Review - The Wolf Among Us; Episode 1 - Faith

by Matt Taylor

Format reviewed on; PC (Steam)
Developers; Telltale Games
Publisher; Sony Computer Entertainment
Formats; PS3 , PC, Mac, Xbox360
Pegi Rating; 16+
Release Date (UK); 11/10/13
Based on the Vertigo Comic Books ‘Fables’, Telltale Games' new episodic title takes us to an alternate world where fairytale characters (Fables) have escaped their life in the Homeland and are hiding out in New York City. With the help of “Glamour”, a magical veil hiding the fables from our world, you play as Bigby, the reformed Big Bad Wolf who's task it is to keep the fabled population under wraps. The story opens with a seemingly normal domestic disturbance call which unravels into something dark, fun and comfortably familiar.
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After a call from Toad (of Toad Hall) brings you to a rundown apartment building, an altercation with an old enemy and a chance meeting with a mysterious woman, the plot begins to draw you in. Investigating a murder, Bigby is accompanied by Snow White as the characters play with you in a "we know something you don't know" kind of way. It makes you feel like the characters were playing out their lives before you got there. The world feels real.
Using familiar characters to tell their story, Telltale have managed to keep things from feeling completely foreign while telling an original story. Bigby runs into old acquaintances without needing to explain to the player why the only little pig would be upset that his brothers aren't around anymore, or why the wolf would owe him a house. New characters are constantly added to the roster without needing a complex backstory or cut and paste storytelling. With a lineup that includes characters from Lewis Carroll to Washington Irvine you could quickly find it disjointed, but somehow this all works. 
The art style seen in previous Telltale games has returned. The trademark cell shading seen in The Walking Dead still looks great. The game looks great, with enhanced detail and lighting working to add to the effect. When The Walking Dead stuck with a pretty dirty colour scheme, The Wolf Among Us uses different tones and colours for different sections, areas and events. Some rooms can have an emerald green filter, with other sections using bright yellows and purples to draw you in. 
For those (like myself) who usually hate Quick Time Events, Telltale seem to have them down to an art and The Wolf Among Us uses QTE's without making them feel cheap. Bigby feels responsive and that failure to preform the event was a failure on the players part and not on the game. The Wolf Among Us also introduces more inputs to the Events, making them interesting, individual encounters rather than generic button pressing. 
In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game. Performing the prompted action improperly or not at all results in the character's failure at their task and often in an immediate game over.
Quick Time Events - Wikipedia

The voice acting is good, but the music and sound effects are better. Early on in the game I double checked that my room mate wasn't playing country music. The muffled music sounded like it was in the next room. It was coming from the virtual apartment building I was guiding Bigby through. 

It feels like Telltale have taken what made their first games good and honed them without changing them completely. The episode is not what I would call long, taking roughly 2 hours before being greeted with “on the next episode”, but I’m excited for the next instalment. 
 Good - The world and characters feel alive and interesting, sounds are amazing. The cell shading has changed enough to keep it interesting, QTE’s work well.

Bad - Episodes. I’ll have to wait for the second installment.

4.5/5
Game from Telltale Games
Images - from Publisher