User Score
8.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 550 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 44 out of 550

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  1. Aug 18, 2012
    10
    This is not open world, this is not a shooter, this is a TellTale game, an adventure, like a book or movie you get to play through. All the Red reviews seem to not understand that and haven't had experiences with games in this genre before. As an adventure game, this is tops, it is incredible. Voice acting is amazing, the design is beautiful (even the zombies) and the story is gripping and wonderful. Expand
  2. Oct 13, 2012
    10
    The game has a style of an interactive video. The story line of this game is amazing and makes you want to play more. Different options you pick depend on how you turn out in the end and how people reflect to you. I have completed the new Episode 4 and excited to play more to see how this long journey ends. I rate this 10 of 10 for being an original game that gives a new feel and style to the gaming community with an awesome story to back all of that up. It is a must get! Why are you still reading this?! BUY THE GAME!! Expand
  3. Jun 11, 2012
    10
    Adventure games are not for everyone. No question about it. However, my girlfriend and I found Walking Dead to be a great couples gaming experience. It's an adventure game that incorporates elements of film, but with enough quick decision making and branching plot aspects to keep you from feeling like you're just hitting continue. Simply put, if Walking Dead is an interactive movie, it is a really, really fun one. Pros: The storytelling is deeply engaging, truly top shelf for video games. The animation, voice acting, writing and story arc are all genuinely good and engaging. It doesn't feel like settling for a second-rate story just because it is a game (MMORPG anyone?) . The choices feel important, stilted maybe, but important nonetheless. Cons: The graphics were not stellar, they are very well used and the game looks and feels good, but the modeling itself seemed a little simplistic. Despite claiming to react to your play style and choices, I would describe Walking Dead as a game with a simple branching plot (at least thus far). However even if it is a 'con' it is a huge step forward from the typical point and click adventure.

    The first episode took around 3 hours to complete. One of the best games (especially adventure games) I've played in years. Can't wait for the next installment.
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  4. Jan 4, 2013
    10
    While i've been a fan of the TV show and Comics since they both began, I was hesitant to start with the game, simply because of its method of play. However, after finishing the first episode I was hooked, and can now say that it's without a doubt one of my favourite games from 2012 if not top 10 of all time. The method of distributing episodes is new and unique, however I started them after they'd all been released, and so could play continuously. Overall I would HIGHLY recommend this series, I've never truly felt as connected or attached to any characters as I did in this series. Astounding. Expand
  5. Aug 22, 2012
    10
    This game is absolutely amazing! It might simply be the best story ever told in a PC game. And the coolest thing: YOU are part of it, YOU are calling the shots, YOU decide where the narrative is heading. Forget all criticism about lame puzzles and little interaction. That's missing the point. If you want puzzles, play Puzzle Agent, if you want interaction, get yourself a Wii. Yet, if you want to enjoy a gripping plot, a thrilling rollercoaster of emotions and some seriously scary situations, then play the "Walking Dead". Expand
  6. Apr 27, 2012
    9
    This game is amazing for anyone who love the Zombie genre. I haven't played a point-and-click game in a while, but it's amazingly easy and it feels and looks natural at most times. I love the fact that you have to make tough choices, who you want to save from death, to tell the truth or not. You get emotionally attached to most of the characters, and you would want to see this through. You can tell the game is developed for consoles, because of some graphical glitches, audio glitches and the controls. Don't fret! I could look past those tiny imperfections, because everything else is awesome! If you love zombies and an engaging story, you'll absolutely love this game. I can't wait for the next episodes. This game receives a 9/10 from me because of the story, comic-style graphics, music and characters. The game is very much worth its price too, that's good. It does not receive a 10/10 because of a few tiny bugs and some audio-glitches. Apart from that, I recommend it highly! Expand
  7. Apr 24, 2012
    10
    After finishing the second season of the Walking Dead, and the first compendium, my interest in this game Skyrocketed! This game is not like any other zombie game you have ever played, not like Left 4 Dead, not like Dead Island. It seamlessly integrates the story into the big picture of the Walking Dead comics. I was satisfied that my concern of a point and click game ruining the experience were false. The action scenes are great, and the voice acting is great. I recommend it if you want to play a story driven game, in which all the choices you make, have consequences. Where you have to choose sides, and who lives and who dies. Expand
  8. Nov 24, 2012
    10
    Telltale does just that - they bring to life compelling characters and a rich and captivating story. It's a great experience and a lot of fun. A great game and a great series!
  9. Jul 1, 2012
    10
    Amazing start Telltale! I love TV series about Walking Dead and they are announced the game about it i was surprised cause their prev. games was not so cool. But quality and game style, relationships between the characters and interactivity make a great game about survival-emotional story of ppl against zombies
  10. May 3, 2012
    9
    A really refreshing break from the usual zombie game, if you're looking for action look elsewhere, this is a game of storytelling and character building and it does this well, if this interests you I implore you to try it! It's also a welcome departure from the usual adventure game mould, it's still point and click but it pulls this off in an unusual way, and I for one am fond of the control scheme Telltale adopted. And to top it all off it has some really crisp comic style graphics and this looks fantastic, I gave it a 9 however for some weak voice acting at times. Other than this minor gripe, well done Telltale! Here's hoping the next episodes are of equal quality! Expand
  11. Dec 11, 2012
    10
    Just finished playing through the 5 episodes. This game is the best thing I have played all year, I'm not kidding. The setting, the plot and the twists kept me going for hours and I just couldn't put it down. No game this year made me feel like that.

