The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 1 Reviews

The Walking Dead: The Final Season - Episode 1 is ranked in the 75th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7.5 / 10.0
Aug 21, 2018

Although the length is even more limited than usual, the first episode of the final season of Telltale's The Walking Dead sets the right elements for the conclusion of Clementine's journey, looking at the zombie apocalypse from a younger and fresh perspective.

Review in Italian | Read full review

Aug 16, 2018

A strong start to the series' coda, The Final Season's first episode is among some of the best storytelling we've seen from Telltale.

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8.5 / 10.0
Aug 14, 2018

Almost completely rediscovering the lightning in a bottle that made the first season so compelling, The Walking Dead: The Final Season is starting out as strongly as we could have hoped.

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88 / 100
Aug 13, 2018

In "Done Running," Telltale gives us the Walking Dead game we fell in love with back in Season One, but with noticeable upgrades in gameplay and visuals.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 13, 2018

The debut episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season is one of Telltale Games' best efforts in quite some time. It builds its cast of likeable new characters with uncommon skill, lets you feel a glimmer of hope, and then tears it all down in devastating fashion. I'm afraid of what might come next for Clementine and AJ, but I can't look away…The Final Season has already sunk its teeth into me.

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7 / 10
Aug 13, 2018

It's practically impossible to make any firm conclusions about The Walking Dead: The Final Season in its first episode, but the engine improvements have really helped step up the storytelling, while the new cast of characters seem interesting at this early stage. While we could take or leave the gameplay tweaks, particularly in the combat department, it's already clear that the stakes are going to be much higher in this concluding season than the series' previous disappointing outing – and for now, that's enough for us.

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Justin Woo
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Aug 14, 2018

Done Running isn't perfect, but nothing TWD-related ever is. This game remains the best incarnation of the IP, and long-time fans won't be disappointed.

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Aug 13, 2018

As it turns out, episode one of The Walking Dead: The Final Season is very much a slow burn. While it fails to maintain the pacing of previous seasons, and seemingly ignores much of what took place in A New Frontier, the game is indeed heading towards something special for the finale.

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Daily Dot
Top Critic
Aug 13, 2018

While only one episode in, I feel fully invested in where The Walking Dead goes from here.

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7 / 10
Aug 13, 2018

That's what we can call a pretty good start for the last season with a lot of promises based on what a grown Clementine is now for Alvin Junior. A few things have changed and we hope what 's coming next will be good enough so that we can leave one of the best video games characters without any regrets.

Review in French | Read full review

80%
Aug 22, 2018

A worthy flagbearer.

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85 / 100
Aug 16, 2018

The Walking Dead: The Final Season's opener is a remarkably solid beginning of the end. Done Running's return to the first season's narrative structure is masterfully combined with a fine cast of characters and potential friendships. This is one series that I'll miss, but has the potential to go out with a bang.

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9 / 10.0
Aug 17, 2018

The Walking Dead: The Final Season's first episode, Done Running, shows that Telltale can still tell fantastic stories while adding in new gameplay elements.

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8.5 / 10.0
Aug 28, 2018

While it remains similar to its predecessors in plot and structure, The Final Season: Episode One starts the finale off strong

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8 / 10.0
Aug 20, 2018

Telltale is really good at creating a twisted plot and deeply understand how to shock their fans. Playing the role of Clementine is both touching and satisfying for old fans while the little girl has grown up and started to protect and guide another child just like the way Lee did. There is no doubt that episode 1 is a good start.

Review in Chinese | Read full review

Unscored
Aug 13, 2018

The Final Season managed to surprise me multiple times already, and if anyone deserves a satisfying finale it's Clementine. Six years of build-up desperately need some sort of catharsis, even if it's a tearjerker.

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8 / 10.0
Aug 14, 2018

The fist episode of this season of The Walking Dead delivers some good moments, some tweaks on the gameplay and pleasant graphics. Still, there are no traces of the characters of the third season, and some reactions of the new characters left us a bit blown away.

Review in Italian | Read full review

GameSpew
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Aug 15, 2018

The Walking Dead: The Final Season – Episode One: Done Running is good. Clichéd or not, Telltale always knows how to tell a great story.

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7.5 / 10.0
Sep 6, 2018

There is very little wrong with this episode but for someone who critically analyzes the storyline and how the events unfold, I would have preferred a little insight into how AJ's personality was shaped from past events. This scenario could probably become an episode itself. That being said, this episode is a fitting but perhaps a little bland start to the final season of The Walking Dead.

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Cubed3
Top Critic
7 / 10
Jan 10, 2019

The key takeaway from Episode 1: Done Running is that the murderous zombies themselves are just merely a decoy that is meant to explain the state of the world. However, they are far from being the main threats in the story, as the human survivors themselves prove to be the ultimate threat to each other's survival.

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