The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier

 PC
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. New Game Network
    Jun 2, 2017
    71
    The Walking Dead: A New Frontier lacks meaningful gameplay and its episodes needed greater distinction, but it still provides that same appealing Telltale drama about an unconventional family thrust into dangerous situations.
  2. Gamer.no
    Jun 21, 2017
    70
    An exciting adventure with interesting characters, but the recipe has been used to death at this point.
  3. Destructoid
    May 30, 2017
    70
    A disappointing finale doesn't completely undo the goodwill earned by the rest of the season, but a sour aftertaste is still pretty hard to wash out.
  5. The Digital Fix
    Dec 21, 2016
    70
    Whilst A New Frontier doesn’t do anything differently with the gameplay, the story has always been The Walking Dead’s strength and, in this area at least, season three may provide the reversal of fortune that Telltale need.
  6. Game Over Online
    Jun 5, 2017
    66
    Since Telltale’s games don’t have much to rely on other than the story, a “filler” script like the one A New Frontier has just kills the game. There isn’t anything to get excited about, you can probably spot most of the twists and plot elements coming a mile away, and your control over what happens is minimal at best. Really, instead of buying the game, you could just watch posted videos of the episodes and get the same experience. So it’s safe to skip A New Frontier unless you’re a dedicated fan of the franchise, and even then you should wait for a sale (which seems to happen to Telltale’s games with regularity). Hopefully Telltale can get their act together in time for Season 4, which has already been announced.
  7. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jan 25, 2017
    66
    Where the season will end up is a question that even developers have no answer for. Media that was shown at E3 has no relation to released product; Clem’s voice actress mentioned that this episode’s story kept being rewritten on the fly, and work on the next one hasn’t even began. What’s even worse is that this special magic which made people fall in love with first season is nowhere to be found in A New Frontier: Telltale no longer delivers unique experiences; every new project seems to be made from the same mold. [Issue#216, p.54]
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  8. App Trigger
    Jun 2, 2017
    65
    The Walking Dead A New Frontier has a story worth telling at the heart of it, and Telltale eventually gets there, but the narrative stumbles at almost every turn. Repetitive gameplay, technical glitches, and the constant overshadowing of one character by another significantly blunt the set-up of the season’s cutting finale. The journey must continue in the inevitable fourth season, but I hope Telltale devises a better game plan for when that time comes.
  9. USgamer
    Jun 6, 2017
    60
    Yes, the pacing was a bit off, some characters got the short shrift, and the technology that underpins all Telltale Games continues to struggle. But I appreciate the studio's desire to do more with The Walking Dead this time around and their storytelling methods are getting better, with some great character writing, voice acting, and camerawork. A New Frontier is an uneven experience, with highs consistently punctuated by various lows across all five episodes.
  10. VideoGamer
    Jun 4, 2017
    50
    After a lacklustre start, things began to pick up as focus was put on the Garcia love triangle. But redundant flashbacks and an annoying child make A New Frontier the most topsy-turvy season of The Walking Dead, yet.
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  1. Kotaku
    May 31, 2017
    I do not regret my time with A New Frontier, but the emotional core at the center of the series seems rotten. There are seeds of greatness here, but A New Frontier never gave them the necessary time to grow. The Walking Dead started as a story about people. It was about a convict looking to redeem himself and a child growing up in an unfair world. A New Frontier chases after these figures but no matter how hard it runs, it always remains firmly in their shadows.

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
6.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 293 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 121 out of 293
  2. Mixed: 127 out of 293
  3. Negative: 45 out of 293
  1. pinkytwist
    Mar 5, 2017
    2
    I was already disappointed when Telltale announced that Season 3 was going to have a new main character. They kept that a secret for as longI was already disappointed when Telltale announced that Season 3 was going to have a new main character. They kept that a secret for as long as possible and while they said Clementine was going to be back, when asked if she was going to be playable too they were always very vague up until the game was released. Smart from their part, because Clem is only playable for less than 10 minutes in 2 episodes and obviously, fans weren't happy. And she's only playable in flashbacks too, and speaking of which,are the most obnoxious thing Telltale has ever done to date. Dealing with Season 2's endings in a 5 minute flashback by killing off the remaining characters in the most terrible way possible, making the endings completely useless and basically sh*t on everyone's choices. They didn't even put any effort in trying to make Kenny, Edith and Jane LOOK like their former selves in season 2. Their models look absolutely terrible and it's honestly insulting to the fans that they thought those flashbacks were good enough to put on the game.

