into this fantastic world. The concept is ingenious, with fairytale characters residing in a modern day New York, trying to blend in with society whilst the Big Bad Wolf, now going by the name of Bigby, keeps order amongst the 'Fables' as Sheriff, all the while tying to make himself, and others, forget his past crimes. There's plenty of cameos from folklore throughout the story, and dozens of possibilities that can be had with these characters in the long run. Perhaps a fan of the comics is indifferent to the pre-existing set up, but I for one fell in love.

 

Although the game takes many pointers from its critically acclaimed predecessor, I find it hard to actually compare the two. Whereas in The Walking Dead the players choices ultimately decided their survival, The Wolf Among Us focuses on detective work, making it necessary to look for clues, and makes the way you interact with characters even more crucial; say the wrong thing at the wrong time and you could loose a valuable piece of information for your case.

 

Similarly, the choices you make now are even greater from the get go - merely halfway through do we get 50/50 choice, with both paths giving you their own clues to the mystery, but also withholding information that could help you later in the narrative.

 

 

Another huge improvement is the combat. Gone are the stressful button mashing sessions (though some still remain), but instead timed ones, making the action sequences flow seamlessly and completely immersing the player into the conflict. Don't rule out those jump scares either.

 

The actual narrative and characters of the episode are fantastic; I find myself preferring our protagonist here to TWD's Lee - with the latter, I could never see him as the killer he supposedly was. Here, you can see the regret Bigby has for his past offences as his animal form, and depending on how you play, his attempts to become trusted again within the community. In a lot of ways he reminds me of Joel from The Last Of Us, a lost soul who can only gain redemption through fear. The supporting cast are also a treat, with a not-so-heroic Woodsman, cocky Magic Mirror, and foul mouthed Toad all rounding off what is a grim yet still intriguing universe.

 

My favourite aspect of this game however is the design. The sketchy character models, the dark lighting, the garish contrast of purple and yellow colour schemes - it's outstanding. I have no hesitation in saying this is one of the best looking games I've played in a while; although TWD broke the mould of only 'realistic' video games being any good, The Wolf Among Us shatters it completely, blending unique cartoonish qualities with the edgy streets of urban New York - even the designs stand out, with classic storytime characters getting a gorgeously grim makeover.

 

 

Having chosen what I felt was the right final option, the episode ends on a cliffhanger that I don't think anyone saw coming, setting up what looks to be a great series. Masterfully building upon the foundations of its predecessor, The Wolf Among Us not only stands on its own, but completely towers over the former in terms of the player's choices and narrative. I didn't even experience any technical issues this time around. I eagerly await for Episode 2, and hope it kicks as much fur-covered ass as this one. My only complaint? The title sucks.

 

Score: 10/10