The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep

I admit, the idea of Michonne getting her own series is so thin you could stick a pen through it, but if anyone can give it depth it’s Telltale.

The Walking Dead: Michonne is off to an excellent start, bringing back all the tension and emotion that we have come to expect from the highly regarding series.

New cast, new story, new creative team - just what The Walking Dead needs.

Michonne's miniseries focuses heavily on the main character and fast narrative leaving some of the story elements too open and hazy. The dialog is top notch and the story is compelling, hopefully next time the carrot hanging on the cliffhanger is little sweeter. [Apr 2016]

I’m certainly engaged enough with this first chapter to see things through to the end, and I imagine you will be too. Just go in with some expectations in check, this isn’t the Telltale game that’s going to reinvent the wheel for their particular style of gameplay. But it does serve as a solid introduction to a well-known, and well-liked character from The Walking Dead, and hopefully spirals into some interesting revelations the further we proceed.

Fans of the comic books will surely love this addition to Michonne’s story, as it gives a glimpse into what went on during her disappearance in the comics. Others will enjoy it for its easy to learn gameplay, terrifying post-apocalyptic world, and its cast of unique characters.

The wonderful acting helps to sell the cool writing further, and although the aging engine really needs putting out of its misery it at least supports the game well. Finally on the gameplay side (remember that?) the QTEs have been much improved since Game of Thrones and there were a few good choices along the way. Now roll on Episode 2 to see if they actually matter.

The dialogue options in this game do serve to reveal an intriguing insight into Michonne’s character: in other Telltale games, I rarely, if ever, chose silence even though it was always an option. With Michonne’s character, however, silence almost always seems the right option. Telltale skilfully displays how Michonne is a woman of few words and I enjoyed painting her as the strong, silent type.

A solid debut of this spinoff mini-series.

The premiere episode of The Walking Dead: Michonne has all the qualities of a stellar TellTale Games series: the combat is enjoyable, the narrative is engaging, the choice system presents difficult options, and the episode is entertaining from start to finish.

Whilst the expected Telltale polish is ever-present in this short episode, Michonne’s indestructability coupled with the fact that we don’t really get to care about any of the new characters appearing, make this offering something aimed strictly at the Walking Dead’s hardcore fan base.

Michonne travels the apocalyptic world, never staying in the same place long and never letting false promises of security get in her way. She never gives in to threats and faces adversity head on, which makes for a promising adventure.

Fortunately, due to The Walking Dead: Michonne's three episode setup, it does not fall victim to the typical drawn-out storyline that the rest of Telltale games have. The shortened series makes for a fast-paced experience both emotionally and action wise, and is Telltale's best game yet.