The Wolf Among Us Reviews

  • KAxelCKAxelC275,982
    03 Apr 2016
    17 6 0
    Big Trouble in Fabletown

    Ever since playing the first Walking Dead game by Telltale Games (Thanks free games with gold!), I've been fascinated by these type of storytelling games and wanted to play more. The gameplay is very straightforward and while I did have one little scene in TWD where I found it hard to progress, you cant make many mistakes that will stop you from continuing the story.

    It is all about the choices you make; choices that will influence later scenes. Sure there are action scenes where you have to fight for your life or maybe chase someone down the street, but if you die here, you will just be given another chance to succeed. I like that sort of gameplay, and for this type of game, it works really well.

    I've had my eye on The Wolf Among Us for a while now, so when it appeared among the free games with gold for April... I picked it up and completed it in 10 hours over 2 days.

    Anyways, let's get on with the story...

    The Story
    You are Bigby Wolf, the Sheriff of Fabletown. A man or rather... wolf with a past. Fables (the name for the creatures who live in Fabletown) don't like you much, and how could you blame them? In the past you have eaten countless people and destroyed peoples homes, but things have changed... you have changed!

    You are the Sheriff now and take your responsibilities seriously. So when someone call you up, lets say... Toad (yeah, the annoying character from the wind in the willows) and say that there are people fighting in his apartment, you come running to check it out.

    This is how the story start, with you saving the life of a young woman called Faith, only to find her head outside your home not long after. Was it really the Woodsman who did it, the one who was fighting Faith in her home, or is there something else going on here?

    Whatever it is, it is not easy to figure out and it is also far from over. Soon another head turns up and then you have a potential seriel killer on your hand.

    Gameplay
    As with any Telltale Game, you are part of a story that is being told. This means that you can't just go anywhere you please and do whatever. If you are looking for a sandbox game... this is NOT it.

    What you can control are most of your dialogue choices, and this is where the game gets interesting. Will you piss someone off or help them? Becoming friends with someone might help you later on, or make life harder on you. At the end of the day, though, the story will unfold regardless of what choice you make, but you control how the Fables view Bigby Wolf, and that can be quite fun as well.

    Along the way you will have the opportunity to explore your surroundings a bit, like when you investigate a crime scene to figure out what has happened. Again, the right choices are easily highlighted, so don't worry about missing some important clue. You won't. Again, just remember that you are taking part in a scripted story... much like being an actor in a movie. It's not as boring as it sounds... the story is definitely worth the effort.

    As I said previously, there are action scenes in this game-movie. You will be fighting other Fables and yeah, you could potentially die. So, don't get too comfortable, you will be pushing those buttons soon enough and diving to safety behind walls and couches.

    Graphic and sound
    The Wolf Among Us is based upon a comic book, so yeah, the style of the game is just like that, but it works really well. But the place where you get value for your money is the voice acting. Telltale Games understands that a game like this is dependant upon the very best voice actors, and I have yet to find a voice in any of their games that I don't feel is spot on. This is good, as you will be hearing a lot of these voices. I think I read somewhere that some of the actors lend their voices to more than one character, but since they are topknotch voice actors, you won't notice... I know I didn't.

    Final Judgment...
    The first Walking Dead game held me in a tight (death) grip all the way through the game, and I even found myself tear up at the end. This was not the case here, but that is ok, The Wolf Among Us is a much different game and the ending is not one that will necessarily bring tears to your eyes, but it will leave you baffled and confused... much like when you watch the Usual Suspects.

    The story is excellent, of course, and the setting is terrible interesting. I found myself reading all the entries in the Fable book (remember to get these along the way... for 5 achievements).

    For a Telltale Game there is nothing I would want differently.

    However, as always... this is just the judgment of one (simple) guy. You might not enjoy these type of games... slow-paced games with a heavy focus on story, in which case... keep far away from The Wolf among Us. However, if you have played other Telltale Games and enjoyed them, then you will definitely enjoy this game as well.
    4.0
  • Removed Gamer
    Gamer has been removed
    9 1 0
    I have voluntarily removed this review because I deeply regret the time and effort I have spent contributing to this website.

    I have met dozens of lovely people through True Achievements, but due to the contemptible actions of the people who run it, I can no longer consent to them benefitting or profiting from my work in any way.

