The Wolf Among Us Next Gen Review

I was drastically wrong, they have veered off into very interesting territory, from zombies to fairy tales. The Wolf Among Us takes the game-play of the brilliant Walking Dead game and sticks a daring but interesting story surrounding well known childhood fairy tale stories based on the Fables comic books. The Wolf Among Us hit last gen systems in October last year and has just hit next gen recently. Will the extra horsepower make any difference to the game?

You are Bigby Wolf, tasked with policing a special breed of people known as Fables within a Fable-made town hidden in plain sight in the United States. To appear human to normal humans, they need a special substance known as Glamour and people who defy this rule is sent to “The Farm”. Bigby is hated amongst the community. Its apparent from the get go that his authority is not appreciated due to his rude temperament and fiery temper. The Wolf Among Us starts the ball rolling when a woman is murdered and her head is left on Bibgy’s doorstep and the last known person to talk to her is “The Woodsman”. The story is fantastic and told and a masterful pace. It’s gritty throughout and the whole game hold a film-noir feel to it. The plot is filled with known fairy tale characters such as Snow White, Red who is Red Riding Hood and Bibgy Wolf who is the Big Bad Wolf and it is great fun recognizing them all. The voice acting is spot on, TellTale Games have certainly mastered the art of narration and it shows here.

The game-play is no different than Telltales Walking Dead game. Once again taking on the point and click demeanour with a bit of moral choice thrown in. The interface and controls are untouched however quick-time events happen more often in The Wolf Among Us. This sequences are high tense and keep you on your toes, fail them though and you’re not penalized, you just retry, if at first you don’t succeed right? The game is spread into five episodes which give off a television series feel to them complete with a “next time on The Wolf Among Us...” sequence at the end of each episode. I wished that Telltale didn’t include these as although it adds to the television series aesthetic, it spoiled things for me as it showed some of the important bits coming up.

Thanks to the power of next generation consoles, The Wolf Among Us is a smooth ride from beginning to end. The gritty comic book cartoon like graphics are super sharp and vibrantly coloured with a neon palette. The characters look fantastic, especially in their fairy tale forms. Toad is your typical gangster type who just wants an easy life but always finds himself amongst it. The Tweedle Twins, Dee and Dum, are fat stumpy thugs and Snow is as beautiful as you’d expect, the entire game looks beautiful and faultless even during fast moving parts.

Summary

The Wolf Among Us takes well known classic fairy-tales and converts them into a beautifully crafted story that’s gripping from beginning to end. The lush graphics are super sharp and blemish free thanks to the powerful new gen machines brought forth by neon bright colours. The game-play is untouched from The Walking Dead but the increase in tense sequences make it an exciting ride. Telltale Games certainly know how to tell a story, and tell it well!

Story - 5/5

Graphics - 5/5

Game-play - 4/5

Overall - 5/5

Version reviewed - PS4