The Walking Dead: Episode 5 - No Time Left

Walking Dead isn't just Game of the Year material, it's one of those touchstone games that will continue to be referenced years from now.

The tale is twisted and terrifying, heart-wrenching yet timeless, much like the infinite, undead existences of the series' antagonists. If stronger emotions have been wrenched from your gut while visiting an art gallery, I'd love to hear about it.

Most definitely qualifies as art -- exquisitely horrific, body-slam-your-emotions, tears-on-your-keyboard art. It is a near-perfect conclusion that may leave you emotionally gutted.

I'm not going to mince words anymore: The Walking Dead is the best game of 2012. If you care about video games as an expressive medium, you need to play this game. It's too important to avoid. If you are sick of zombie stories, you need to play this game. If you hate video games and despise the thought of playing one, you need to play this game.

I feel The Walking Dead is so special that five to ten years from now people are still going to be talking about it and referencing its importance. I imagine this series will be the first to make many gamers cry, it is that emotionally powerful.

The story is told amazingly well, the characters feel real and seeing how my decisions affected the story was nothing but a great ride. I can't suggest this episode or the entire series enough. You owe it to yourself to give this series a shot.

The game demands players become invested in it and its memorable cast, and that makes it very difficult to look at each episode separately. The overall package is a phenomenal one, but I must admit that it is the end that will stick with me the most, with all the other episodes leading up to this massive crescendo.

A perfectly paced finale to a story we've all been invested in from the get go.

A perfect ending for the first season. If the second season is just as good as this one, we're taking it for granted that no one will want to miss it.

No Time Left is the ending that all fans were expecting. Simply the highest moment of all the series.

Thanks to Episode 5: No Time Left, I spent nearly three hours sitting at my computer with a knot in my stomach and a few unshed tears in my eyes. It's rare to play a game that moves you emotionally, makes you care about its characters, and causes you to gasp out loud as it shocks and disgusts you.

The Walking Dead: The Game won't just go down as one of the best examples of gaming as a storytelling medium, it isn't just one of the best licensed games ever made, and it won't just be known as one of the best games of 2012 (if not the best). It'll also be the only game ever that made me think, made me laugh, made me jump out of my seat, made me cry, and made me want to vomit. That's Telltale's real achievement in my view.

This series has accompanied us through the better part of this past year, made us afraid, brought us close to tears and made us question why the hell we were even playing something this depressing. The Walking Dead's answer was one of the most striking ones of this generation of games: Clementine! She's that glowing light that pulls you through the harshest of tortures. She's the heart and soul of this remarkable little game. And when the lights go down on episode five, Lee finds the most sincere of words for her – speaking not his, but the players mind. That is, if you can bring yourself to utter them. What is it that he says? You should really find out for yourself.

I felt Telltale's occasionally heavy hand throughout the story, but I view this limitation as a work in progress. Despite this, they put together a powerful package that I hope surpassed Robert Kirkman's expectations, because it sure did mine.

It is rare that games showcase deep emotions. And to be honest, I didn't think that Telltale would be able to pull it off. But they delivered. I am looking forward to the second season.

Quotation forthcoming.

The last episode of The Walking Dead is a worthy finale for a well crafted and emotional adventure game.

No Time Left is Telltale's best effort to date. It has the longest heart-to-heart talk in the entire game, the most exciting action sequence featuring Lee, a hatchet and a horde of zombies, and a quiet, emotional climax.

The Walking Dead series shambles to a brief but moving conclusion that doesn't quite live up to the gruesome brilliance of earlier chapters.