The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 - Faith

 PC
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 856 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 771 out of 856
  2. Mixed: 46 out of 856
  3. Negative: 39 out of 856

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  1. KyleFinlayson
    Oct 12, 2013
    10
    Telltale has this innate way of forming a connecting to players in their games. Wolf Among Us is no exception. Although it is early days for this marvellous piece of narrative genius, the story has a hook to it. The protagonist, Sheriff Bigby, formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, is now in charge of keeping numerous fable characters from each other's throats. He can be a likeable character,Telltale has this innate way of forming a connecting to players in their games. Wolf Among Us is no exception. Although it is early days for this marvellous piece of narrative genius, the story has a hook to it. The protagonist, Sheriff Bigby, formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, is now in charge of keeping numerous fable characters from each other's throats. He can be a likeable character, who's just misunderstood by the community of Fables that surrounds him. Or he can live up to his name and be cold and ruthless. He is, in a sense, a canvas that has little known back story for the purpose of the player being able to create their own protagonist.

    Elements of Telltale's brilliant Walking Dead Game are on display in this new adventure. Choice and consequence, characters responding to what you do (or don't) say, same basic game play mechanics. However there are some nice touches to compliment the noire style game they have created. The art is already much darker, neon lights and a slick 80s style score give this the perfect feel of a New York murder thriller. Fights are now much more engaging. Having the player aim for a specific spot to land a blow in the heat of a fight would make anyone in their right mind tense up and feel under pressure. Along with this, we are also given more interaction in these sequences. Choosing whether or not to send a man flying into a sink or a bookcase adds that extra depth to the game.

    The world itself is beautifully designed, both physically and socially. Wandering the dark moonlit streets of New York city is a surreal experience given the fairytale touches every now and again. The characters are the crowning achievement in this game though. Most of them are given specific and thick accents, and Telltale takes any chance to destroy the conventions of a once innocent fairy tale character. The writing is superb and the voice actors bring these characters to life. Even after spending twenty minutes with one character, you'll know exactly who they are due to you recognizing them from your youth and more than that you'll connect with them. In good or bad ways. It hurts when they are taken away from you. In a simple way of putting it, if Bigby gets mad, it's a safe bet you will. You may find yourself doing things you never would have done in the Walking Dead Game. Playing the bad guy. But in the Walking Dead you had control. In Wolf Among Us, chances are you won't care how it impacts the story you just feel as if you need to in order to satisfy yourself. It's this kind of connection that makes this game so special.

    Of course, like any game, there are bugs. Bugs like the frame stuttering during cut scenes or bad camera angles. But these can be forgiven as they aren't major deal breakers. All in all, the first episode of Telltales venture into fairyland has proved itself as a surprising and magical experience. There are funny times, disturbing times, sad times or times of intense rage, and they all combine into one of the best games of the year. Only time will tell if Telltale can pull this off with the rest of the season, but the first episode is an amazing beginning.    … Expand
  2. bigugly07
    Oct 12, 2013
    9
    Fantastic. If you liked Walking Dead's gameplay, you'll love this one. Admittedly a fan of the comics, but I don't think that's necessary to like this game. Deep characters, tense action, and a thrilling mystery will keep me coming back and replaying episodes. Play this game.
  3. jumbojet555
    Oct 11, 2013
    8
    It's easy to get lost in the world "The Wolf Amongst Us" has to offer. A rich fantasy world tied in with reality. It features mature themes in what would normally be pitched as fairytales. These fantasy beasts, known as fables, often swear, and behave in a mature manner. The story almost instantly envelops you, and you will begin to form connections with many characters. Being a sheriff,It's easy to get lost in the world "The Wolf Amongst Us" has to offer. A rich fantasy world tied in with reality. It features mature themes in what would normally be pitched as fairytales. These fantasy beasts, known as fables, often swear, and behave in a mature manner. The story almost instantly envelops you, and you will begin to form connections with many characters. Being a sheriff, much of what you do is investigating, which is very satisfying. I found the action scenes to be satisfying as well as tense and interesting. The characters are well thought out and have distinct personalitys. You can choose how Bigby interacts with these characters, and this will change how they perceive you, possibly affecting later actions. The story is an interesting twist on your typical murder thriller and so far (only episode 1 has been released) is turning out quite well. I didn't think I would like this game at first, the fantasy genre does not appeal to me much, but keep in mind this is a game dealing with very serious and mature themes, and although one might think of this as a dumb fairytale at first, it is far darker, and deeper, than that. I really cannot say anything bad about this game, but I have yet to see whether this game delivers in the end and deserves a 10/10 later. So far, Telltale does not fail to impress us with yet another narrative masterpiece. This is definitly a must buy if you are looking for an interesting tale placed in an interesting world.… Expand
  4. darthchair
    Oct 11, 2013
    9
    I like Noir. I like Fairy Tales. I like Telltale's The Walking Dead adventure game. This should spell out success, and to be honest, it really does. If you do not like these three things, or perhaps even two of the three things I just spoke about, you might not like this game. Let's talk about why.