    Definitely worth every penny. In fact it's worth more that its price.
  12. May 6, 2012
    10
    This game is an absolute thrill, despite the clunky and outdated graphic design, it reaches out to the player and deliver an experience like no other Tell Tale game has ever done before, even for those who are not fans of either the critically acclaimed TV series or the comic.
  13. Apr 24, 2012
    10
    Episode 1:
    This game is totally different than any game I am used to and so I decided to try it. The main reason I gave it a go and many others is because it is Walking Dead related. I spent $20 on all five episodes and I do not regret it one bit. To me it was just like watching another episode on TV but this time I had to, solve problems, make hard choices and lead a group. It took me a l
    ittle over 2 hours to finish the episode and it left me wanting more. I loved the graphics Telltale has chosen; it fits right in. The blood and gore is also amazing. I loved this episode and I cannot wait til the next is released. Walking Dead FTW! Expand
  14. May 1, 2012
    10
    I love this game! I've played through it a couple of times now. BUT DO NOT GET THIS GAME IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SHOOTER LIKE L4D. I can't wait for the next episode!
  15. Apr 24, 2012
    9
    First I've seen this game I'm a little bit confused because the walking dead has a very good story and I hoped that telltale games makes good.Thank god they made a wonderful game and can't wait for episode 2!
  16. Apr 28, 2012
    10
    This really is a fantastic start to the five-part horror "The Walking Dead".

    Telltale's use of storyline layout make you, as the player choose the fate of certain characters. This isn't a game where you slice as many zombies as you can with a katana, this game makes clever use of minimal zombies to add a certain extent of fear, and the lack of zombies in certain parts show how dangerous i
    t might be to cross one of them. I was sceptical about buying this at first, but playing this proved me very, very wrong. This is the saddest game I've ever played (well, with the exception of Portal 2's ending) I hated making horrible decisions and I did feel really sad at certain parts. Negatives : The Walking Dead relies too much on cutscenes and background visuals could be refined (hoping they'll make the backgrounds more scenic in the coming episodes.)

    The voice acting is superb. Telltale have brought together some really awesome voice actors.
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  17. Dec 27, 2012
    9
    One of the best crafted experiences character and story-wise I have witnessed in a long time, on any game genre. Within the boundaries of adventure games, this, as with The Longest Journey series, is a masterpiece of legendary dimensions (if not length), that will be brought into discussion as a measuring unit of how games are supposed to be delivered.
    It is so compelling and interesting
    that the downside of its not entirely satisfactory combat system and its frequent "click-to-not-die" moments is easily forgiven, detracting almost nothing from the overall experience.
    If on top of all you happen to like zombie-related games, the experience of living through such a gruesome and disheartening situation does not get better than this.
    All the characters are precisely that, characters, therefore every decision you make on the game pertaining these people carries the true weight of responsibility on them because of that very fact.
    The Walking Dead includes what could probably be one of THE best child protagonists of all time: Clementine, that along the likes of April and Zoë from the Longest Journey series, you unavoidably care for thus want to carry this persona across all difficulties to see them safe and victorious (even if transitorily in the case of the former one) at the far side of the story.
    With great art, beautifully realistic dialog and a spectacularly wealthy source material to round all up, this is a game you should be installing in your machine right about now.
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  18. May 1, 2012
    9
    "A new day", the first chapter of the episodic "Walking Dead" games by Tell Tale is a truly unique zombie experience. Focusing on the original source (The Comic) for story, players work their way through a handful of scenarios making the small and large choices that move along the story. Some confusion over the game is in its action beats. With it being an adventure game the pacing for action isn't as focused, which I find to put more pressure on survival rather than standing and fighting. Each walker encounter is terrifying and presents the option of death in any fight.

