The Walking Dead: The Game - Season 2

Damn. So brutal. If you thought the first game was visceral, maddening, and just straight up flippin perfect, then you NEED to do yourself a favor and get in this hype train. All I can say; perfection. In this game, you now are in control of Clementine and must survive amongst the harsh new reality of clashing survivor groups and the endless zombie horde. This game doubles down on the carnage, with beloved (or not so beloved) characters getting either ripped apart or shot, a starving dog that doesn't want to share, countless zombie hordes, and of course, making hard moral decisions that pits you against certain characters. This game has many surprises, with one being the return of a character from the first game that I just didn't expect at all. It was so cool seeing his character develop into this broken man who keeps losing people, and this is where the hardest decisions come in. This may be slightly *spoiler* so to people that haven't played yet, probably stop reading. In my playthrough, I tried looking at both sides of the group. Knowing how much stuff Kenny went through, I didn't really egg him on too much, although there were times I said enough (which is around the end where he is basically bullying the Russian prisoner), but sadly, in hopes of saving his gf by chopping her arm off cuz she got bit, i just made things worse and she ended up dying, which Kenny blamed on me. Although he hated me for a while, he got over it and apologized, which I appreciated.. this is why I tried being on his side... I really tried. But in the end, he and Jane take it too far, and despite me thinking I did the good thing, I come to find out Jane was an antagonist who took it just as far as Kenny. I also loved the new cast of characters, like Paul, Luke, and the returning maddening characters from 400 days such as Bonnie and Jane.

Anyways, enough. This game is amazing. Any walking dead fan or story game fan will adore it. Highly recommended. Cannot wait to see where Clementine ends up in The New Frontier!

A "just about good" and particularly "dark" follow up to an unmatched emotional first season. Though it was no way near as excellent as its predecessor, but it wasn't as good as a die hard fan might want it to be. Maybe due to expectations or hype! Clem isn't a cheerful and innocent child any more, she is now a veteran survivor and a mature girl willing to make hard choices. It's understandable due to what she's been through for the first five episodes.

The group of survivors she meets on her way is very much similar to previous Kenny and group, so nothing new there. But these characters fail to be as memorable as the previous bunch. Maybe they will as the season progresses. This season promises to be even more darker, intense and brutal than the previous one.

All That Remains did feel predictable, maybe because we all know the format rather well by now. Yes! the build and story line is all very nostalgic, but one feels that the choices given are not fair as their could be other alternative. I better not spoil it by quoting examples, but I certainly can say that in Season 1 if one had to make a choice then the choices given to us are the most probable of what we would have actually thought. Whereas, the effect of our choices still remains good, as the major choices seem to; and probably will effect the future episodes, as one may relate from the Episode 2 trailer at the end.

Another Letdown is, the decisions from the previous season do not stand of least importance. Even if you haven't yet completed the first season, the game will generate your choices randomly. I am hoping that we see at least some impact of our decisions from season one and 400 Days in the coming episodes.

Coming to character development, well there wasn't much of screen space for anyone except Clem. Where the first Season had a high level of "Character Attachment" due to excellent character development and "character speech" options where we could interact with the character with a wide variety questions, this season clearly lacked it. But I am more than sure it will come i the coming episode. All that Remains was mostly about survival. Clem being the protagonist and the playable character has her character traits in our hand. The player might make her a heartless rather self catering young girl who trusts no one and will try to survive no matter what the cost, or one might shape her a kind but mature girl who wants to survive badly but cares for other living too. But in any case she is now prepared for anything.

The game does offer some good and shocking moments, the dog scene being my favorite and most shocking. Where Lee lead from the front and established himself as a leader of the group, Clem probably will have to fend off others.

Now the game-play, being a story based game, there isn't much for gamers. Just like the first season it is a "tailored by choices" game rather than a kill kill kill zombie game. Playing the PC version I missed the "Scroll" option which provided a lot of ease in selecting the action.

Direction/Animation/Graphics: Outstanding! Flawless.

Story/Screenplay: Great.

Music: Superb. To my surprise their is a nice credit song.

All in all a strong start to what is going to be a great season 2. Though extremely short, as I played it through one sitting. I'm pretty sure it is only going to get better!

The Walking Dead Season 2 is a perfect example on how to make a game sequel. It captures the charm and appeal of the first game, while expanding the universe of the game, to create it's own unique story, having a completely different identity to the first season. The stakes seem to increase, and the ending has a lot more choice, which greatly improves the playing experience.

In terms of improvement to the first season, and an element which makes the 2nd season completely unique, is the choice Clementine has in terms of her loyalty to Kenny. In the first game, Lee is completely loyal to the group, and there was never a clear divide, so as a result Lee never took sides, whereas in the 2nd season there's a clear split between Kenny and the result of the group. Therefore, Clementine's loyalty is greatly tested. This makes for really interesting gameplay, as the player has to consistently choose between the 2 sides. As a result the player has more autonomy over the events of the story, something that is greatly improved from the first season. The theme of loyalty towards Kenny becomes a contentious issue, one that has the potential for a great deal of analysis.

This game's just as well made as it's predecessor. It leaves an emotional impact and the characters are well crafted and memorable. As a result the Walking Dead Season Two is a masterpiece, and one of the greatest video games on the market.

Awesome game and i love every episode but can we handle the long release dates and episodes getting shorter? i mean season 2 was meant to be every month and it ending up being like 2-3 months after the 1st episode, I've got a feeling episode 3 won't be here till at least june, I'm sorry but whats happening to the length of each episode as well this is by far the shortest and doesn't seem half as long as season 1 episodes, does anyone know why they are so short when we get games like final fantasy and the beautiful ni no kuni which i recently finished after several hundred hours of play, i understand the play is different and making choices that give you other outcomes must affect the game but i really was surprised by how short this episode was, although i love the game, waiting 3 months for 20mins gameplay is not my idea of fun, I will stick with this season but I'm afraid next time i will be waiting till the whole game is made and released and buy it then

The graphics, voice acting, character development, and sound are spot on. This is expected given the success of the first and increased budget.

The failing of this game is pacing and writing. Falling down or jump scares are cheap plot devices sprinkled throughout your gaming experience. Instead of just telling a good story you're forced into nonsense "action" sequences that are so clunky and poorly made it would make even Ubisoft cringe.

This is all in stark contrast to the first game. Which had clear cut game mechanics that were easy to understand and well explained when they weren't. You can really tell the devs dropped the ball on this one for the sake of cash grabbing.

Edit: Had to come back and really hammer home the poor mechanics. From one QuickTime cut scene to another the problem persists. They can't make the mechanics clear or change them so dramatically that you have to replay the same scene over and over.

Poorly made game. Devs should be ashamed of themselves for yet another abortion of a once great franchise.