In 2012 Telltale Games brought us their version of The Walking Dead based on the comic books by Robert Kirkman. Now, roughly a year since Episode 5: No Time Left, we are sucked back into the story of Clementine for Season 2 of the episodic game series.
Roughly 16 months have passed since the events of No Time Left and things are grim for Clementine. With Lee dead, she is on her own against a world that has been ravaged by death. All That Remains explores the character of Clementine in ways we never got to see in Season 1, this is due to her being the playable character this time round. You can now choose what she says and does meaning that we can see her perspective of the events of Season 1 and her story of events before the apocalypse for the first time. She has also matured, a lot. No longer is Clem the scared little girl in a dress, now she is a wise cracking pre-teen focussed on one thing along, survival. She is no longer afraid to kill and she knows how far to push the boundaries with people to get what she wants and to stay alive, all thanks to Lee.
The basic story explored in the first episode is that it comes to a point where Clementine can no longer look out for herself and has to rely on a new group to look after her. Some people are a little less willing to just invite a stranger in and as the episode goes on peoples secrets begin to come out, helping you make decisions that could ultimately decide between who to let live and die. Episode 1 has an awful lot of action for an opening episode, one that is supposed to set the scene, this compensates for the lack of game changing decisions you have to make but just like Season 1, you'll be surprised what could potentially effect the rest of the game.
Gameplay is very similar to TWD Season 1 & the other titles from Telltale. A point & click game at its core, but you have the ability to move around small 3D environments and interact with multiple objects to solve puzzles and move the story forward. Combat is dealt with in QTE's, mostly button mashing however some more precise actions have been included this time round such as holding one button down and tapping another or moving the left stick whilst pushing buttons. Its nothing complex, but TWD was never about having loads of gameplay mechanics, however this is a considerable step up from the original series and Telltale's other titles.
Visually, The Walking Dead looks absolutely fantastic. Now take that with a pinch of salt because compare it to many other games and its cel-shaded, 3D representation of the source material isn’t easy on the eyes. But compare it to the other Telltale titles and the source material itself and Season 2 is something of beauty. A much more varied and vibrant colour selection, higher detail in both character models and environment, less frame rate issues, better lighting; its all there and it looks great.
As for sound, the voice acting is what you would expect; something of awe and wonder. Any existing characters have their roles reprised and new characters are just as believable and interesting to talk to thanks to some amazing voice talent. The soundtrack is calming much like the first seasons and gives nice atmosphere to the world which is also nice.
In conclusion, All That Remains is the best start Season 2 could have had. It gets right in there, with many moments that already stand head and shoulders above the best of Season 1's moments. If you wanted more action, more interesting characters, more blood, more Walking Dead; then All That Remains is exactly what you are looking for. A great start to what looks to be another amazing series from Telltale.
The Walking Dead Season 2
Episode 1: All That Remains – 9/10
+Action Packed First Episode
+The New Clementine
+Interesting New Characters
+Gameplay Improvements
+Graphical Upgrade
-Not Enough Decisions