    But anyway, Telltale decided that it was best to throw away 2 seasons of investment and character development by pushing Clementine aside in favor of a random dude with a family that we are suddenly supposed to care about. TWD honestly became all about Clementine to me. In season 1 we have to protect her and teach her how to survive, in season 2 we get to play as her and shape her to be the character we want. In the meantime we watch her grow, both physically and mentally and in season 3 we get to see her become a young woman. So many opportunities right there. I honestly thought that we were going to get to play as her until she grows to be an adult. Not a lot of games do that, where you get to follow a character and watch them grow and adapt to a new world. Why Telltale decided to get rid of that is beyond me. Bringing a new established character that has been surviving in the apocalypse for 4 years with his family just doesn't work for me. Javier's intentions are all about protecting his family, but why should I care for them? I didn't get to develop these bonds between the characters and it certainly doesn't help when they are as bland and generic as Gabe and Kate are. The typical "bad stepmother" that has a bad attitude and doesn't know how to raise kids and that was abused by the husband. The stereotypical moody teenage boy who whines about trivial things 4 years into the apocalypse. That's another thing that bugs me about this family. They are completely oblivious and innocent, which is just not believable. They run into a trailer full of supplies and a bed and they aren't smart enough to put two and two together and come to the conclusion that someone lives there? Am I supposed to believe this family never run into bad people in 4 years?? That and the stupid sh*t they do, like running in an open field in the middle of a gunfire. That's bad writing, it makes your characters look stupid and not relatable.

    So far the side characters are just there, doesn't seem like they have a story and mind of their own. You meet Eleanor and talk to her for 1 minute and suddenly she wants to help you escape when you were involved in a murder. I mean, are you serious?? Then Javier is the reason why Prescott falls and for some reason Tripp is your best bud now and follows you unconditionally. Again, what?? I guess that's the problem with introducing new characters at the beginning of every season and then proceed to kill them all off only to do the same thing again in the next season. You basically have no time to develop a believable relationship with these characters. And it doesn't help when the hubs (which were a great way to stop and breath for a while and get to talk to the characters and get to know them a bit) are utter bullsh*t in this game. Season 2 suffered from this too. Only good old season 1 did this right. It's beyond me why Telltale dropped that. It probably also doesn't help when the episodes are so freaking short that you barely have time to do anything... and on top of that you lie to the fans saying "oh my god you guys episode 1 was so big we had to split it in two!" and then each part turns out to be 1 hour long. Oh, ok, so having a 2 hour episode was such a bad thing? Specially when we waited 3 years for a freaking new season, you honestly couldn't give something back to your fans? And you'd think we would have 4 more episodes after this since this was supposed to be episode 1 split in two but nope, we'll be getting one less episode, so only 3 more. Lol Just terrible.

    Overall, the first two episodes felt rushed, too much action and too little character interaction and development. Half of the season is almost gone and the events from the two episodes happened in less than a day! This is season 2 all over again where the entire season happened in the span of like one week. As I see it, a New Frontier should be a standalone game and Season 3 should follow Clem again.    … Full Review »
  2. anterolol
    Dec 25, 2016
    0
    Clementine isn't playable and only gets 10% of the entire screen time. Javier is bland and has a boring story. Episodes are 60 minutes long,Clementine isn't playable and only gets 10% of the entire screen time. Javier is bland and has a boring story. Episodes are 60 minutes long, down from 90 minutes in season 2 and 120-150 minutes in season 1. The writing is atrocious.

    If you have any respect for Clementine or Lee, don't buy this game. It destroys everything from the past 2 seasons.

    This is an insult and a betrayal to all fans.    … Full Review »
  3. AngryAlvin
    Feb 21, 2017
    0
    Don't know why they called it a "season 3"...season 3 of what? This pathetic trash has nothing to do with the previous masterpieces.

    People    Don't know why they called it a "season 3"...season 3 of what? This pathetic trash has nothing to do with the previous masterpieces.

    People who leave positive reviews are either dull or paid.    … Full Review »
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