The Walking Dead: A New Frontier - Episode 4 - Thicker Than Water Reviews
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.
"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.
Thicker Than Water has tough choices, great relationship building, and shocking twists. It's the best episode this season
Storylines finally converge satisfyingly in Thicker Than Water, the penultimate chapter of the New Frontier.
“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.
There's no denying Episode Four does the series justice, and the finale has been set up brilliantly.
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.
An episode that feels way too flat and uninteresting.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.