It’s an amazing thing when you attach a specific game or series of games to a particular time in your life. That is exactly what I did for the Telltale Games Collection. Hearing many great things about Telltale’s games, specifically The Walking Dead: Season 1 and The Wolf Among Us, I knew that having now taken the step to the next generation by buying an Xbox One I would want to finally explore this developer’s work and see what all the fuss was about.
To my joy, and slight luck, Telltale had decided to port and package every one of their acclaimed games series (which weren’t questionable in their quality) – i.e. Back to the Future and Jurassic Park – into one product called ‘The Telltale Games Collection’. This came at a perfect time for me as someone who wanted to play through all of these games. What’s more, is that the package went on sale during one of the biggest sales of the year for Xbox, and at one of the best times of the year as well. If you haven’t guessed already, I’m talking about Christmas.
During my winter break in 2014, I played through a fair chunk of the games from the Telltale Games Collection. Those being The Walking Dead: Season 1 & Season 2, and the bridging episode 400 Days, The Wolf Among Us, Tales From The Borderlands, and Game of Thrones. I still reminisce about playing through these games at that particular time because of the satisfaction of playing through the games thoroughly but quickly due to the time-off college I had. Buying the package was a treat for me for doing well in the first term of my second year of A-Levels, and I was relieved to finally be playing not only these critically acclaimed games, but games which my friends had recommended to me for years at this point.
Playing through the first season of The Walking Dead helped me realise the type of games that Telltale was making – those being episodic story-driven choice-based games. But it also introduced me to this incredible world of characters and consequences. Everything I said felt important, and every action I committed to could have had dire consequences.
Meeting twisted and insane individuals – ironically resembling their apocalyptic zombie environment – caused tense moments and emotional conclusions. The payoff at the end of the first season is still one of the best moments I’ve experienced. With the sombre soundtrack that sticks the memory of playing through the season to you, I still look very fondly upon the first season of The Walking Dead. It deserves its praise.
I then naturally moved onto the second season of The Walking Dead, shortly after finishing the bridging episode, ‘400 Days’. Not as memorable nor as impactful, but still a great game and fulfilling sequel to the first season. I must confess that I haven’t played either Season 3 or Season 4 of The Walking Dead, and I don’t intend to from the reception that they both received critically. That’s fine though because the next part of The Telltale Games Collection was my favourite game yet, and my favourite Telltale game ever made: The Wolf Among Us. Â
With only one season to its name, The Wolf Among Us was the series which a lot of outspoken Telltale fans desperately wanted a sequel for. If you’ve played through its five episodes (the standard number for a Telltale game), then you may know why fans have this craving – and why a second season of The Wolf has now been confirmed at the recent The Game Awards 2019. It is based on the fable comics, which in turn take tales from the Brothers Grimm and similar stories, using those characters to put them into a modern world with all the vices that go along with such a place.
You play as Bigby Wolf who is the sheriff in Fabletown. You’re trying to solve the crime of the murder of Faith, a prostitute in Fabletown. The story has twists and turns; fable characters galore with incredible voice-acting to boot. It’s a thrilling story to participate in and I highly recommend all to explore the dark and despair-filled world of Fabletown.
We then have Game of Thrones which is my least favourite game within this package. Although it has the staples of a Telltale game – great art-style with choice-based gameplay – the issue with Game of Thrones is that no matter what choice you make, you still get absolutely destroyed no matter what.
It doesn’t help that you feel empowered in your decisions, nor feel the just consequences of your actions. Instead, you just cower away from any key characters who you interact with because they all ultimately want you and your family house dead and gone, and there’s no stopping their wrath. A nice touch, however, was hearing the original actors play their characters within the game, which may be the only thing worth your time here if you do decide to play this game.
Lastly, we come to one of the wittiest, Borderlands-y games you’ll ever play: Tales From The Borderlands. Set after the events of Borderlands 2, we are given the chance to meet plenty of new characters who are so likeable and adored that a few of them appear as main characters in Borderlands 3.
This game demonstrates best the potential that Telltale had for story-tellers, expanding universes we already knew and creating engaging, funny new stories with characters who still bring a smile to my face these many years later. It is a must-play for any gamer who enjoys Telltale, and/or Borderlands, and/or funny moments.
I still have very fond memories of playing through The Telltale Games Collection during the Christmas break of 2014, and because of this, it holds a special place in my heart. What also helps cement this package in my memory are the fantastic games which are bundled within. If you’ve never played a Telltale game before, I implore you to try out this package and see what you think. It’s highly likely that you’ll be introduced to a new type of experience which you’re not too familiar with in the game-space, but also one which may stay with you for a long time.
