The Walking Dead: Episode 2 Review

The Walking Dead Episode 2: Starved for Help is easily the tensest game I have played since the original Dead Space. Even the first episode of The Walking Dead did not have me questioning my dialogue and actions as much as the second episode. Instead of the undead being at the forefront of this episode, Telltale Games has placed the emphasis on human interaction and given us a reason to fear the way humans think.

Starved for Help plays exactly like the first episode in the series, but instead of being hesitant of your actions, you must be hesitant of your words and interactions with the other characters in the game. The main protagonist in the game is still Lee Everett, and while looking out for himself he is still the guardian of a young girl named Clementine. Episode 2 picks up a few months after the first one left off, the group of survivors at the end of the first episode are running out of food and need to figure out what to do next. Within minutes of starting the second episode, we are introduced to several new characters, the first of which is Mark, a man who stumbled upon the motel our survivors are holed up near. Players soon learn that the original cast has been extremely weary of newcomers, but Mark had food and even though they are nervous they cannot refuse any help that comes their way.

When two survivors walk up to the camp willing to trade food for gas is where the game really begins. What makes The Walking Dead such a unique game are the choices you make and the way you interact with others. Bonds you make with characters can be broken, and if you say something that contradicts someone in the game will call you out on it. Moving from the first game to the second game, Telltale had a lot of promises to uphold with what they promised to do with these character interactions. Now we can see how decisions and dialogue choices from Episode 2 come to fruition. How does Lily view you? Does Clementine trust you?

Unlike in Episode 1, where I mostly focused on making the best decisions possible (to see how the game works with decision making see my first review,) in this game I tried to focus on what was for the best of my group. Instead of focusing on the best way to protect Lee and Clementine, I focused on the best way to protect everyone from the undead and other survivors, as well as protecting my friendships. Without giving away any of the key moments of the game sometimes protecting friendships and protecting the group do not go hand in hand. I made some choices in Episode 2 that I would have trouble making in real life. Before pressing the button my finger would waver, and I would take every second of time I had to think about what I was about to do. Would making this decision affect x? Would x affect y? Or should I make decision w and possibly affect y or z? I am really excited to play through Episode 2 again to find out what would happen with each opposite decision to the one I chose. The Walking Dead has always been about the characters, and similar to the show Episode 2 builds up the suspense to the climax in such a way that only interweaving character plots can achieve.

The second episode (of five) does not look as good as its predecessor. Lip synching in the game can occasionally get off, and consisted screen tearing pulled me out of the experience a little bit. However, despite its graphical flaws The Walking Dead Episode Two still does what it does better than any other comparable game. At the five dollar price point, it is easily worth the few bucks. I look forward to seeing how my decisions in this chapter will affect interactions in Episode Three which is set to be released this August.