Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us is only three episodes into its first season, but it has known a rocky road. The series began under the weight of expectation, following the wild success of The Walking Dead’s first season. Then there was the long wait between episode one and two, eliciting an explanation from the company’s president . The game has had to deal with Telltale fatigue and a couple of newly announced titles which led to many questions about the developer’s ability to juggle so many properties. Through all of these quagmires, The Wolf Among Us continues to deliver the quality Telltale has recently become known for. While two years ago a Telltale game felt original, today they are old hat, filled with expectation. In The Crooked Mile, Telltale tries to distract players from these tricks, toy with the known quantities. It is a solid effort, and the third episode in series based on Bill Willingham’s fairy-tales-gone-wrong universe delivers many strong story beats with all the skill we have come to expect, but in the end it feels like we are getting a lot of the status quo, as little tricks fail to change up a formula in need of something more substantial.
While revelations at the end of the previous episode, Smoke and Mirrors, felt like they were pointing toward some definitive conclusions, The Crooked Mile does an excellent job of keeping the wheels of the story spinning, leaving players with more questions than answers. Bigby and Snow turn their efforts to find the corrupt, interim ruler of Fabletown, Ichabod Crane, and discover their cut-and-dry murder mystery might have more twists and turns than originally thought. With so many cookie-cutter video game stories, Telltale continues to prove they are ahead of the game when it comes to narrative. A particular treat comes in the form of Bigby and Snow’s relationship. While Fabletown’s one-two punch have the same dynamic at the start of Willingham’s work, it is quickly altered and never quite the same. Seeing Telltale playing with the “will-they-won’t-they” material hardwired into the relationship is one of the game’s best traits. Telltale knows how to grip an audience with narrative. The dialogue continues to be well written, the web of clues is well-spun, and the mystery is still alive.
Picking up right where episode two left off, The Crooked Mile has players interacting with many beloved fairy tales in uneviable situations, some from the comics, some who are not. To Telltale’s credit, while the dialogue choices are starting to feel old hat, it is becoming difficult to tell how these choices are effecting the story. Payers are forced to respond to dialogue and choices more instinctually, a lack of clear connection to gameplay manipulation allows for more gut-reactions. That being said, the story changes are increasingly difficult to recognize, sometimes it feels like the way you treat characters has little effect on the story at all. Of course major events in Telltale games have never been affected by choice, but it feels less like a coloring book and more like paint by numbers. Telltale continues to wrestle control away from the player, siphoning away their significance in the series.
As I selected my way through scenes, it became quickly apparent The Crooked Mile lacks the polish of the first two episodes. The game chugs at points, much more akin to the first season of The Walking Dead, an issue many had hoped was more-or-less resolved. It would not be an issue except it screws up the timing in the game’s snappy dialogue. Telltale’s writing is so spot on it is painful for them to lose so many moments due to the game’s technical problems. It is possible the polish of the previous two episodes is something which needed to be sacrificed for a faster release. It would be a fair trade, a result of having to release content on systems from the previous generations.
When the game is running smoothly it is pretty to look at. Telltale’s control over the narrative gives them the ability to use the camera in a cinematic way, and their talent is really starting to find its feet in this regard. The noir-style take on Willingham’s Fables is still visually delectable. The game’s score also stands out in The Crooked Mile. Whereas before, it seemed to fade into the background – not necessarily a bad thing – the music emotionally sets the tone at times in Telltale’s latest episode. The blend of heavy synthesized sound, the neon colors, the elements of dark and light all come together in a pleasing mix. Like previous entries the series, Telltale is able stay true to its own style while blending with Willingham’s established universe.
While Telltale’s point-and-click adventuring has lost some of its creativity since the game’s initial release, there are still smart choices being made. You still root around drawers to find keys and pick abandoned notes to gather clues, but the curveballs thrown in The Crooked Mile stand out. There are quicktime events which are unbeatable, there are clues you have to find, but these predetermined points are presented with interesting tweaks to make them fresh. Sometimes you will think something is unbeatable, then the game manipulates the rules to make you believe you can survive, only to wrestle control away at the last second. When you boil it down, it is an old trick these games have employed for a long time, but they have at least been given a fresh coat of paint.
Am I still drawn to continue deeper into The Wolf Among Us? Of course, how you could you not be? The game is still weaving a story which draws you along for an interesting ride, hitting the right beats to keep you invested. It is the strength of The Wolf Among Us and a well documented strength of the developer. It is only when you dissect the game and remove the story, you begin to find all the little quirks which keep it from being a great game. It is nothing new, Telltale has had these issue before, they are forgivable and ultimately don’t distract from a fantastic piece of work. It does, however, make you wonder how long you – and Telltale – are willing to roll with the status quo.
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