The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 4 - Thicker Than Water
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Rating Summary
Based on 47 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Score Distribution
Unscored Reviews
Top Critic
Perhaps if the entire season had taken place in Richmond, engrossing me entirely in how things work in the city, I might feel differently. But for now, I'm preparing myself for tons of QTE's, blood, and dramatic character deaths that I'll probably just shrug off as Telltale making sure they do their Telltale things.
Scored Reviews
Top Critic
This fourth episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is, probably, the best so far. Very fast paced and with an outstanding ending that prepares the player for an epic ending of the season.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
Thicker Than Water has tough choices, great relationship building, and shocking twists. It's the best episode this season
I just know that the shit is piling up ten-fold and it is waiting to hit that proverbial fan. I can’t wait to see how all this tension comes to its conclusive (and more than likely grisly end) and with that, I truly trust Telltale Games to deliver.
Although I can't wait to see what happens in the next episode. It's leaving me feeling like the game has not moved at all. For the last 2 episodes we've only been introduced to one location, not like what we had for the last 2 seasons where almost each episode takes us to a different place. I hope that this game will still be able to reinvent itself and introduce us to more locations and characters in the future. But right now it seems that they slowed things down and just focused on the characters and not the location.
Top Critic
There's no denying Episode Four does the series justice, and the finale has been set up brilliantly.
Top Critic
A worthy flagbearer?
The latest episode in Telltale’s The Walking Dead seemingly came out of left field, and it boasts an ending that really makes you second guess the decisions you made up to this point.
Top Critic
Managing to avoid the slower pace and lack of events the last episode presented, Thicker than Water continues the The Walking Dead: A New Frontier with a solid episode leading up to an interesting finale.
Top Critic
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier Episode 4, Thicker than Water, sees a return to the twists and turns, conflicts, and high drama the series is known for.
Top Critic
With a high-throttle ending leading to a satisfying conclusion for Thicker Than Water, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier finally heads back on track when it comes to finishing up the job. While another cliff-hanger, it's one that feels like it'll actually lead somewhere instead of predictability lingering at the forefront. Things are set up beautifully for the finale, and players will see if all the risks going into this season end up being worth it.
Top Critic
Ignoring the graphical issues and the crashing, this is almost a return to form. The story gets back on track and is truly engaging, character development continues to excel, and the choices remain difficult. This is topped off with another superb cliff-hanger that delivers a sequence that will make players want to immediately go back and see the fallout from the other branching option, not to mention eager to get their hands on that final episode. If only it could be bug free...
Top Critic
To say Thicker Than Water is the season's worst episode is both true and deeply misleading. It does take a step back from the extreme highs of the first three episodes, but this is still a story well worth seeing through to the end. Hopefully enough of the Garcia clan survive this season because they're worth another of their own. Some gripes with dialogue aside, the thematic elements remain strong, the characters are some of the best the studio has born, and this episode contributes to the still very high expectations for the season finale.
Thicker Than Water serves as an excellent prelude to the carnage that is sure to come in the Season finale.
Top Critic
Telltale has seriously upped the ante with more action and tougher decisions to make, and Thicker Than Water has definitely been my favourite of the series so far.
Top Critic
Many of the season's problems remain in episode four – Thicker Than Water, but this installment does improve on many of its storytelling segments. There are still problems regarding relationships that you might not want, but the choices that you do get to make feel more important than they have in a while. While devoid of puzzles, the incredible ending has me eagerly waiting for the final episode.
Top Critic
Telltale has noticeably struggled in the past with the episodes leading into their season finales in previous titles, though by-and-large Episode 4 of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier manages to deliver some deep character moments and development while anchored by a tense conclusion that sets up its last episode for a big finish. Though some aspects of the episode may leave fans wanting a bit more, "Thicker Than Water" shows that family is just as much the root of some problems as much as it is the answer for them. Of course, the bigger question is how many of the Garcia clan makes it to the end remains to be seen, but the answers will be devastating either way.
Top Critic
An amazing emotional experience that trips and stumbles, but shows what Telltale is capable off.
Top Critic
Storylines finally converge satisfyingly in Thicker Than Water, the penultimate chapter of the New Frontier.
Top Critic
The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier Episode 4: Thicker Than Water leaves a number of unanswered questions, flashing plot gaps and too prolonged foreplay, but a quick and emotional ending gives us hope for a really bright and memorable finale.
Review in Russian | Read full review
Top Critic
The Walking Dead and Telltale are both suffering from increasing fatigue, but this season's penultimate episode helps this particular story soldier on towards a potentially satisfying, if predictable, conclusion.
Top Critic
This fourth episode succeeds by taking its time to tell us more about characters we didn't know much about and by litterally exploding at its end, letting us in great need for what's next.
Review in French | Read full review
Top Critic
A lot of this outing of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier feels like treading water, as Telltale takes their time building to episode 5. Ending on a cliffhanger, the instalment does its job of upping the stakes for next time. Whether or not the developer can deliver a satisfying finale, however, is still up in the air.
Top Critic
“Thicker Than Water” has its moments of enjoyment and incredulity, but the slow build-up and the meandering nature of the episode as a whole turns it into a frustrating chunk of a mostly consistent season. Players who stick through it will be well-rewarded with an intriguing finale setup that will hopefully pay off, but individually, the episode feels more like an obstacle than a continuation.
