Subpar gameplay holds back The Walking Dead from being truly special.
The core of the problem is the fact that the touted "moral choice" system is rather lacking. Over the ten or so hours it takes to finish all five episodes, there are only a few moral dilemmas that actually have any effect on your progress that are more than just cosmetic, while the vast majority of them don't really change the outcome of a situation. For example, there is a moment early on in the game where you have to either save a kid or the ranch owner's son from the zombie horde, and no matter who you choose, the outcome will always be the same. It feels like a missed opportunity to do something truly outstanding with the game.
There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the framework was in place to accommodate specific gameplay, but was then repurposed for other means or scrapped entirely. The rail shooting sequences are a good indication for this if nothing else, which suggest survival horror elements that could have been easily implemented if they had the permission or time to do so. Instead, the game is riddled with QTEs and unchallenging, but thankfully brief, shooting galleries that might as well could have been part of a cut scene, considering the emotional impact they have on the players.
The rest is your usual adventure game affair, although the words which best describe this game are "squandered potential", since almost every aspect of it is head scratchingly simplistic, as if it was bent into shape to smoothen out the half finished ideas the developer team tried to implement in to the game. The core of the game - the actual puzzles - usually don't take longer than a few seconds to figure out, and the hints the game generiously throws your way if you fail, usually give away the solution to the puzzle, which doesn't go well with the whole "gameplay" aspect of the game.
The Walking Dead also begs for survival horror elements and unscripted zombie encounters that would have benefited the game significantly by adding some much needed tension. The ability to resolve different situations by using different characters' skills to your advantage wouldn't have been amiss. In fact, there are several moments in the game where you enlist Clementine to help climb into places unreachable by other NPCs, which begs the question "why wasn't this mechanic used more often?"
On the plus side, the story is interesting and well told for the most part, though the characters are less than sympathetic which , I suppose, is understandable given the situation. There are some contrivances here and there, that are blatantly shoehorned into the plot to raise the stakes, but overall the game provides a very compelling and dramatic story with interesting characters and unpredictable plot twists to keep you playing to the very end.
The story is sadly the only reason to invest your time in this game, since the episodes are disappointingly short and horribly overpriced unless bundled together. In addition, the lacking gameplay and easy puzzles will likely disappoint adventure game veterans, while other people will probably enjoy it once and never touch this game again.