The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead

Systems:

• Mac OSX
• Windows PC
• Ouya
• PlayStation 3
• PlayStation 4
• PlayStation Vita
• Xbox 360
• Xbox One
• Android
• iOS
• Kindle Fire HDX
• Releases:
  • Original Release: 2012

Publisher:

• Telltale Games
• Sony Computer Entertainment (Vita)

Developer:

• Telltale Games

ESRB Rating:

• Mature (M)
• Reasoning:
  • Blood and Gore
  • Drug Reference
  • Intense Violence
  • Sexual Themes
  • Strong Language

The Walking Dead is a horror/adventure game. The game takes place in the universe described in Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead comic book series. It follows a variety of characters as they struggle to survive in a world where the dead rise up as flesh-hungry monsters. The player must make difficult choices that have widespread effects on the game and the characters. Who lives, who dies, who turns, and who survives? No one knows until the very end.

General Comments

This review currently consists of Season 1, Season 2, and the 400 Days DLC of The Walking Dead.

Incomplete Tags for this Game

• Avians
• Bones
• Dolls
• Felines
• Jump Scares
• Rats/Rodents
• Vehicular Trauma

Alcohol

Season 1

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.

Season 2

There are a couple of instances in which characters may consume alcohol.

• If the player chooses to go with Nick at the end of episode one, in episode two he will drink copious amounts of moonshine; the player has the option to join him.
• In episode five, the group passes around a bottle of alcohol, and once again the player can choose to take a sip.

400 Days During Russel’s story, Nate drinks while driving.

Animal Death

Season 1

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

Season 2

In episode one, the player spends some time with a dog. Once food is found, however, the dog attempts to take it and a fight breaks out, forcing the player to kill it.

Aquatic Violence

Season 2

In episode five, the group must cross a frozen lake. Eventually, one character finds himself on thin ice and regardless of player decisions will fall in. He ultimately dies of drowning, either because he cannot find a place to resurface, or because he is being pulled down by a walker.

Bigoted Language

400 Days

In Russell’s story an old man calls him a “spook”. This is unavoidable, as Russel’s story must be played to finish the game.

Blood

Blood is commonplace in the game in both Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC.

Bones

There are multiple dead bodies in Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC. Some of the bodies and the zombies have rotted away to the point where there are exposed bones.

Brainwashing

Season 2

The way Carver leads his group has a distinctly cult-like overtone.

Reggie clearly suffers from Stockholm Syndrome.

Canines

In Season two, episode one, Clementine befriends a dog. It later turns on her in a struggle for food.

Cannibalism

Season 1

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

Claustrophobia

Season 2

In episode one, the player is required to crawl under a porch.

Dead Bodies

Dead bodies are extremely common throughout the entire game. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC.

400 Days

In Russel’s story, you have the option to tell him to hide from an oncoming truck. When he lies down in the ditch, he will see the corpse of whoever was killed in season one, episode three.

Death of Family/Friends

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

Season 1

• 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.

Season 2

• Episode 1. The game opens with Omid being killed, who acted as a primary caretaker of Clementine. Christa also becomes separated from Clementine. Although it’s never clear whether or not she dies, her chances of survival seem low. Later, Clementine befriends a dog, but the two fight over food and Clementine is forced to kill it. At the end of the episode, if Clementine chooses to aid Nick rather than Pete, Pete will be killed.
• Episode 2. If the player chose to aid Pete in the previous episode, he will die in this episode. Later, the group encounters a man named Matthew and he quickly befriends Clementine, but due to miscommunication, he is killed by a group member who believes he is a threat. Later in the episode, the group is attacked and Walter is killed as an example to others. Depending on player actions, Alvin may be killed as well. Also, if the player tells Walter that Nick is just like everyone else (i.e. a murderer), Walter will not come to Nick's defense when he is attacked and Nick will die.
• Episode 3. A man who befriends Clementine is thrown off the roof by a villain. If Alvin survived the previous episode, he is killed in this one while trying to buy time for Clementine. Carlos is shot in the neck while escaping with the group, especially distressing for his daughter, who witnesses it.
• Episode 4. Sarita dies, either from being swarmed by zombies or as a mercy killing. Sarah dies either from being left behind in a catatonic state while zombies are swarming in, or from falling off of a balcony and being trapped while zombies attack her. The episode ends with Rebecca dying from complications after child birth and the player must choose whether or not to shoot her before she reanimates and potentially harms her newborn, a decision heightened by the fact the group is surrounded by bandits. Also, if Nick survived episode two, he will die off-screen and return as a zombie that the player will be forced to kill.
• Episode 5. A supporting character, Arvo, witnesses the deaths of his friends and sister and is traumatized by it. Luke dies while attempting to traverse a frozen lake. The game ends with the decision regarding whether to kill Kenny before he has a chance to kill Jane, or to look away and let him.