    Familiar faces are found in locations around Georgia, and the episodic content makes for a brisk 60-90 minute story, much in the vein of watching an episode of the TV show. While I wasn't completely blown away by the first episode, I felt my stomach church as split second decisions needed to be made. Urgency dictates the amount of response time you have to make a decision, lest you stand by and say/do nothing. It's greatest flaw is grounded in the fact that the content is so short by episode, no detail can be discussed without majorly spoiling a chapter.
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  19. Oct 6, 2012
    9
    No game has ever made me feel emotion like this. A top-notch creation from Telltale Games, and their best work yet. Puzzles are perhaps a little simplistic though, so don't expect difficult puzzles if that's what you want.
  20. May 9, 2012
    10
    Provided you are aware that this game is neither in the Survival Horror genre OR the Adventure genre, then there's no reason why you won't enjoy the heck out of it! While I love the Adventure genre, I have yet to encounter any game by Telltale that I enjoyed. Up to now I've pretty much hated every game they've done. Well, they finally broke the mold and put out a heck of a fine game, and yet ironically it isn't in the genre they're known for. Do NOT assume this is another Telltale cookie-cutter Adventure snorefest. Puzzles are not their strong suit, but fortunately the gameplay in this title does not have much use for puzzles. They're not meant to be brain teasers like in a classic Adventure game, rather in this game they are meant to either increase tension (find a quick way to distract the zombies over by the TV store) or create empathy with certain characters (administering a band aid to a youngster).

    As far as the gameplay is concerned, it is basically identical to The Indigo Prophecy, but with much better graphics, story, acting, and execution. If you were intrigued by the gameplay of Indigo Prophecy but hated the shoddy execution, then you really should check this game out because it succeeds where the other failed.

    People expecting survival horror will be disappointed by the lack of spontaneous action. People expecting Adventure will be disappointed by the lack of any real puzzles.

    BUT, those people who expect to be drawn into a well-told, beautifully rendered interactive story will find this very entertaining. Dialogue in this game is more than just methodically selecting every dialogue choice in the tree just to get all the content out of the game. Most dialogue choices are timed which really adds to both the tension and the immersion: if you say something that offends somebody, you can't just make it all better by then choosing the other dialogue choice. This means it really matters what you say in most instances. AND it really adds to the replay value, which would otherwise be non-existent for a game with no action gameplay. For me, the desire to find out what would have happened if I said something else was irresistible, yet there is no way to undo what you've said until you play the game again. This may sound annoying but trust me, you won't get bored listening to the dialogue because so much depends on you really meaning what you say.

    I am totally unfamiliar with the comic which inspired this game. I cannot say whether it does the comic justice, but it certainly made me curious to check it out and learn more.

    So far the story is fairly generic for a zombie apocalypse retread: strangers brought together from dissimilar backgrounds learning to cooperate with each other to defeat a common, slow-moving, brain-eating undead enemy. Nevertheless, I am totally hooked. With only the first episode out so far, who knows which way the story could go, but if the beginning is any indication of the rest, it might not take the zombie apocalypse story into new original territory, but it nevertheless is a worthy addition to the genre. And I'm not one of those zombie-game fanboys; frankly I've been getting a little sick of zombie-related stuff. I really liked the original George Romero film but most stuff since then has just been so cheesy. Regardless, I still loved this game.
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  21. Nov 28, 2012
    9
    I literally just finished Ep 5 about 15 minutes ago, and all I can say is, if you're a fan of The Walking Dead in any way, shape or form, or you are a fan of great stories, then this series is for you.

    I would be willing to concede that the game isn't the most impressive visually, or the most innovative, however, this series makes up for it so well in story, and character depth, that I
    am willing to waive it's (arguable) flaws for it's colossal strengths.

    At the asking price for this game, there is really no excuse to at least check out Episode 1, which I am sure, will impress and lead you to get the remainder of the episodes and be in for a real treat.

