Geekscape Games Reviews ‘The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner’

It felt like October would never arrive. Not that there’s anything particularly wrong with September: it’s typically a nice crisp end to those unbearably hot Summer nights. But October meant it would be time for another episode of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. 

Telltale pulled another fast one on us. Just as with episode three, the release date was announced only a day before the episode was actually set to come out. As I mentioned after the date was revealed, I absolutely love that they’ve been doing this: when I saw the date, I said “OH SHIT” instead of “Oh Cool, just a few more weeks”.

In case you need a refresher, Geekscape is IN LOVE with this game (check out our reviews of the previous three episodes here, here, and here). Jonathan has called the Telltale series “the best iteration of The Walking Dead” on numerous occasions, and I’ve gone on to declare it my favorite piece of zombie fiction period. I’ve played a lot of games this year, but at this point The Walking Dead sits atop the pile as the best gaming experience I’ve had in 2012.

There are light spoilers ahead. If you’ve managed to listen to all of our praise without yet playing the game: first, what is wrong with you? Second, stop reading this and go play it unless you hate things that are awesome.

The end of Long Road Ahead (hopefully you’ve picked your jaw up off the floor by now) found our survivors arriving in the city of Savannah. The alone, broken soul that used to be Kenny is determined to find a boat in the river city to take himself and the rest of the group far away from the horrors that they’ve faced. Clementine has also been talking to a mysterious male on the radio, who can’t wait for her to get to the city.

In playing the previous episodes, you likely know pretty much what to expect from this one: great writing, characters that you really care about, countless gruesome, disturbing moments, and a conclusion that will stick with you for days and leave you itching for more.

The episode begins with the group walking into Savannah on their mission to reach the river. Not even a few minutes after entering town, shit goes down and hordes of walkers shamble towards the location of the survivors. This forces  Lee and the others to break into a nearby house through some pretty disturbing means. The house becomes a makeshift base for the survivors, but they won’t stay a unified group for long: while some group members wish to leave in search of a boat, others want to stay to take care of the injured.

Just like in previous episodes, Around Every Corner does nearly everything very well. The game looks great as always, with its uniquely styled cel-shaded look. Voice acting is among the best in gaming: even with the distinct visuals, I found myself often forgetting that I was looking at something animated, the performances are simply that believable. The plot is strong, but at the same time does not seem as well paced as the previous episodes. This one also lasts a bit longer than past chapters, though I almost wish that it didn’t: I felt like certain scenes dragged on for longer than they needed to.

I also came across a few technical issues that were not present in Long Road Ahead (though Starved for Help did contain some of them). Gameplay was often very choppy, with cuts between camera angles sometimes freezing the action for a second or two before buffering enough to continue. I also had an incident where a muzzle flash decided not to go away, and instead chose to light the remainder of the scene very awkwardly. Of course, neither of these are game breaking issues, but do add a high level of distraction to an otherwise extremely polished experience. Hopefully any issues present here will be resolved for the release of the finale, No Time Left. I played the PS3 version of the game, so I cannot vouch for whether or not these issues are present in other editions.

Just as with prior episodes, the best part of the Telltale version of The Walking Dead is the level of control that you feel. You are the leader of this group, you are responsible for everyones well being, and if anything happens, that’s on your head. I can’t think of any time in my many years of game playing where I have felt like this, or especially where I have cared about a group of characters as much as I do here. I swear Telltale, if No Time Left brings any harm to Clementine, there’ll be hell to pay.

I also love the very noticeable ways that the games characters have grown: Clementine has morphed from a scared little girl to a brave as hell, extremely useful member of the group, and Lee himself has adapted from a man, damaged and bitter from his past, to a father and leader. These are characters that feel human and real, and since you’ve been through so much together, it feels like you personally know them. I have never had this feeling, with any other game in history.

Around Every Corner definitely hits its high point with its conclusion. Unlike previous chapters (which felt much more resolved when the credits rolled), this one ends with a scream-at-your-TV cliffhanger just a few moments after a FREAKING MAJOR plot point.   I seriously have no idea what could possibly happen in the finale, and I both don’t want to find out (out of fear for my beloved characters) and cannot wait.

It had to be impossibly hard to follow the nearly perfect Long Road Ahead, and while not entirely successful, Telltale still gave us a great chapter here and a nice calm before the final storm. Overall, I feel like The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner was probably the weakest episode of the game so far. Of course, when you’re talking about the weakest link of the best game of the year, it is still and incredible experience. In my opinion, it simply didn’t flow as flawlessly as previous episodes have, and the overall plot was not nearly as interesting as those that we’ve received in the past. That being said, the conclusion of the episode was quite possibly the strongest yet, with an insane cliffhanger that simply leaves you itching for more.

And itching I am. As much as I do not want this experience to end, I cannot wait for another taste.

The Walking Dead: Episode 4 – Around Every Corner scores a solid 4.5/5. I’ll say it again. Talltale’s The Walking Dead is the best game that I’ve played this year. I cannot wait for the finale, and I am insanely glad that we’ll be getting a second season.

Now Telltale, just keep Clementine safe. Or else.