The Walking Dead is based on Robert Kirkman's zombie apocalypse comic series (which also has a TV show). Developer Telltale Games specialise in episodic adventure games, and this game has a large emphasis on story over gameplay.
Due to the emphasis on story, those looking for a challenging game should avoid it because they won't find it here. You need to view the software as an interactive story, rather than a game to fully enjoy it. Obviously, it becomes hard to review since you can't delve into the story too much, since that would be spoiling the experience.
This installment is completely separate to the other Telltale Walking Dead games which feature Clementine as the main character. This one is based on a character from the comic books called Michonne. I haven’t read the comics, and it is completely fine to play this without knowing anything about the comics/TV Show/games.
As Michonne, you are instantly introduced to the quick-time-event action sequences and see how effective she is as a fighter with her machete. She certainly liked decapitations. You also see how she suffers from hallucinations and is haunted by visions of her two daughters.
Michonne is found by a guy named Pete who allows her to be part of his ship’s crew. I thought this was an interesting set-up, having a story based on people that travel over water rather than being on the dangerous zombie-infested lands - but sadly, it doesn’t go in that direction.
They investigate a radio signal, and Pete and Michonne are forced to go the rest of the way by rowboat after their ship strikes an underwater wreckage.
Once on a ferry, the source of the signal, they discover that the occupants have been executed and they encounter a couple of thieves: Sam and her brother Greg. However, they are soon all caught by a gang who believe Michonne and Pete are part of the thieves' crew. The story then becomes about escaping and battling the gang.
There’s one short scene where Michonne has a couple of zombies on a leash and somehow this tames them. It seems very odd that they suddenly become non-violent and can be directed, while somehow also making nearby zombies non-hostile.
There are only 3 episodes and each one is shorter than the main games, so it’s only 3.5 hours. The negative is that you don’t feel that attached to the characters, but I think a plus is that I believe your choices have more effect on the story since major decisions wouldn’t mean the developers have to write massive branching stories given the brevity of the series.
The main game had a lot of “you're damned if you do, damned if you don't” sort of choices, but I felt some decisions here seemed to have positive outcomes.
Since the game is short, I did start becoming frustrated with all the flash-back sections where Michonne is searching a flat for evidence of her daughters. It was hard to make sense of if the zombies in this section were also hallucinations or something that actually happened. I also wasn’t sure how this plot element even resolved itself. The main story is short enough without taking a detour and it slowed the pacing down.
Michonne’s movement seemed a bit more fluid compared to the slow, clunky gameplay of the mainline series (Season 1 & 2). You use the WASD keys, and mouse click to interact. It's also compatible with a controller, using the control stick to move and face buttons for interaction. The UI has also been given a more stylish design.
The conversations usually have limited time to respond, which partially helps the conversation to have a more realistic flow, but also forces you to make a quick decision under pressure. Saying nothing at all can also be an option.
Quick-time action sequences are used to deal with zombie attacks which can be quite violent. Here you will hammer the Q key, and sometimes press E to finalise the scene. If you die, you are brought back to the last check-point which are saved at regular, logical intervals. Some of these seemed slightly buggy. Sometimes I was instructed to move “forward” which “D” seemed to work for a few seconds before the game deciding that “forward” is now “W”, so you have to suddenly switch when your character refuses to move further.
After each episode, you are normally shown statistics on how other players made their decisions. This time, you need a Telltale account for the game to show these. I didn’t bother signing up, but from what I have read, it seems the servers are not available.
I rate Season 1 & 2 really highly but I’m not really sure what I think of this one. It’s a bit too short and the flashback sequences dragged the plot down. The action was well-done and the decisions felt like you had an impact on who survived or not. It's not for those that want a traditional game, since the action is more visual, rather than involving.