Game Review #03 | The Wolf Among Us (2013)
Ahoy matey! I'm @afnanmugdho, and here's my one of the favorite game's review. Hope you'll like it 😁.
The Wolf Among Us, a terrifying fairy tale where you counter your childhood story characters in more vulnerable way and maybe not so happy ending 😬. The title of the game alludes to the main playable character, Sheriff Bigby Wolf. The tough-talking, chain-smoking cop keeps the peace in Fabletown, a tiny area of New York City where renowned fairy tale characters live in exile. Bigby, the deadly Big Bad Wolf in human form, begins an inquiry after a dead prostitute arrives on a doorstep.
Bigby's ambition? Solve the case and atone for his previous transgressions.
Telltale Games has polished its talents in creating adventure games with meaningful tales and distinct aesthetics over the years, culminating in the critically acclaimed first season of games based on the comic book series The Walking Dead. Now, the studio is working on another comic in their video game adaptation of Bill Willingham's Fables, this time focusing on Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of a magical version of New York City filled by fairytale characters. Fables is a dark fairytale, and The Wolf Among Us employs a system of choices and significant events similar to The Walking Dead game to force players to confront the terrible truth of this world.
Bigby Wolf, the sheriff entrusted with maintaining order in Fabletown, an urban sanctuary where fairy tale animals hide in plain sight using magic spells known as glamours, takes on the role of the player. Throwing a slew of century-old, magic-wielding individuals into modern society generates a lot of drama: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum have turned into criminals, Beauty and the Beast are having marital problems, and one of Oz's flying monkeys has become a drunk. Bigby, who was once the scourge of the fairy tale world as the Big Bad Wolf but now spends his time putting Fabletown in order, is at the core of all of this upheaval.
This sets up what turns out to be a large, intricate plot with a lot of moving pieces, albeit you don't really have any say in how things play out. The Wolf Among Us, while being a detective novel, has virtually little detecting to perform.
The game, like The Walking Dead, is mostly an interactive storey, with loads of conversation to read and some minor action moments to break up the tempo. Your impact on the game is primarily felt through the decisions you make, such as whether you go explore one possible lead at the price of another, or if you use your hands to pound clues out of a criminal rather than talking it out.
Bigby's primary responsibility isn't to discover out what has happened.
Bigby is a fascinating character. He is a big bad wolf, has a fury that constantly seems to be just beyond the surface. When things get very nasty, you can see him literally shift into a wolf and the game provides several opportunity to explore this evil side. In fact, in many cases, it feels as though you're being coerced into doing something bad.
The Wolf Among Us' greatest achievement is that, as cliché as his "detective with a terrible history" setup may appear, you actually get a feeling of what it's like to be Bigby. There are several instances where a certain action may almost certainly assist you in solving the murder, but will eventually make Fabletown inhabitants despise you. This covers anything from disrupting a funeral to pressuring a scared little kid for information.
These terrible choices are also the more interesting possibilities, tempting you to be bad even more.
When he lets the wolf out, it gets a bit out of hand, Bruner adds of Bigby. It'll feel great in the moment and be very fantastic, but it may have some long-term consequences that you'll have to deal with. The decisions aren't as heinous as they are in The Walking Dead, where you frequently get to choose who survives and who dies, but they have just as much of an impact. This is extremely significant because he is, in fact, the key to the entire game.
Whether or whether The Wolf Among Us lives up to The Walking Dead's lofty expectations is a question of personal preference. The tone is more lighter, which is a welcome break from the dismal zombie apocalypse. Despite their stylistic variations, the two series share the same fundamentals: excellent people, tough and frequently startling choices, and realistic storytelling.