Review: The Wolf Among Us Episode 4

A few years ago a friend lent me the first issue of a little comic called Fables, which told the story of fairy tale characters forced out of their Homelands by an evil force and now living in modern day New York. I instantly fell in love with the series, and other attempts at the “dramatic fairy tale reimagining” fell woefully short in my eyes (I am looking at you, Once Upon A Time).

But when I heard that Telltale Games, aka that Episodic Adventure Game Company, were doing an adaptation of the series, my fangirl excitement increased about 300%. After all, they had absolutely nailed their The Walking Dead game, another episodic series based on the comic universe of the same name.

And thankfully so far, The Wolf Among Us has not disappointed. Episodes 1-3 have already been released, and before I dive into Episode 4 I should give a bit of background for any of those who have not played the series yet.

First: yes, this is a thing.

The Wolf Among Us is actually a prequel to the Fable comics, taking place in the 80’s. It follows Bigby Wolf, sheriff of Fabletown and former Big Bad Wolf. This is a different Fabletown from the comics though. Bigby isn’t considered as trustworthy, Ichabod Crane is the one serving as deputy mayor, and there are many in Fabletown who feel neglected and just manage to scrape by.

Like poor Mr. Toad.

It doesn’t get any easier when Faith, a prostitute Bigby meets and aids at the beginning of the game, winds up murdered and decapitated within minutes of the game beginning. The mystery and conspiracies only grow from there.

The game is absolutely beautiful. Telltale continues to use the same harsh cartoon style for their characters, and it works just as well here as it did in the Walking Dead. The synth music and hot pink and purple used throughout the game support the 80’s setting.

Telltale also continues to use Quick Time Events (QTE’s) to move most of the action forward. If you’re not a fan of QTE’s, you’ll probably get aggravated at this game pretty quickly. Truthfully, I feel in this case they add to the tension and brutality of the fights.

And of course the writing and story are simply top notch. If you love film noir, you’re going to get a kick out of this game. For fans of the comics, it’s great to see old characters pop up, but there are plenty of new characters as well and they are put to great use.

My favourite so far has to be the inclusion of Georgie Porgie, simply for the fact that he has a strip club named the Puddin’ and Pie. Seriously, I can’t get enough of that name. The only real downside to this being a prequel and knowing the comics is that you know which characters are going to make it out of this alive. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment though.

Telltale’s new claim to fame has been its dialogue system, wherein you usually have to make a dialogue choice within a time limit. How you answer affects how others will treat you throughout the series. You can choose to play Bigby as sympathetic or a complete badass.

Good cop or bad cop!

Keep in mind though, while dialogue choices do affect how your game will play out, most times it’s only in small ways. So far there’s only one or two big decisions that severely changed how I was treated later in the game. This does make the game fairly linear, but again, the writing is good enough that you barely notice it.

That’s about all I can talk about before getting into the dreaded Spoiler territory. So for those of you who scream and cover your ears at the very mention of a hint of what’s to come, I would stop reading here and pay the series out first. Seriously, play the series….go…now….

You’ll be saying “Frack’s sake, Bufkin!” before you know it!

Okay…they gone? Awesome, let’s talk about The Wolf Among Us Episode 4.

When last we left Bigby Wolf, he was in a pretty tense situation. After getting gunned down by Bloody Mary (with silver bullets no less) Bigby is left in a bloodied, broken heap. Crane has been taken away and depending on how you played the last episode, one of the Tweedles may or may not have his throat ripped out.

Of course Bigby survives (we still have two episodes to go after all) and before long he is back on the streets searching out the Crooked Man (because of his popularity as a fable, he is amazingly hard to kill).

Woof.

Episode 4 isn’t a bad episode. It still has some great writing. We get to check in again with Beauty and Beast (probably Fabletown’s dumbest couple judging by this episode), Toad and if you’re quick enough, Jack. But of the episodes released so far, and especially after coming off the “HOLY CRAP THIS IS AMAZING” that was Episode 3, this definitely seems like the weakest one so far.

It’s what I like to call The Chessboard Episode. It only serves to set up the pieces for Episode 5. The characters are recovering from their last ordeal and moving to where they need to be, so there is no real new development for them. There’s only one real big decision to make and while you may miss some interesting information depending on which location you go to first (I played both versions) the outcome remains the same.

It just isn’t a true crime without a meat locker search.

It’s also the shortest episode to date. I played it in just over an hour, which was actually pretty shocking considering the other episodes lasted about two. The one payoff was a pretty fantastic meeting with the Jersey Devil and a visit once again with the Woodsman, who remains a character that I honestly feel conflicted about which again speaks volumes of the writing.

What it leads up to though is a climax that left me yelling at my tv at the realization that I would have to wait a month or more to see the conclusion. And to be honest? I can’t wait. So far this has not only been a great adaptation of a great series, but also an excellent game experience all on its own.

Is it weird that I’m attracted to a battered and bloody comic character?…It’s not that weird, is it?

If you’re reading this, then you’ve more than likely made the same commitment I have and purchased the Season Pass to the game. If you’re doing it on an episode by episode basis though…I would recommend sticking with it. And Once Upon a Time, take note, THIS IS HOW YOU DO GRITTY FAIRY TALES RIGHT!