Top Critic
The fourth chapter looks like a regular episode from the AMC series: a few zombies, a lot of dialogues, characters who act stupidly. Still, the ending is well-structured, and delivers some good moments and decisions. Not as good as the second episode, way better than the third.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Top Critic
This series has been disappointing so far. This episode is probably the best yet but the glitches and just general lack of improvement in the writing mean that it is still substandard. The last episode would have to be incredible to draw everything together into a meaningful arc which lives up to its predecessors.
Top Critic
Although Episode 4: Thicker Than Water once again deprives players of all agency, it's actually handled relatively well in-universe, making for a second-to-last episode that actively marches towards the finale. Characters are finally reaching a point where they feel fully developed, the story has found a suitable emotional centre, and the stakes have been raised high enough where Javi and Clem will naturally find themselves challenged in Episode 5. It isn't as strong as it could have been - in large part due to A New Frontier's overall structure - but Thicker Than Water stands out as the strongest chapter in season three thus far.
Top Critic
The conclusion of Thicker Than Water is exactly what you'd expect from the series, and that's not a bad thing. For action fans, the setup means that the final episode is sure to be full of gore. For everyone else, though, having to spend so much time with some unlikeable and underdeveloped characters makes the episode feel like a drag, so the end is met with relief rather than longing to see the conclusion. It shouldn't be long before the final episode hits, but here's hoping things end on an upswing.
Top Critic
Telltale's third season of The Walking Dead had a great start, but it's getting worse every new episode. Thicker than Water is the weakest point in the story, bringing an unbalanced and inconsistent narrative. Its climax rests upon Javi's flashback, which reveals more about the relationship with his brother David. Remaining only one more episode to save this season, it's time to question if the series can hold another one, or if Telltale's formula is already saturated.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The fourth episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is pretty uneventful and borderline monotonous until its climax, which somehow channels the pure evil of a villain like Negan, and finishes the episode off with a bang. Literally.
If last episode was one step forward, this one was unfortunately one or two steps back. The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series - A New Frontier Episode 4: Thicker Than Water is a solid enough offering, with its usual assortment of quality voice actors and gut wrenching moments. That being said, some of the characters wore thin on me really quickly in this particular chapter, and once again it is Clementine to the rescue.
Top Critic
"Thicker Than Water," other than its satisfying ending, is the season's weakest episode yet. Little that precedes the action-packed conclusion feels like it has much, if any, weight to the ongoing story I'm invested in — namely Javi's life and his relationships with Kate, Clem, and David. I'm absolutely on the hook for the season finale after that strong start and thrilling ending — I just wish everything before it hadn't felt so thin.
Top Critic
Short, contrived, and occasionally frustrating; Episode 4 of New Frontier is so far the weakest of the bunch, and it's up to the game's finale to bring this entry back to the top of its game.
Top Critic
An episode that feels way too flat and uninteresting.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Top Critic
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 4 is a bit of a mistep for this promising series. It's not a bad episode, but it does feel like just a small stepping stone to the finale. It also has some story and technical problems that make the whole thing feel a bit rushed compared to the previous episodes. The finale could be great, but this episode does little to enhance the excitement.
Top Critic
The weakest episode in The Walking Dead: A New Frontier thus far, Thicker Than Water is paced awkwardly and doesn't spend enough time exploring the relationships that really matter. A good conclusion sets up the finale well, and there are some standout scenes over the course of the instalment. But an underdeveloped villain and some hard to believe exchanges make this a forgettable episode overall.
Top Critic
Much like the preceding episode of Season Three, ‘Thicker Than Water' is roughly an hour and a half. Although I would always prefer if each episode was slightly longer, it felt as though there was too much filler in this one. The opening episodes of Season Three felt like Telltale had set a great pace to the story, however now it feels as though the developers are slipping back into their old ways. With only one episode left, there's still plenty to cover in this story. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story concludes, but I can't help but feel somewhat disappointed by the predictability of the season so far. Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long for the final episode.
Top Critic
I find myself waiting for the finale with mixed feelings. Episode four's finale has me eager to jump into the finale and face what comes Javi and the group's way, but I really hope Telltale nails down the pacing for episode five.
Top Critic
As strong as this season has been, the latest episode, "Thicker Than Water," did little to change the stakes or present new angles to its cast. Were it not for the final minutes, this episode may as well have been called "Treading Water."
Top Critic
It took four episodes, but things finally happened and are at least mildly interesting.
Top Critic
Thicker Than Water is the weakest episode so far. It has a major focus on relationships between characters but it lacks logic.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Top Critic
The saving grace for the game is the characters and their relationships with each other (especially between Javier and Kate). I feel connected to them and I want to follow them onto the next episode to see how they resolve the major cliffhanger at the end of episode 4. Fingers crossed episode 5 steps up it's game!
Top Critic
The more I write about this episode, the less I like it. I actually went back and replayed it to see if the ending could be influenced by the player in any way (it can't), which certainly did Thicker than Water no favors. One disappointing episode isn't enough to write off the whole season quite yet, but I'm certainly less excited for the finale than I was this time last month.
This was a light and weak episode that should have been a strong penultimate for a revolt within the city.
Top Critic
What should have been an ramp up in excitement for the finale descends into dull, familiar tropes with bizarre characterisation.
Top Critic
The fourth episode of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is all build up and no payoff. The erratic behavior that occurs when going slightly off-script absolutely shatters any semblance of a cohesive narrative. Here's hoping the next chapter offers a more consistent and well-written story.
Top Critic
With each new episode, we can see more and more clearly, that the developer doesn't know anymore, how to do original and engaging story. New season of The Walking Dead is huge disappointment.
Review in Polish | Read full review
