The Wolf Among Us Episode 2 has finally been released after a 4 month gap from the first, for those who missed the first part of this review The Wolf Among us is a game developed and published by Telltale Games, best known for their The Walking Dead game and upcoming Tales From the Borderlands.
If you wish for a more in-depth review on the game as a whole check out the Review for the first episode, though I will reference some parts of that review in this one.
“This review contains spoilers from Episode 1, and possibly from Episode 2.”
Story
Episode 1:
A quick recap of Episode 1 is shown to us as we continue our series, showing some of the choices we made and generalisation of the story. It shows us our first encounter with the Woodsman, the head of Faith on our doorstep and the actions we as the player took along the way. The scenes shown are mostly the same, with the replies being pre-determined which is very evident with Bigby saying “Hey Hey hey” when he sees the Woodsman, which I did not pick on either of my playthroughs.
The recap tells us the basic overview of what happened in episode 1, if leaving out some of the choices we made and whether we saved Faith’s husband or not.
Read more from Episode 1 Here
Episode 2:
As the episode beings it shows us a glimpse of what happened at the end of the last episode, with Bigby looking at the head of Snow white on the doorstep to the Woodlands apartments. We are quickly changed to a view of Bigby being held by Mundy Officers and being interrogated about what is happening. This is cut short as the interim mayor Ichabod Crane comes in with a memory wipe spell to incapacitate the Humans and get Bigby out of there.
This episode is more heavily based around interrogations and connecting the dots than the first as you follow leads from one place to another and uncover the secrets about Faith and the mysterious murders occurring in Fabletown. We are also given another fight to enjoy, if a bit short and easier than the previous ones.
Like the first episode, Episode 2 is around 2 hours long, 107 minutes for my first run, and around 1 hour for a second run of it. This episode feels a lot shorter than the first and isn’t as drawn out, which feels like an improvement but leaves you wanting more as 4 months for 2 hours doesn’t feel like too much.
I continued with both of my saves, the good and the bad wolf, and found that no matter what you choose you seem to be put down a linear path. Being persuasive or brutish gives almost the same results, with differences in dialogue which is a bit disappointing as there is no sense of failure to be had.
Gameplay
From the change in episodes there are a few improvements in the gameplay; one of the major ones is the length you are given with replies in conversations and the consistency of 4 choices over 3 or 2. There is less of a focus on items this time, with only 1 or 2 instances in where you needed to find an item then use it later one on the episode. There is also a nice little puzzle with a twisting picture that you have to align to open a container.
Episode 2 is also more centred on investigations and interrogations, with the interrogations requiring you to have quick thinking to decipher what the characters say, find out their personality and get what you want out of them. The investigative part of this Episode is more evident when you have free reign of a crime scene to find clues, connect them together and profile the killer.
The lag issues that were found in the first episode seem to have lessened in this part, though still occurred during cutscenes and once during a battle.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
The music on Episode 2 continues to bring home the investigation theme with a few action orientated songs. This music didn’t really stand out this time, either to reuse of songs or too similar sounds. The score is still very well done, with appealing tunes and atmosphere matching themes and fits all together in one OST.
I was disheartened with the fighting in this episode, as the first “fight” is you hitting a strapped prisoner and the second being only around 8 button presses. Though this is merely to stop an enraged character I was hoping for a bit more action.
Like I said before the lag issues seem to have lessened in this Episode, but still lacks any function of fast forward to allow for faster replays. The option for interrupting speech is improved however as you can select a reply why someone is still talking and cut them off, but this can mean you miss out on valuable hints or information slipping by. There is also a lack of constant choice consequences in episode 2 as only 3 or 4 choices are persistent, though they are pretty well done when you notice them.
Overall I would give The Wolf Among Us: Episode 2 a 4/5, it continues with all the themes and parts it does well at with added improvements but still contains a lot of the problems from the first episode. There is still a feeling of having little voice in the world as you are confined to 4 choices that don’t always represent what you want to say. Episode 3 will hopefully bring back some of the action we saw in Episode 1, until then we will just have to huff and puff in preparation.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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