REVIEW: THE WOLF AMONG US – EPISODE 5 – CRY WOLF / DEVELOPER: TELLTALE GAMES / PUBLISHER: TELLTALE GAMES / PLATFORMS: PC, PLAYSTATION 3, PLAYSTATION 4, WII U, XBOX 360, XBOX ONE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Closing out the events of The Wolf Among Us, Episode 5 sees Bigby finally face to face with the Crooked Man, mastermind behind the game’s events. How Bigby will approach this foe is yet unknown but with so much of Fabletown under his thumb, neither he nor his associates are likely to go quietly.
Above all else, Episode 5 delivers an explosive finale to the game’s events, serving up scenes of extreme tension aplenty. That should come as no surprise after the conclusion to Episode 4, but the game one-ups itself with two specific sequences which deliver answers thick and fast. The first is a final encounter with Georgie, finally confirming the identity of the murderer, and the second is a trial in front of Fabletown’s residents. Each is masterfully delivered, with the strong voice acting, sharp dialogue and excellent presentation drawing you in. And then at the end there is an excellent stinger moment which puts much of Episode 1’s events, and the entire case’s beginning, into question.
Even the combat – the most obvious shortcoming of the games – actually works here. Following the Asura’s Wrath approach, the concluding chase sequences and fight boil down to a massive series of QTE events; all of which aim to make up for its problematic, relatively uninteractive interface with a sense of scale and style and visual display.
This said, the game does suffer from a few notable shortcomings. The fates of several major characters are left in question, notably with no follow-up to Crane’s flight from the city. What’s more, as many people feared, choices do not carry nearly as much weight as it first seemed. Players have a definite impact upon how the game ends and the community views Bigby, but it’s hardly calculated by every single last decision made. In fact a lot of it comes down to how you handle events in this specific episode.
For all the times previous instalments have informed the player “X Will Remember That” very little of that comes into play here. As such it seems more like an addition to the games to keep players on edge than a true mechanic.
This said, The Wolf Among Us still goes out on a high note. It’s a solid end to a great game and even if it might have lacked some of the impact players would have wished, there’s enough choice for a few replays. Definitely pick this one up if you enjoy titles with a strong narrative drive.
