The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep Reviews
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.
It denies the player a blank slate through which to make their own choices. Michonne is in a strange space between brand promotional piece and a true season of The Walking Dead game. However, all of that said, the compressed three-episode nature of Michonne could be to blame for that, and only time will tell if the full work coheres into something more than the slight thing we have in the first episode.
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
'In Too Deep' is an auspicious opener for Telltale's new series. It has flaws, and the release schedule is probably too tight for the studio to take any player feedback into account, but I have a feeling it is going to give insight into the intricate personality of its lead and deepen her fandom even further.
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.
Michonne is a fascinating character, and one that makes for some interesting storytelling. Unfortunately, the first episode of her tale loses steam after the first few minutes, and boils down into something that feels like it's been done before.
Michonne travels the apocalyptic world, never staying in the same place long and never letting false promises of security get in her way. She never gives in to threats and faces adversity head on, which makes for a promising adventure.
In Too Deep is a stepping stone to introduce Michonne that detrimentally plays it safe. There aren't any advances in Telltale's formula or notable sequences that we haven't seen in other forms before, but the miniseries can be a cut above its predecessors if it takes advantage of the brutality and moral centre of the protagonist by embroiling her in more memorable confrontations with both the infected and the living.
All things considered, The Walking Dead: Michonne is off to a decent start with plenty of room for improvement. Most of the new characters may feel like zombie fodder, but they've got some interesting personalities that will be fun to follow.
In Too Deep lays a foundation for where Michonne's little side trek is heading, and I am legitimately interested in what's to come. However, this first episode doesn't feel like anything I haven't already experienced outside of story, and I was hoping for a little bit more. Luckily, there are two more episodes to prove me wrong — and I hope that happens — but for now, The Walking Dead: Michonne is just another episode of zombie apocalypse drama to add to the pile.
All things considered, I really wanted to enjoy Telltale's first outing into the comics with The Walking Dead: Michonne, but right now, given the tone deaf story, deadpan characters, lack of any choice and length, I feel comfortable in saying that you should hold off on playing this episode.
Given it has no ties (at least that we've seen yet) to the previous seasons or to what may come, for now the title has the potential to be something intriguing and different from the usual The Walking Dead experience, though whether it's solely a diversion until the proper Season 3 remains to be seen.
The Walking Dead: Michonne is slowing building a solid framework. There's no clear direction yet, and the personalities of some characters shine brighter than others, but the potential for something great (if familiar) is there.
Will you enjoy In Too Deep if you liked Telltale's other The Walking Dead series? Absolutely. Does it stand up to our expectations based on the previous series? Not really. A Walking Dead game in shape and form, Michonne just lacks the tension in atmosphere and decision making.
The Walking Dead: Michonne's premiere episode feels like a mixed bag. It's got fantastic action sequences and a great plot lying underneath all the uninteresting characters, lack of decisions and lackluster ending. If you're a fan of Telltale's previous work with the license, you should probably still give this one a go, but if you're new to this universe, there are much better places to start
To be fair, it's standard Walking Dead fare from Telltale. There isn't much of a difference, and to those who didn't read the graphic novel, and don't know what happened to Michonne during her disappearance from Rick Grimes' group, there isn't much to be said here.
Telltale have a written a compelling start of a trilogy that manages to immerse you without tweaking the formula.
As the first episode of a new series, In Too Deep is a very strong start. The gameplay formula isn't any different from past The Walking Dead games, sure, but Michonne is a great character and the story has the potential to be very good. Unfortunately, the first episode has no real story payoff, due to how the whole series is structured, so it will be Episode 2 and 3 that will make The Walking Dead Michonne great, or just another adventure game based on a popular franchise.
The first episode of "The Walking Dead: Michonne," serves up nice production values and a strong protagonist that commands attention. At the same time, it lacks the tension and suspense of the debut episode of Telltale's first Walking Dead game, which should be a strong point for a story-driven game based on a horror-survival series. With the setup out of the way, let's hope this new series steps up its game and freshens up its familiar story-adventure formula in the following episodes.