The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - The Final Season Episode 4: Take Us Back

It's rare that a shuttered studio gets to dictate the final grace notes of their body of work, but that's the opportunity Telltale had with these final episodes, and it's one that was not wasted in any way. The Walking Dead ends not with a bang, but an accomplished sigh.

A triumph of a finale that gives the players – and the characters – the ending they deserved.

Saying goodbye is always hard, and with The Walking Dead: The Final Season we've all had to do it twice now. This second time may be bittersweet, but it's a farewell worthy of the series and its beloved characters.

As excellent a conclusion as we could hope for.

Though it is indeed the last time that we will see Clementine, AJ, and the other familiar faces of Telltale’s The Walking Dead in a state like this, Skybound Games certainly made those last moments count.

The Walking Dead: The Final Season Episode 4 wraps up seven years of undead drama in satisfying fashion, delivering genuinely moving character moments and meaningful, ultimately uplifting, observations about parenthood. The Final Season Episode 4 can be slightly exhausting, both emotionally and because of an overabundance of action scenes, but fans who have been with Clementine since the beginning won’t want to miss the final leg of her journey.

After a turbulent production, Clementine and The Walking Dead series have both been given the ending they deserve. Not all of Take Us Back lands smoothly, but the finale remains true to the tone of this season and delivers a satisfying conclusion that fans will be talking about for years to come.

Take Us Back is a well-constructed but ineffective conclusion to Telltale’s The Walking Dead series. While the gameplay and presentation remain well-suited for the final hours of this journey, the waffling narrative holds back some of the episode’s final decisions from being truly meaningful. Although Take Us Back is not the lowest point in the series by any means, having the series finale falter in these crucial concluding moments makes each misstep seem that much larger as both Clementine and Telltale’s lengthy adventures reach their end.

A decent ending to a tormented adventure.

This last episode of The Walking Dead is certainly not perfect but it brings a conclusion - which was not sure a few months ago - to the series. And it still can be liked by those who truly love the characters, even if it has only a few surprises in store. Nevertheless, this opportunity to say goodbye to Clementine - in extension to the whole Telltale Games formula - is truly appreciable. We'll miss her for sure.

This episode shows that The Walking Dead: The Final Season is by no means a failure. It may lack the ingenuity that the series has shown, particularly in its earlier entries, but it does provide a resolution. The Final Season ends comfortably, but given the highs of The Walking Dead, some may be left wondering if that was enough.

Though it introduces new ideas and perspectives to players, the final episode of The Walking Dead drags on a bit too long in order to bring Clementine’s seven-year journey to a close.

From the first moment that patrol car spilled convict Lee Everett into a ditch, to the final curtain fall on this climactic episode, players have enjoyed telling their tale of survival, friendship, bravery, and tragedy in a post-Walker world. It's been a very bumpy ride, both technically and narratively, but Telltale's The Walking Dead worked hard to push past these shortcomings, creating a new form of interactive fiction. One which procured genuine emotional investment from its fanbase and a deserved place in video game history.