The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier Episode 1: Ties That Bind Part One

Episodes 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier have my expectations incredibly high for the rest of the series. With strong new characters, important storylines, and beautiful artwork; I think Telltale may have another award-winner on their hands.

If "Ties That Bind" is any indication of the level of acting, pacing, and writing to be seen this season, fans can rest assured that The Walking Dead will remain high atop their must-play lists.

This new adventure re-uses the same well known gameplay seen in every Telltale game, while adding an interesting new point of view to TWD universe with the introduction of the new main character, Jarvis. All in all these first two episodes represent a good start in an interesting storyline: if you liked the previous games, you won't be disappointed.

I'll admit that my interest in Telltale's well-worn adventure formula was starting to wane, but The Walking Dead: A New Frontier's opening episodes are proof positive that there's still plenty of life in it, as Ties That Bind Part 1 and 2 are both barnstorming episodes. Essential for any self-respecting The Walking Dead fan, regardless of whether you played seasons one and two in Telltale's series.

So far, a welcome and even more brutal return to Telltale's most successful series. [March 2017, p.78]

As its title says, it's a new frontier for a great franchise. Even though the mechanics aren't new, it still manages to surprise us and leave us excited for the episodes to come.

The first episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is the strong start that the series desperately needed.

The opening two episodes set the stage for the new adventure. They have everything you've come to expect from The Walking Dead: shocking deaths, intense betrayals, and split-second decisions to second-guess. Ties That Bind mostly focuses on familial bonds - the risks we take for the people we love and how far we're willing to go to put another's life above our own.

Family strife and dark secrets abound in Telltale's return to form. We're firmly on board for the ride. [Feb 2017, p.66]

The second season and occasional special episodes haven’t managed to recapture the emotional peaks of the series’ devastatingly emotional first season, and I’ve yet to see anything to suggest that this season will be any more successful. But it’s still well written, expertly acted, and filled with tense moments dealing with both the zombies and the true monsters of Kirkman’s world, humans.

A solid way to start with this season. This first episode shows some potential for what's to come and lets us live some quite disturbing sequences. Too bad Telltale still can't deliver something more polished technically speaking, though.

A partially successful soft reboot, with some of Telltale’s best storytelling – even if many of your decisions still make precious little difference.