The Walking Dead: 400 Days

Should you pick up 400 Days? Yes! What are you, crazy!? This is a phenomenal new experiment in storytelling that redefines the types of stories that can be told in video games.

400 Days is a nearly constructed collection of short stories that follow the macabre sentiment established by The Walking Dead. Will its cast be part of the eventual second season? Or is 400 Days merely intended to establish a mood and setting? Do the choices I made really matter in the grand scheme of Telltale’s story? I have no idea, and that's precisely what makes it so attractive and potentially valuable.

As a teaser for the next season, it's superb. [Issue#234, p.85]

In 400 Days, no single character comes across as quite right. It’s often tough to choose which line of dialogue to say at times. It’s a perfect setup for the second season, presenting a broad glance at diverse situations and tying them together deftly with a small amount of overlap. [September 2013, p72]

An episode between seasons in which five characters experience the first four hundred days of the zombie apocalypse. It's a bit short and there are a couple of technical issues, but overall fans of the series will definitely enjoy this.

As this DLC ups the shock factor, it makes it clear when season two rolls around that Telltale has no boundaries, and you should prepare your emotions accordingly.

You could see 400 Days as a great dessert after an exquisite meal. Or maybe as an appetizer for a second course, because we were left wanting much more, even though this DLC does not quite reach the same heights as the original series. [September p.90]

If you go into 400 Days expecting the same intense, emotional, roller coaster of a ride that Season 1 produced then you could be disappointed. With characters leaving almost as quickly as they are introduced there’s no time to get any sort of attachment, particularly when playing as a different person in each chapter. Keep your expectations in check however and there’s still plenty to get out of 400 Days, with an ending that could tie into the next season, this is still a worthy chapter in the series.

So much of the success of the core series came from the sense of attachment to the characters that developed over time, and that was never going to be possible here.

For anyone who has played through all of Season 1 and can’t wait for Season 2, this does have its moments and immerses you back into the world you helped shape last year, even if it is just for an hour.