    Noir - Whether you have your 20s/30s Noir with the rain-slicked streets, heavy    I like Noir. I like Fairy Tales. I like Telltale's The Walking Dead adventure game. This should spell out success, and to be honest, it really does. If you do not like these three things, or perhaps even two of the three things I just spoke about, you might not like this game. Let's talk about why.

    Noir -

    Whether you have your 20s/30s Noir with the rain-slicked streets, heavy smoking and drinking detectives, dames in distress that walk into the private eye's door, or your late 80s counter part with the neon lights and modern descents into darkness you certainly will certainly feel the role. This game has you traveling various areas, dealing with people in a way where you might play polite, or rough house them in some of the most violent ways imaginable.

    Some people had an issue with the combat in The Walking Dead, and in my opinion, that was a bit of a weak link in the series. TWAU (The Wolf Among Us) has really been tightened up and the combat is incredibly fast and fluid. It feels precisely how it should feel. And it's a blast. Particularly I like how you feel like you are choreographing your own personal chaotic ballet. I might shove somebody into a sink, or those ugly looking bookshelves. I might even toss the bugger out a window. Why not rip a limb off? It could happen. Visceral, bloody fun.

    Course you're also a detective. You're poking around, talking to mystery women, glimpsing for clues, and exposing lies. It's great fun. And hopefully we will get to do more of it in the later episodes. And of course the murder mystery that starts off is already showing plenty of layers and developing interesting characters that will have a big part to play the further you go. And the way it goes? Well TellTale is promising that the story will big significantly impacted by choices you make. Hopefully more than The Walking Dead which did take choice into consideration, but in the end it seemed a bit of a moot point, didn't it?

    Fairy Tales -

    Perhaps you're a big fan of Grimms Fairytales or maybe ABC's Once Upon a Time. This game is based off the Fables comic by writer Bill Willingham for DC's Vertigo line. It depicts many characters you could be familiar with such as Bluebeard, Snow White, The Big Bad Wolf, Ichabod Crane, etc. The game is a prequel taking 20 years before the comic. So for fans of the comics, it is an interesting companion piece. However while the game might reward you for having some prior knowledge into the comics, I can testify to having never read the comic series before. The game was still fun and I found the characters involved since they know each other. You feel a certain sense of direction with Bigby Wolf (the protagonist) in that everyone is either afraid or suspicious of you. You can either keep that going or try to soften their hearts. I suspect you can't do too much though due to the fact that there is that comic series that it has to blend into by the end.

    There are definitely some unique twists with the characters that you will find out too. Definitely fairy tale characters flipped upside.

    The Walking Dead -

    I mention this only because the game is very similar. You still have the four options for dialogue. You still have the QTEs (Quick Time Events) that predominate most of the action in the game. The puzzles that were in the Walking Dead (some rather asinine like the one involving the train) seem to be replaced by ones that are a lot more straight forward and blend in with the detective scenario. In other words, puzzles don't appear to get into the way.

    To be honest this first episode seemed to show off the combat a bit more. It seems like everyone wants a piece of the Big Bad Wolf. Considering how tight the gameplay is for these events, I think it makes sense. The story is already impressive. So fixes in the gameplay are in order.

    There are some that are complaining about frame rate drops. I don't really recall seeing much of that in my game. I did however have issues getting the game to run in Windows 8. It seems like every TellTale game I buy seems to have that issue. I resolved this by finding a dll file called "DINPUT8.dll" and copy and pasting it into the game's directory. I don't know if this is a steam related issue or not, but it promptly made the game playable.

