Official Score
Overall - 50%
50%
This new episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier plays it far too safe. Those looking for the rich storytelling or the deep gameplay elements found in previous seasons best wait for future episodes to see how things progress.
The survivors keep surviving and the dead keep marching on in the third episode of Telltale’s story-based title The Walking Dead: A New Frontier. Picking up right after a nasty cliffhanger, does it have enough to keep gamers hooked?
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 3 Review
The second episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier ended with the protagonist Javier finally arriving in the town of Richmond, which is run by the ruthless group “the New Frontier.” As it turns out, however, Javier’s brother David holds high rank among this particular group. The next two hours build upon Javier’s relationship with David, both in the past and in this new group dynamic.
A New Frontier tries to play games with the character, making you wonder where David’s true alliances lie. However, most of the twists unveiled in this episode seem telegraphed, even with the illusion of choice offered to the player. His headstrong attitude pairs well with Javier’s cockiness, but it all feels like something gamers have seen before.
As per Telltale games, the choice system is back in full force. However, almost all choices (minus silence) often have the same sentiment and are worded in a slightly different way. The game does call players out for silence or not taking a side, but almost everybody will have the same experience by the end of the episode. There are a set amount of choices the game wants you to choose, and breaking the script makes for awkward silence, awkward interactions, and awkward plot threads that find a way to get wrapped up one way or another.
The few big choices in A New Frontier this time around go more for shock value than anything else. Without spoiling too much, the game gives players a lot of power. It can sometimes feel a little gratuitous, but the option to disengage is always there.
Javier and David’s companions are an interesting bunch to say the least. Javier really grows as a person this episode, especially when considering his dynamic with other survivors, his brother’s wife, and the other members of the New Frontier. Series mainstay Clementine also has some backstory in this episode, and also grows as a more hardened and weathered survivor. However, some of the characters lay on the archetypes thick. The bad guys loudly talk about the evil stuff they did for all to hear, Javier’s nephew plays the innocent kid card, and other characters don’t fare much better.
Gameplay is much more action oriented this time around. The puzzles and exploration have been streamlined to button-mashy quick time events and some serious railroading. Those looking for something more akin to finding how to start a train or explore a town like in previous seasons will be sorely disappointed here.
This new episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier plays it far too safe. Those looking for the rich storytelling or the deep gameplay elements found in previous seasons best wait for future episodes to see how things progress.