    I hope some people may find this collection of my opinions as incentive to try out this gem of a game series. It is most certain to keep you interested and attached right to the very end.
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  22. Jul 10, 2012
    10
    Really amazing game!My first teltale game ever. Play through the really intsresting story and jump straight into episode 2.Every choice you make is important! Have fun. :-)
  23. May 4, 2012
    9
    As someone who normally hates zombie & horror games, I found myself apprehensive to try The Walking Dead. However, after reading the comments left by others on the site, I decided to give it a try. I admit, what I found was not what I was expecting at all... I found a game that shows you the other side of the zombie apocalypse: the dramatic side that showcases that every little decision you make, big or small, could have devastating consequences for anyone else. I found myself deeply engrossed in the story from the moment I started playing, and even though Episode 1 is only around two hours long, I felt myself being incredibly connected to each of these characters. If you're looking for a game where you survive by going "Rambo" (aka Resident Evil, Left 4 Dead etc.), then this is definitely not your game (even though you still will brutally kill some zombies in very unique ways). But if you're looking for a zombie game with a deep story, likable characters, and decisions that have the steepest of consequences and keep you on your toes, this is definitely worth checking out. I know there are many reviewers stating that your choices "don't matter", but remember that this is still only the first of five episodes. Knowing that, I am excited to see where the choices that I made will lead me up through episode five. Expand
  24. Apr 27, 2012
    10
    Not being an Adventure Genre fan, The Walking Dead was a gamble for me. I tried it since i thought the zombie survival plot would fit this genre better than most other topics, i was amazed. I have enjoyed it so much my view on the whole genre has changed. I highly recommend this game as a starting point to Adventure games, Specially if you are into other genres and you are interested in the Story side of those other games. Here you won't get to play a FPS, 3PS, RTS etc. (which before TLD i thought would beat adventure any day of the month) But it does come close to a really good RPG in the choice area (actually i wish many RPGs could really incorporate more things like this into their actual plots). It's true that the content from one decision to the other doesn't drastically change everything and many times plot devices are inserted to make things run leaving a bit of holes. But it's a zombie game! The whole idea is that Zombies are already plot devices in a fictional scenario. Still the story is compelling and full. So my recommendation is that if you want to shoot zombies, u have a lot of options and if you want everything to be just like it would be in real life... get one. This game is a great game and could re define the comic book experience imho. Just sit back, relax, stress, have fun and have emotions with choices that will make you wish to know what would happen if... and that is re playability. The only thing i wish they programed is a fast forward or skip button that u could unlock after you first run, since it would just be nice to fast forward through some of the already given story. Well in a nutshell. it's a comic book, tv program, movie... where you interact... just give it a try! i did... and i am already buying more adventure games. Expand
  25. May 15, 2012
    9
    I totally LOVED THIS GAME! Its scary and it lets you choose different possible ends! also the dialogue between characters is really awsome! loved it! cant wait for Episode 2!
  26. Apr 26, 2012
    10
    This is a game style which you either like it or hate it. I think if you don't like this style of game you shouldn't rate the game, because you're not rating its quality, but rating by your taste over its genre. I personally liked it a lot, it's mainly based on your choices throughout the game, and it's more focused on the story than killing zombies like a retarded.
  27. May 10, 2012
    10
    Simple game play, but its great to go though the story. Fun and I really enjoyed playing through the game a few times just to see what would change. Great fun.
  28. Apr 25, 2012
    10
    I know Tell-Tale get a rough deal for their games and I've avoided them until The Walking Dead because of the harsh criticisms. I'm a huge Walking Dead fan, both comic and tv show, so was very skeptical when this game was announced with Tell-Tale as a developer. I bought it anyway and was pleasantly surprised. The graphics are a wonderful homage to Charlie Adlard's work in the comics and the engine will run on the vast majority of pcs. I found myself caring about the characters and agonising over the decisions I made and how they would affect future episodes. It's true you don't get full control or a free roaming world but what you do get is an interesting experience that many AAA games could learn a lot from. The story is the unique selling point of this game and it delivers, in episode 1 at least.

    I would recommend this to anyone, Walking Dead fans or not. Now hurry up and release episodes 2, 3, 4 & 5.
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  29. May 14, 2012
    10
    this game is not for everyone however i loved it, i dont like the episode way of releasing i really want to play the next part and i want to see the effect of my decision
  30. May 4, 2012
    10
    This is one of my favourite games that I've played in recent months, very well written storyline and fun gameplay mechanics. A must buy if you are a fan of either the comic book series or the TV Show, it really does justice to the whole Walking Dead world.
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 40
  2. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. Jul 8, 2012
    80
    Great both standalone and as a gateway to a larger series. Let's hope it all pans out. [July 2012, p.76]
  2. Jul 3, 2012
    80
    A slow-burn character study, some quick thinking and a constant air of menace make for a gripping start to a new adventure. [July 2012, p.68]
  3. Jun 28, 2012
    72
    Rich atmosphere compensates for poor gameplay mechanics of The Walking Dead.