Whether you are a fan of the comics or the TV show, The Walking Dead is one of the best forms of media out there for a zombie apocalypse. With great characters which you can align yourself too and a story which intertwines the desperation to survive in an apocalypse with limited resources and an impending threat. From the dead rising, looking for fresh meat to eat, to the twisted and unforgiving strangers, the real walking dead. Who will stop at nothing to get what they desire, from food to ammo to shelter. Telltale Games creates new characters for players to follow alongside, to make decisions based on the facts shown in front of them. This is our ranking of all Telltale: The Walking Dead games.
6. The Walking Dead: Michonne
From the comics to the TV show, Michonne is shown as an absolute badass and there is no exception as seen in her standalone Walking Dead entry. I believe this exists due to Michonne being a fan favorite, seen in both the comics and TV show. Her character portrayal in the game is flawless and true to the original source. But the game falls short at its narrative and gameplay. No matter your choices, chaos inevitably ensues. It makes for a game which can lose its replayability factor due to the choices you make always leading to the same, chaotic outcome.
Why the Ranking?
There are no real character developments or arcs in the game as the focus in on Michonne herself. Whilst we see in other entries that Telltale truly thrives in an environment where everyone gets the chance to evolve in the apocalypse. The Walking Dead Michonne did not have this going for it. For this short experience, no real depth could be had. Making for a more hollow entry than Telltale’s other games.
5. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
A New Frontier is the third game in The Walking Dead series. This time we are following a brand new group of people which is a unfamiliar environment for players. We grew fond of those who we left behind and now have new characters to align to. Similar to Michonne, A New Frontier does not provide enough depth in the characters for us to truly care about them. That whilst we see the return of fan favorite, Clementine, our focus goes pretty much completely on her. And rightly so. This installment is perhaps the most forgettable out of the bunch. This could either be due to its characters or the storyline. But A New Frontier’s best moments are perhaps its downfall being its use of bringing back Clementine.
Why the Ranking?
The issue with this game and similar to Michonne is the sole focus on humans who are perpetually volatile and untrustworthy. It makes for a cynical viewpoint of a zombie apocalypse and the drift from the zombies and onto terrible humans becomes repetitive at this point of the third installment. Whilst this idea works in Season 2, it falls short in Season 3. Perhaps this is due to the fact that your choices do not truly matter in this game, unlike other Telltale entries.
4. The Walking Dead: 400 Days
Whilst this is the DLC of Season One, 400 Days was a fantastic short horror story entry. This short experience follows the paths of five characters. In my opinion, this was the scariest entry from Telltale Games. The focus moves from the choices you make through dialogue lines and last minute decisions and more towards gameplay of stealth and zombie encounters. How would you survive in the apocalypse? 400 Days is an intense experience that throws you into the deep end, not giving you much time to appropriately react to the situation. It is a nice change from the usual experience of The Walking Dead, as a true survival horror.
Why the Ranking?
You have such little time with these characters that the focus is not on our alignment towards these characters but on how long you can survive in the apocalypse. What is interesting about 400 Days is that it specifically jumps between different days along a 400 day period. You get to see how a person changes in an apocalypse, whether their soul cracks or bends into something that is no longer the person they were before the day humanity ended.
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3. The Walking Dead: Final Season
The Final Season of The Walking Dead (fourth main game) is a very good game and a wholesome end to Clementine’s story. This installment is the Lord of the Flies addition. Following Clementine and AJ who find a community of young kids, winging it daily to survive. You know it is about to get messy when you are following a group of kids in a zombie apocalypse.
Why the Ranking?
Clementine is at her best in this video game. However, in my opinion, where this game lacks as a main entry in The Walking Dead is its limited depth in both the main characters and the romantic choices in the game. No one is particularly likeable, unlike many that we have seen before. It is much harder to align yourself with these characters, even though they are primarily children. Whilst many may not agree with me, I believe the fault lies within the romantic choices. It felt more as an afterthought and not something that fleshed out the characters of Louis and Violet who were pretty 2-dimensial. It is a shame for a game with decent LGBTQIA+ representation for many will not pick Violet due to her cynical personality.
The Walking Dead: Final Season is a very unique video game in that it follows a group of kids with self-destructive natures due to there being no adults to help them. As seen in the second game onwards, the focus is on what humans will do to survive in an apocalypse. There is not many moments of zombie terror, instead this game focusses on the characters and the development of AJ. Unfortunately for me, this is where the problem of the game lies. The focus on AJ, being a character which Clementine can mould throughout the entirety of the Final Season, became rather annoying after a while. His behaviour at times was unbearable and inexcusable, no matter how hard you tried to mould him into becoming a better person.
2. The Walking Dead: Season Two
A year after Season 1’s release, Season 2 brought back our favourite Walking Dead character, Clementine. Much older and wiser now, Clementine is a real badass in Season Two. The character progression of Clementine from The Walking Dead, Season 1 sees the switch from the focus on zombies into a new threat, other humans. This works so well in this game unlike A New Frontier due to it being a refreshing a new take on Telltale’s zombie apocalypse. Every threat is actually scary and you start to wonder just how far people will go to survive. This time around, Clementine must find a new community to be a part of. To find another possible family to join.
Why the Ranking?
Season 2 is very different from the first game, with its focus on the villains being that of other communities. The Walking Dead, much like the TV show moves away from its survival horror against a foreign and hostile force of the zombies. From Season 2 onwards, the zombies become this annoyance that everyone gets used to and fades into the background. It does not matter who you join, who they were before and what they are doing now. All that matters is that those you are with can protect you and you can protect them.
Season 2 demonstrates that and so much more. With great dialogue and characters to fall in love with all over again, Season 2 is an intense experience from start to finish. It is a great continuation of Clementine’s story, one of which has little to no flaws in its gameplay of decision making and overall storytelling.
1. The Walking Dead: Season One
The Walking Dead, Season 1 does something that you do not see often in video games. It places us in the POV of a man where at face value is a criminal. The game begins as Lee is being taken to jail. What he did we do not know yet, but it is an interesting start to a zombie game. It adds a layer of depth immediately into the prologue of the game which we do not see often in other games. What comes after is what feels like a never-ending rollercoaster of ups and downs. With many wholesome moments between our characters, especially with Lee and Clementine. The interacts between the characters feel very genuine. Many ideas are covered in Season 1 such as what would a community do on little to no food? How would they work with a group of strangers in the beginning moments of an apocalypse?
Why the Ranking?
What Season 1 does differently to the TV show is focus specifically on these questions. The only real episode which discusses this idea of human survival is Season 5, Episode 10 ‘Them’. Following the group at their most broken moment, starving and grieving the loss of their friends. Telltale takes this episode and makes a whole video game on this idea. You never know what is going to happen in this game and the cherry on top? You have to decide who to save and what to do in every crucial moment. In my opinion, nothing will come close to the excellence of The Walking Dead: Season One. But perhaps this bias is due to it being the first installment of many to come from its 2012 release.
That was our ranking on every Telltale Games, The Walking Dead franchise entry. Do you agree with our list? Let us know via Gamer Journalist’s discussion on Facebook. Where you can stay up to date on all of the latest gaming content. Including that of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Roblox, Chained Echoes and so much more. Are you interested in seeing more horror gaming content? If so, feel free to check out our related articles of 7 Best Creepypasta Video Games and Top 9 Scariest Horror Game Moments of 2022.
