The Walking Dead is the first season in a five-part adventure game series called The Walking Dead, which is based on the AMC television series as well as the original comic book series titled The Walking Dead. On the PC version, the episodes were not distributed singly like on Xbox 360, PS3, and iOS; instead, they were distributed as part of a single-season bundle. Players that purchased the pack were given access to the first episode upon its initial launch in April and the subsequent four episodes as they were made available, right up until the fifth and final episode was made public in November of the same year. After they have all been installed, any attack can be played immediately; however, because specific selections are carried over, they are recommended to be played in the order they were initially broadcast. Each episode was made available for purchase on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions as a stand-alone addition; however, to access any of the other four episodes, an asset of the first episode is required. In addition, a season pass may be purchased for a discounted rate on the PS3 version, allowing players to begin playing episodes as soon as they are released while saving money. On iOS, the first episode must be purchased before access to the other four may be gained through in-app purchases. Users can purchase each episode singly or buy a discounted bundle that includes all four episodes. The complete season was made available as a single retail game for the Xbox 360 and the PS3 in December 2012, following the same format as the version available on the PC. The retail version of Windows was made available to consumers in May 2013.
There are eight individual chapters in each episode. The following are the five episodes: Episode 1 of The Walking Dead is titled “A New Day.”
Episode 2 of The Walking Dead is titled “Starved for Help.”
Episode 3 of The Walking Dead is titled “Long Road Ahead.”
Episode 4 of The Walking Dead is titled “Around Every Corner.”
Episode 5 of The Walking Dead is titled “No Time Left.”
The outbreak of zombies in the game takes place in the United States at the beginning. Although it takes place in the same universe as the original story, it does not utilize any characters or settings from the comic book or the television series. Instead, it follows a parallel story through a new character named Lee Everett. Still, some of the original characters from the comic book, such as Glenn and Hershel, make guest appearances throughout the series. Everett, the primary protagonist, was a professor at the University of Georgia who was found guilty of murder after returning home one day to discover that his wife had been having an affair with another man. He was found guilty of the man’s murder because he committed it in a rage. At the beginning of the game, Everett is being driven to prison, but the car they are using to carry him wrecks, and he can escape. His primary priority at this point is evading the zombies, and he intends to go to Macon, where his family — his parents and brother — currently resides. Soon after, he comes across a young girl named Clementine, whose home has been overtaken by zombies, and he decides to take her with him. After then, he interacts with many new personalities and visits various unique places. The emotional attachment that Everett forms with Clementine and how he decides to carry her through the dangerous surroundings take up a significant portion of the game.
It is an action-adventure game with role-playing aspects that the player may play. The character can freely gaze around the area and interact with the various objects during several sequences. Compared to Telltale’s previous effort, Jurassic Park: The Game, there is a moderately increased amount of freedom in exploring, as well as more standard elements of adventure games, such as studying objects, putting them in an inventory, and using them in the environment. The majority of the action scenes are presented to the player either as cinematic or as quick-time events, which require them to react rapidly. If they are not carried out in time, the character will perish, and Everett will frequently be given the choice of whether to save the surface or to allow them to die at the hands of the zombies. A rewind mechanism allows the user to go back to any of the episode’s eight chapters to select a new option without listening to the whole episode again. Several sequences involve a stealth mechanic, which Lee can pick for a limited amount of time and then needs to get back before he is found out and murdered. During exploration, various icons appear to represent actions such as inspecting, interacting with, or using an item. Goods from the player’s inventory can also be seen here; however, the player must first interact with their inventory or combine interests to use those items.
There are several paths to take during conversations, each of which has the potential to result in a different chain of events. Whenever a discussion option is selected, a timer starts counting down, and if none of them is picked, the timer begins counting down nevertheless. Two different presentation styles can be selected when the game first begins. Standard reveals more of the user interface and assists with significant decisions, whereas Minimal hides the UI and turns off all suggestions, assistance, and choice notifications. The atmosphere can be changed at any point during the game. Important decisions made during events and dialogues are recalled and incorporated into subsequent scenes and episodes. Each episode concludes with a cliffhanger, a sneak preview of the following episode, credits, an analysis of the critical choices, and a comparison of how they stack up, shown as a percentage, versus the options of all other players worldwide. A new episode begins with a flashback of the events that came before it, which dynamically incorporates the player’s decisions. It is a considerably darker title than Telltale’s past games; as it includes profanity and gory executions, the focus is on the moral choices and repercussions in an atmosphere of bloodshed.