400 Days

At the end of Bonnie’s story, Bonnie strikes someone approaching her with rebar, thinking it is one of her pursuers. It is revealed to be a friend, and the strike ultimately kills her.

The final decision in Shel’s story is whether or not to kill a friend who was stealing supplies. The player can choose to kill her personally, or run away from the oppressive settlement Shel lives in. If Shel does run, however, her friend is likely still killed by others in the group.

Depiction of Disaster

The game takes place after a zombie endemic/apocalypse. Loss of homes, loss of family, and lawlessness are portrayed in the game.

Dehumanization

Season 1

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.

Season 2

Kenny’s treatment of Arvo in episode is severely dehumanizing. He beats Arvo on whims, ignoring the protests of others, mocks and taunts him, and ultimately further damages Arvo’s psyche to the point of immense paranoia.

400 Days

In Shel’s story, her group finds a thief and they discuss what to do with him; those in favor of killing him speak of him more as an animal than a person.

Disease

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

Disruptive Home Life

Season 2

Carver’s settlement as a whole may qualify as this, as he uses brainwashing and emotionally manipulative techniques to keep everyone submissive to him.

Drowning

Season 2

In episode five, Luke drowns.

Electrocution

Season 1

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

Season 1

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

Season 2

Carver engages in many forms of emotional abuse. Notably, he forces Carlos to slap his daughter, against Carlos’s will and ignoring that the offense Sarah caused was due to a cognitive disorder. Late in the game, Kenny engages in hallmark emotional (and sometimes physical) abuse.

Eye Horror/Eye Trauma

Some zombies found throughout the game have eyes that have been mutilated. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and in the 400 Days DLC.

Season 2

During episode three, Kenny is beaten and his eye is severely damaged. He keeps a bandage over it for the most part, but the player is required to look at it at least once.

400 Days

At the end of Bonnie’s story, Bonnie hits someone in the face, causing severe damage to the right eye.

Gore

Gore is very common in the game, both in combat and during cutscenes in Seasons 1 and 2 and in the 400 Days DLC.

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. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and in the 400 Days DLC.

400 Days In Wyatt’s story, Wyatt and Eddie run over a man. However, the man does not die.

Guns

Characters regularly pick up guns to defend themselves. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and in the 400 Days DLC.

Homophobia

Season 2

Although never deliberately used in game, the fact that the only two gay characters that appear in the game both subsequently die may be upsetting.

Heights

Season 1

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. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and in the 400 Days DLC.

Kidnapping

Season 1

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

Season 2

At the end of episode three, Carver kidnaps Clementine and her friends.

Murder

Season 1

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.

Season 2

• Episode 1 The game opens with Omid being killed, who acted as a primary caretaker of Clementine. Christa also becomes separated from Clementine. Although it’s never clear whether or not she dies, her chances of survival seem low. Later, Clementine befriends a dog, but the two fight over food and Clementine is forced to kill it. At the end of the episode, if Clementine chooses to aid Nick rather than Pete, Pete will be killed.

• Episode 2 If the player chose to aid Pete in the previous episode, he will die in this episode. Later, the group encounters a man named Matthew and he quickly befriends Clementine, but due to miscommunication, he is killed by a group member who believes he is a threat. Later in the episode, the group is attacked and Walter is killed as an example to others. Depending on player actions, Alvin may be killed as well.

• Episode 3 A man who befriends Clementine is thrown off the roof by a villain. If Alvin survived the previous episode, he is killed in this one while trying to buy time for Clementine. Carlos is shot in the neck while escaping with the group, especially distressing for his daughter, who witnesses it.

