The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep Reviews
As far as gameplay goes, if you've played anything by Telltale then you know what to expect: a story-driven game filled with dialogue choices, quick time events, and a bit of exploration.
As much as this is a miniseries spinoff for Telltale's TWD series, this is also a spinoff chapter in the life of Michonne. It's inconsequential. Nothing that happens here can impact this established character in any meaningful way, so Telltale has to work from a template.
In Too Deep suffers greatly from an over familiarity with both post-apocalyptic worlds and Telltale's own formula. If not for Michonne herself, this would be a truly disastrous start to the latest entry in this partnership.
The Walking Dead: Michonne feels like twice the amount of well-worn territory than Telltale series typically deal with, and much of that comes from its existing within a property that is reaching the ceiling of its dramatic potential.
The premiere episode of The Walking Dead: Michonne provides a combat-filled experience that will please fans of both TellTale Games and The Walking Dead.
Michonne is one of the TWD's most fascinating characters, and her mini-series deserves to be more than a retread of well-known territory
Michonne's main problem is sadly the most inescapable one: she's in yet another fucking zombie story.
The Walking Dead: Michonne is off to an excellent start, bringing back all the tension and emotion that we have come to expect from the highly regarding series.
The Walking Dead: Michonne Episode 1 is a very rough start for an extremely promising series. Pacing and story issues abound, and the feeling at the end of the 90-120 minute adventure is that it was all setup with no true payoff. Whether that payoff comes in future episodes will determine if this is a worthy successor to the excellent series.
I'm still kind of let down that the core gameplay remains mainly unchanged over the years. Telltale is great with character choices and delivering a striking painterly color palate, but all of that can grind to a halt since the hacking and slashing gameplay feels repetitive, especially compared to last year's adventure breakout Life Is Strange. Telltale is still the king at what they do, making the active conversation in a game feel tense, urgent. I just hope that's enough for the remaining two episodes of The Walking Dead: Michonne.
At this point I'm starting to tire from the Telltale formula, especially when it doesn't provide a cast of memorable characters from the get-go, but Michonne herself was enough to power me through the episode and keep me interested. In Too Deep hasn't topped either season of The Walking Dead so far, but if you can still stomach a few empty "remember" prompts, you'll enjoy the story they're trying to tell.
One of The Walking Dead's most mysterious characters has a story to tell, though it's similar to one we've heard before.
After a dull start the tension amps up, resulting in a promising-but-rocky beginning
True to its title, The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1 is all about one character, somewhat to the detriment of the story and other characters. Michonne is so well done, though, from her impressive survival skills to the hollow look in her eyes, that she easily carries the entire episode. Even though I wasn't invested in the story, I did care about Michonne — everything she said, every walker she killed, and what will happen to her moving forward.