The Walking Dead: Season Two Episode 2 - A House Divided Reviews
With constant rising tension culminating in a spectacular last act, A House Divided finds itself a place among The Walking Dead's high points.
Clementine's characterisation and her interactions with adults are strong as ever in this fraught episode. Two-fifths of the way through the story is still too early to judge how other themes, characters and plot strands will pay off, but the build-up suggests it'll be worthwhile.
The second episode of the Walking Dead's second season is one of the finest episodes yet – and that's saying something.
Cigarette in one hand, and now a whisky in the other, I watch as the credits roll. The climax of the episode is a big one, masterfully presented to ensure the maximum emotional impact and lots of awful regrets. "I've made a terrible mistake," I say as the credits fade. "I'm going to pay for it in the next episode."
A slight improvement on the first episode, but still basically just plot set-up for a story that too often feels out of your hands.
The Walking Dead: A House Divided is definitely the most disappointing entry in this series to date, which is to say that it's quite good but unremarkable. The biggest problem with it is that it feels less like a full episode with its own arc and more like a placeholder to set things up for when the story really kicks in.
If you liked Season 1, give Telltale more of your money.
Walking Dead Season 2, Episode 2 ratchets up the stakes and pulls Clementine into different directions emotionally and physically. Some tense action sequences, engrossing dialog, and the addition of a formidable threat to everyone makes "A House Divided" a solid chapter despite its short three-hour running time. When it comes to storytelling, Telltale is still one of the best in the business and this episode doesn't betray that reputation.
The Walking Dead Season 2 Episode 2: A House Divided is one of the strongest chapters yet in terms of story. Unfortunately, true gameplay sequences are a bit scarce, although some of the dialog scenes are certainly intense enough to make up for it in some regard.
While some critics have bemoaned the limited interactivity in The Walking Dead, Telltale should be applauded for creating a story that simply would not work as well as it does in any medium other than a video game. It's only once you're handed control of a character that you can fully appreciate just how little control they have.
Telltale continues to shine as A House Divided is the best episode of any Telltale game yet.
As much as I harp on the topic of autonomy and linearity, I still find it extremely difficult to fault the game in my final calculation. 'The Walking Dead' as a whole and this latest episode are doing amazing things for storytelling in games. Clementine is an all-time great character, this season solidifying her as a unique and compelling protagonist, and William Carver might just be the series' best villain. He may not even be a villain in the coming episodes, and it's exactly that kind of ambiguity that keeps me on my toes. It keeps me wanting more. 'A House Divided' fleshed out the group and offered up some moments of sincere tension and, for some of us, regret.
For now, this is a solid continuation, and having had one episode to reintroduce Clem and this one to really get the new plot started, it's hard to imagine the next episode won't ramp things up considerably with more of the human darkness we saw in 400 Days and exactly no chance of a happy ending. Telltale has promised that we won't be waiting as long for it as we were for this or the second part of The Wolf Among Us. Broken fingers crossed.
Clementine and her group may face uncertainty and (most certainly) death around every corner in The Walking Dead, but in its newest episode Telltale Games ensures that players will face a tense, thrilling ride for the rest of Season Two that will have us only looking forward, with no chance to look back.
A lot of people complained that Episode 1 didn't stand alone as its own story, and Episode 2 still doesn't But frankly, it doesn't matter. There are still unanswered questions, cliffhanger endings, and lack of any real resolution to any character's conflicts, but it's still a phenomenal story. Very much unlike Season 1, which had five episodes each sort of telling a micro story about a band of survivors, Season 2 is very much a continuous narrative, and that's what makes it great! There's no reason to skip The Walking Dead: Season 2: Episode 2: A House Divided. Heck, there's more reason to go back and purchase Season 1, and play it start to finish, just so that Season 2, has its full effect.
The Walking Dead: Season 2, Episode 2 "A House Divided" is one of the best episodes @TelltaleGames has ever made.
The Walking Dead's signature moral dilemmas are more nuanced than ever in a plot-heavy second episode.
While the newest episode has a few more moments of downtime than I would have liked, it sets up a clear arc that will play out for the rest of Season Two. Telltale has managed to also bring back its past efforts into the fold, and although their impact is minor, I'm glad it was addressed sooner than later. Although I'm still not sure if this new cast is going to top Lee's old crew, A House Divided is a great second offering, and I'm sufficiently hooked.
A House Divided has solid writing with plenty of surprises. Making difficult choices as Clementine is an adrenaline rush
A superior episode, and one that bodes well for the rest of the season.