The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep Reviews
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.
A well-written character in desperate need of a plot more compelling than this laboured retread of the captured-by-authoritarian-jerks Walking Dead staple.
Michonne's main problem is sadly the most inescapable one: she's in yet another fucking zombie story.
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.
The Walking Dead: Michonne – Episode 1: In Too Deep is an effective opener, as long as you aren't expecting dramatic changes in Telltale's modus operandi. It feels like there could be something special here in further episodes but success is very much dependent on where they'll let this character go.
It's sad to say, but The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 1: In Too Deep is a poor introduction to Michonne's story and Telltale doesn't have an entire season to build towards something special this time, as there are only three episodes planned… This is a definite pick-up for fans of the comic, but for those coming in because they enjoyed the previous Telltale The Walking Dead titles, this feels humdrum in comparison. With any luck, Episode 2 will be the one where Telltale turns things around.
I feel like I'm being very harsh on The Walking Dead: Michonne, but that's only because I've been such a fan of Telltale games over the years, and this doesn't meet my expectations of the team. I do want to know more about Michonne's backstory, I just wish she was working it out with more engaging characters.
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.
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.
In Too Deep isn't bad, nor does it fully suggest that The Walking Dead: Michonne will be a letdown. But if this helping was any indication, it would appear that splitting this side game up into an episodic adventure was a bad idea. As a first episode, this lays the groundwork for the rest of the game, but it doesn't find the time to do anything else significant as well. Hopefully Michonne's journey picks up some steam next time, but for now you'd probably be better off waiting for the whole shebang to assemble itself.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
One of The Walking Dead's most mysterious characters has a story to tell, though it's similar to one we've heard before.
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
"In Too Deep" gets The Walking Dead: Michonne off to a rocky start, with the introduction of uninteresting characters, a drab story, and a flat ending. Yet the exploration of Michonne's past and her emotional demons is fascinating, and offers much potential for the future.