The Walking Dead

General Comments

This review currently consists of Season 1 of The Walking Dead.

Incomplete Tags for this Game

Bones Fire Jump Scares Rats/Rodents

Alcohol

There is some alcohol consumption in-game.

• In episode three, the player is required to ask another character to have a drink.
• In episode four, a character gets drunk.
• In episode five, a group of characters pass around a bottle.

Animal Death

While no animal death occurs on screen, episode four requires the player to dig up a dog’s grave.

Blood

Blood is commonplace in the game.

Bones

There are multiple dead bodies in the game. Some of the bodies and the zombies have rotted away to the point where there are exposed bones.

Cannibalism

Episode two revolves around a family of cannibals that lures others to their home with false promises of food and shelter.

Dead Bodies

Dead bodies are extremely common throughout the game.

Death of Family/Friends

This is major theme in the story. Significant examples are listed by episode:

Episode 1. Lee attempts to find his family after the start of the zombie apocalypse; his parents are implied to have died and he later finds his brother as a zombie. Later, the player is forced to make a decision that will get one of two companions killed no matter what.

Episode 2. Two companions die. One is cannibalized and another suffers from cardiac arrest before having his skull bashed in to prevent him from turning as a zombie. The player has the option of killing the character themselves or attempting to help him, but his death is inevitable.

Episode 3. In a paranoid state of mind, one character will murder another. The player has the choice to abandon her on the side of the road, and it is implied that doing so will lead to her death as well. Later in the episode, a child is bitten by a zombie. His mother commits suicide in grief. The child can then be killed—by either the player or the child’s father—or left to turn.

Episode 4. A companion of the player will attempt to hold off a group of zombies. His remains are later found. Late in the game, the player has the option to let a companion fall to his death, but can pull him to safety instead.

Episode 5. If the companion was rescued in the previous episode, he will die in this one. The player’s longest companion will fight off a hoard of zombies off-screen, his death implied. Clementine learns her parents are dead. At the end of the episode, the player can ask Clementine to kill Lee so he will not become a zombie.

Dehumanization

Episode two revolves around a family of cannibals that lures others to their home with false promises of food and shelter. They treat others like food, not people.

Episode four involves a settlement called Crawford that had a ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality. Anyone who was too young, old, disabled, or otherwise deemed ‘weak’ were killed.

Disease

Zombies are said in the game to be the product of a disease. The zombies infect others via bites.

Electrocution

At the end of episode two, the player has a chance to kick an antagonist into an electric fence. The player can choose not to do this.

Emotional Abuse

The end of episode five has Lee confront The Stranger, who proceeds to twist Lee’s actions to seem evil.

Eye Horror/Eye Trauma

Some zombies found throughout the game have eye trauma.

Gore

Gore is very common in the game, both in combat and during cutscenes.

Graphic Violence

The game requires players to defend themselves from zombies or other humans on occasion. When they do so, it is violent and graphically depicted.

Guns

Characters regularly pick up guns to defend themselves.

Heights

At the end of episode four, the group climbs to the top of a bell tower. One character may fall to his death, depending on player decisions.

Episode five heavily features roof jumping.

Jump Scares

There are multiple times throughout the game where a zombie can jump out at the Player Character. There are also multiple areas where a sense of tension and paranoia is created to make the player believe there will be a jump scare soon.

Kidnapping

At the end of episode 4, Clementine is kidnapped by The Stranger. For a more detailed description see "Stalking".

Murder

Episode two features cannibals who by extension are murderers.

Larry’s death may be interpreted as murder.

In episode three, a character murders someone in a paranoid rage.

Crawford used murder to cull anyone they thought was weak.

In episode five, The Stranger intends to murder Lee.

Mutilation

The player has the choice to cut Lee’s arm off in hopes of slowing the zombie infection. The player can choose not to do this.

Offensive Language

General profanity is used throughout the game.

Psychological Trauma

Kenny clearly begins showing signs of PTSD by episode three.

Racism

Lee experiences racism on occasion. Larry’s hatred of Lee may stem from racism (and the player has the option of saying so). Kenny assumes that Lee knows how to pick locks because he is “urban”.

Self Harm

The player has the choice to cut Lee’s arm off in hopes of slowing the zombie infection. The player can choose not to do this.

Stalking

The end of episode two reveals that a (now deceased) woman was stalking the group with intent to kidnap Clementine.

Episode three reveals that Clementine as been talking to an unknown man on a radio. The man continues to stalk the group throughout episode four and kidnaps Clementine.

Episode five reveals he has been stalking the group since at least the end of episode two.

Suicide

A woman commits suicide in episode one.

In episode three, a mother commits suicide when her son is bitten by a zombie.

In episode four, a companion will beg for Lee to let him fall to his death because he believes he is useless and a burden.

Undead/Zombies

A primary component to this game is the fact that zombies have suddenly come into existence. They are ever-present in the game.

Victim Blaming

At the end of episode five, The Stranger paints his act of kidnapping Clementine as Lee’s fault.

Violence Against Children

Zombies are indiscriminate in their targets and will attack children.

Duck is eventually bitten by a zombie in episode three and the player has the option to mercy kill him.

In episode four, a zombie in the form of a young boy is encountered. The player has the option to kill and bury him.

Vomiting

Christa vomits in episode four after seeing the corpse of a dog.

Weapons

Characters use a variety of makeshift weapons.

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