    I strongly urge readers to also abstain from creating content for True Achievements and put their time to better use. Life is too short to spend it doing unpaid work for infantile, censorious, greedy people who do not respect or appreciate you.
    5.0
  • shadow walkerOZshadow walkerOZ365,060 365,060 GamerScore
    11 May 2015
    8 7 0
    The Wolf Among Us is an episodic point and click adventure developed by Telltale Games based on the Fables comic book series by Bill Willingham. It is designed to fit in with the official timeline of, and is in fact a prequel to, the comic book series.
    Originally released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC in October 2013, it finally came to PS4 and Xbox One in November 2014.
    The gameplay is very much the same as the Walking Dead series, also from Telltale Games, and involves using the left stick to walk around and the right stick to interact with the environment. As you move the cursor around the screen, you will have prompts as you pass over interactive elements. Interactions are mapped to the 4 face buttons on the controller and are displayed in the same order in which they appear on the controller.
    The game is set in 1986 New York in a section of Manhattan called Fabletown. All of the characters from fairy tales and legends have fled to Earth to escape somebody called The Adversary, who has conquered the realms known as The Homeland. These characters are collectively known as Fables.
    You play as the sheriff of Fabletown, one Bigby Wolf, who is on the trail of a killer that seems to be targeting fables and leaving their decapitated heads on Bigby’s doorstep. It is set up as a classic Noir mystery, complete with the Gumshoe detective, the tough dame in need of help, prostitution, seedy strip joints and gangsters.
    Early on you will meet Snow White, who works at the Mayor’s office. Ichabod Crane is the acting Mayor of Fabletown while mayor Wenceslas (as in Good King Wenceslas from the Christmas carols) is away, and he is more interested in drinking and having massages than he is with the welfare of Fabletown’s inhabitants. As such, it mostly falls to Snow White to try and keep things running smoothly. This is made more difficult due to the fact that everybody universally despises Ichabod Crane and, by extension, all that work for the Mayor’s office.
    Some of the other characters you will meet along the way are Beauty and the beast, Jack the Giant Killer, Mr. Toad, The Little Mermaid, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Bloody Mary and the Woodsman. Most of the characters you come across do not trust you seeing as your days in the Homelands were mostly spent harassing other fables as the Big Bad Wolf (Big B. Wolf or Bigby Wolf as he’s now known). Fables that look human are able to live their normal lives while others have to use magical enchantments known as glamour’s to make them appear human. Any that are unwilling, or simply cannot afford, to use glamour’s are sent to a place called the Farm where they can live away from prying human eyes.
    Like the Walking Dead series, the Wolf Among Us handles its action sequences through quicktime events, but where it differs is in the fact that one missed button prompt does not denote instant failure. This does result in some more dynamic fight sequences than you would get in the Walking Dead. Another way that it differentiates itself is by having choices appear to give a bit more freedom. There are certain sections where you can choose to go to one area rather than another and may miss out on talking to, or saving, a certain character altogether. There are also hidden collectibles called Books of Fables in each episode that can be read to get a bit more insight into the characters and their universe. Most of these are unmissable, but each episode has one or two that require that you perform a certain action, or make a specific choice to unlock. Therefore multiple playthroughs, or just replaying some sections are required to find them all and unlocking the associated achievements/trophies.
    If you are a fan of Noir Detective stories or any of the other Telltale Games, or you just love a good mystery, then you will probably have a great time with this.
    4.5
  • Removed Gamer
    Gamer has been removed
    2 3 0
    Introduction

    In the past when I have reviewed last generation games, I have complained how games where the developers wanted to make a game with intense realism, look kind-of "cartoony." In this case, this is a compliment. The game is based on Vertigo's "Fables" comic book series. It is clear that Telltail has taken a lot of care to add a 2-1/2 D depth to comic book characters.

    Gameplay

    In the game, the player controls "Bigby" an anthropomorphized version of "The Big Bad Wolf." Bigby is the sheriff of "Fabletown. The game opens with Bigby investigating a domestic disturbance. From there, the player uses the controls to pick the actions of Bigby has he navigates the story from there.

    At certain points, Bigby's choices affect the actions of the characters that he interacts with. If he is aggressive, characters remember that later in the storyline. If he is kind, they remember that as well. If he is too kind, the story could grind to a halt. The fighting mechanics are kind-of clunky and not realistic to more modern games, but in this case, it is not an issue. The point of the game is to move the story forward, not to rack up K/Ds.

    As I stated earlier, the game is a 2-1/2 D game, so Bigby cannot navigate the sets in the same way like a sandbox or platformer game, but I was kind of ok with this. This is meant to be a game where the player can sit back, make choices, and listen to the plot carry on.

    Conclusion

    I really enjoyed playing this game. Unlike other shooters where the player has to be at maximum attention at all time, this is a game where someone can sit back, make choices, and allow the summation of choices to affect plot of the story in the game. In the end, I would recommend this game in the library of anyone, especially as a change-of-pace for the myriad of shooters in the market.
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