    I didn't have any other problems with the game, but due to the fact that the average person might freak out if they can't play the game on their computer after purchasing, I docked the game a point. Patience, of course, and google search (or browsing the game's forum on steam) will provide help but it seems odd to me that an important dll file would be missing. Kinda breaks the game you know?

    Art style is crisp and is a much better representation of a graphic novel than the Walking Dead. Music is spot on. If you like the three aforementioned points, I suggest you buy the game.    … Expand
  5. koolcat
    Oct 11, 2013
    10
    This game is just freaking awesome. If you like "The Walking Dead" game or lone wolf (no pun intended) detective stories you wont be disappointed with this one. Buy it, play it and see it for yourself how badass this game is.
  6. Waarulven
    Oct 11, 2013
    9
    Telltale Games starts out strong in the first episode of "The Wolf Among Us"(TWAU) and proves that the previous success with "The Walking Dead"(TWD) wasn't a fluke.
    The gameplay has developed and the action scenes are much smoother and fun to play this time around. This goes for most mechanics and the game feel more polished than previous titles. There is also some investigation and    Telltale Games starts out strong in the first episode of "The Wolf Among Us"(TWAU) and proves that the previous success with "The Walking Dead"(TWD) wasn't a fluke.
    The gameplay has developed and the action scenes are much smoother and fun to play this time around. This goes for most mechanics and the game feel more polished than previous titles. There is also some investigation and interrogation scenes that add variation to the gameplay.
    The story is unique and the familiar characters you meet all have some twist to them that makes them feel more human than they are. It is an interesting world we get to explore a small part of and I hope that it is expanded upon as the season plays out.
    If Telltale manages to keep the story going and the quality steady "TWAU" is going to be a strong contestant to "TWD" for the champion title. This first episode impressed me far more than the first of "TWD", but it all comes down to the overall quality of the season. I, for one, am already jumping in my chair waiting for the next episode.
    If you liked Telltales previous titles this game is a sure thing, but it is also worth the price if you like adventure games in general or unique twists to old formulas.    … Expand
  7. Hostile357
    Oct 11, 2013
    9
    Telltale has proven, once again, that it's capable of crafting amazing games out of equally amazing licenses. "The Wolf Among Us" is shaping up to become yet another home run for the team, as it proves how well the world and it's characters can be transformed into a video game in the hands of incredibly capable individuals. It isn't "The Walking Dead", but neither should it. There areTelltale has proven, once again, that it's capable of crafting amazing games out of equally amazing licenses. "The Wolf Among Us" is shaping up to become yet another home run for the team, as it proves how well the world and it's characters can be transformed into a video game in the hands of incredibly capable individuals. It isn't "The Walking Dead", but neither should it. There are several similarities when it comes to gameplay, but both the story and the setting itself differ greatly from the tone of Kirkman's work. As something more of a mystery/detective type of game it instantly feels refreshing and different. The artwork and visuals are fantastic, especially if you're a fan of the comics, since they have an even more striking resemblance to the source material than TWD did (mostly because those comics are in black and white, of course). When it comes to story, "The Wolf..." delivers an interesting plot with several twists and turns with a side order of choice and consequence. Characters are well fleshed out, for a 1st episode, and are all done justice by providing them both solid voice actors and great dialogue. Even Bigby himself sounds like the sarcastic badass he is. Oh, and the soundtrack. Yes, the soundtrack. It's great. Ready for the next episode!… Expand
  8. Riskyreview
    Oct 11, 2013
    10
    Telltale has done it again this is definitely a must buy! The art style is yet again amazing the controls are fluid and responsive the story is compelling and the characters are loveable!
    Can't wait for episode 2!
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Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Best PC Game of 2013
70
#70 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 11, 2014
    88
    Wolf Among Us is great, better than the original comic. Willingham, take notes! [Nov 2013]
  2. Hyper Magazine
    Dec 28, 2013
    90
    Here's hoping the rest lives up to this stellar first episode. [Jan 2014, p.79]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Dec 13, 2013
    80
    A new benchmark for “branching narrative” games. The Wolf Among Us turns players into viewers by almost ditching gameplay, but you will enjoy watching this show.
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