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Lee Everett is back with his band of zombie survivors in The Walking Dead Episode 2. Three months after the events of the first episode, the survivors are running low on supplies as well as patience with each other. Tensions run high as the food begins to run short with big decisions having to be made.
The episode starts off with a disturbing bang and never really lets up for the duration of the episode. You’ll have to make very big choices, do insane and frantic actions and decide the fate of many people. The game focuses more on what is really the most dangerous and scary aspect of a zombie apocalypse: other survivors. You will meet more than your fair share of new survivors in this episode. Some come with helping hand, while others may have a more sinister plan. You never really know what to expect.
Could this be their last supper?
The game keeps the standard fair with Episode 2. You will encounter simple quick time events as well as small hubs for both exploring and conversing with other characters. The small situational puzzles return, but never really take too much time or thought to solve. I never got stuck even a single time while playing this episode.
All the choices you made in the first episode transfer over to this outing, so you may have a different experience depending on what you did. Some characters may favor you more than others, some may remember how you handled a situation and remind you of it later and some may very well be alive or dead.
This episode just feels grander in scale. It may be because of the multiple changes of scenery or the new characters, but overall, it feels like a much larger experience in terms of both game play and story.
We are like a walking buffet.
I did experience some graphical glitches while playing this episode. Some scenes evidenced problems with characters disappearing from the screen, or clipping into other environments during scripted sequences. These glitches were actually distracting and took me out of the mood and atmosphere.
The episode will last you around two hours, and even with the problems I had, the story, voice acting and overall tone of the game hold true throughout. Players of the first episode should not miss this one, and players that have yet to pick up the series should play this game (in order, of course). If you’re looking for a great continuation of the first episode, you just found it. I honestly can’t wait for Episode 3.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
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Matt Quinn
Finished these up the other day (1 + 2). Way better than I was expecting. No chance it’ll finish up this year though, huh. Too bad. I want to play all 5 eps asap.