Whether you’re immersed in the groundbreaking AMC original series, the fan-favorite video games, or the comics that started the entire frenzy, there’s just something uniquely visceral about The Walking Dead. Not only is the franchise chock-full of pulse-pounding moments, but, on an arguably more subtle level, it forces us to question our own morality and sense of humanity given the most horrific of scenarios. Would you save another human you barely know at the risk of your own gruesome death, or would you self-preservingly leave them to the wolves and bolt out of there?
These are bleak, scary questions to ask.
But no one seems to ask those questions better than developer Telltale Games, the creator of the video games inspired by the successful comics and T.V. series. Fans of this zombie apocalypse drama have rallied behind the provoking way that these titles put the fate of characters, quite literally, in the hands of the gamer. With a swift press of a button, you can decide who gets to remain a dead man walking, and who is sacrificed to become another of the herds of walking dead.
With the considerable success of the first installment of the franchise well in hand, Telltale has been hard at work on a follow-up full AAA title which they are deeming The Walking Dead: Season 2. Much like the Walkers that gamers must avoid in the game, however, fans of the series have a seemingly untamable hunger for more story. So, Telltale has decided to give it to them.
Between points A and B Will this, too, go bump in the night?
Though fans have known that the DLC installment The Walking Dead: 400 Days would be coming to a console near them sometime soon, at E3 Telltale gave the world a bit of insight into what exactly the game would entail.
Initially described as a “special episode” in the storyline of the gaming series, Telltale recently elaborated on the title’s purpose, saying that it will serve as “connective tissue” between the events of Season 1 and Season 2. In this “connective tissue,” gamers will play through the perspectives of 5 different characters, each of which begins on a different day of the game’s 400 day span. Telltale also divulged that certain events and locations might be repeated or revisited in different stories, albeit each time through the current in-play character’s unique perspective. Just as in the first full game, each decision you make will have real consequences not just for your character, but for all the other people around them, thus adding to the series’ persistent questioning of morality.
All that said, Telltale advises those interested in the game to make sure that they have played through Season 1 before adventuring into 400 Days. I know, I know, this really does sound like another example of shameless self-promotion by a gaming developer (though who can really blame them for that?). Quick to defuse the apparent skew of their suggestion, Telltale affirmed that just as all the decisions you make in Season 1 will affect the way you play through Season 2, so will the choices you make in 400 Days. These changes based on decisions range everywhere from altering the game’s storyline to whether or not certain characters will make an appearance. So yeah, you definitely want to play Season 1 first, guys.
Will this, too, go bump in the night?
Once you have played through Season 1, however, you have to wait until July to be able to continue the story with 400 Days. Waiting for the Vita bundle will be a little longer, though not by much: it comes out a month later, in August.
All that said, what do y’all think about this new DLC? For fans of the series, is the promise of 5 new characters enough to draw you into this between-games content? As for gamers who have not yet delved into the gaming manifestation of The Walking Dead, does this game seem worth giving the series a go?
I urge you to comment, argue, bash Carl, post theories about The Governor, do whatever you can in the comments section below!