• Episode 4 Sarita dies, either from being swarmed by zombies or as a mercy killing. Sarah dies either from being left behind in a catatonic state while zombies are swarming in, or from falling off of a balcony and being trapped while zombies attack her. The episode ends with Rebecca dying from complications after child birth and the player must choose whether or not to shoot her before she reanimates and potentially harms her newborn, a decision heightened by the fact the group is surrounded by bandits.

• Episode 5 A supporting character, Arvo, witnesses the deaths of his friends and sister and is traumatized by it. Luke dies while attempting to traverse a frozen lake. The game ends with the decision regarding whether to kill Kenny before he has a chance to kill Jane, or to look away and let him.

400 Days

Vince murders someone at the beginning of his story. Later, an argument on a prison bus culminates in a man strangling another prisoner; a guard attempts to intervene, but in his panic shoots the attacking prisoner in the head. Finally, the story culminates in Vince being forced to shoot someone’s foot off so he and another prisoner can escape.

Wyatt’s story opens with Wyatt and Eddie arguing about Eddie’s decision to suddenly open fire on someone.

During Russel’s story, Nate murders a man and his wife and Russel may be an accomplice based on player choices.

Bonnie accidentally murders a woman.

Shel’s story revolves around the decision on whether or not to kill two people at two different times.

Mutilation

Season 1

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.

Season 2

During episode three, Kenny is beaten and his eye is severely damaged. He keeps a bandage over it for the most part, but the player is required to look at it at least once.

Offensive Language

General profanity is used throughout the game. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC.

Physical Abuse

Season 2

Carver is physically abusive to nearly everyone, and also forces Carlos to hit his own daughter.

Psychological Trauma

Season 1

Kenny clearly begins showing signs of PTSD by episode three.

Season 2

Many characters suffer from psychological trauma, particularly Nick, Sarah, and Kenny.

Racism

Season 1

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”.

400 Days

Russel’s story has several instances of this. Nate makes various racist remarks, such as believing that Russel was part of a gang because he was black. An old man later calls him a ‘spook’.

In Shel’s story, her group finds and captures a thief. As the group discusses what to do with the man, some characters may make racist comments about him, depending on how the conversation flows.

Self Harm

Season 1

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.

Sexual Assault

Season 2

Although never explicitly stated, it is heavily implied that Carver raped Rebecca.

400 Days

In Vince’s story, a prisoner named Danny apparently had intercourse with a fifteen year old girl. Details on this are unclear.

Sexual Harassment

400 Days

During Russel’s story, Nate demands that Russel tell him about any sexually attractive girls he’s met. When Russel refuses, Nate deliberately puts Russel’s life in danger until Russel relents.

Sexualization/Objectification

400 Days

During Russel’s story, Nate continuously degrades and sexualizes women in his comments.

Stalking

Season 1

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.

Season 2

A major plot point is that Carver has been stalking Rebecca ever since she escaped from him.

400 Days

During Wyatt’s story, Wyatt and Eddie are relentlessly pursued by Nate.

Substance Abuse

400 Days

During Wyatt’s story, Eddie suggests smoking marijuana.

In Bonnie’s story, we learn she used to be a drug addict.

Suicide

Season 1

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.

Torture

Season 2

In episode two, Carver tortures Carlos by breaking his fingers.

In episode three, Carver tortures Alvin because Rebecca chose Alvin over himself.

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.

Verbal Abuse

Kenny is verbally abusive in both seasons, particularly to Ben and Arvo.

In season one, episode five, The Stranger is verbally abusive to Lee.

Victim Blaming

Season 1

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

Season 2

Kenny utilizes this numerous times in episode five, particularly when dealing with Arvo.

Violence Against Children

Zombies are indiscriminate in their targets and will attack children. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC.

Season 1

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.

Season 2

Carlos and his henchmen are generally comfortable with striking children.

Vomiting

Season 1

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

400 Days

During Vince’s story, Justin vomits after his first encounter with a zombie.

Weapons

Characters use a variety of makeshift weapons throughout the game. This is true in Seasons 1 and 2 and the 400 Days DLC.

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