Setting up a finale is difficult, especially for noir. Sure, noir relies on easy tropes like Rugged Man #1, Beautiful Dame #1, and Scene with Shadow #23, but it also relies on suspense, with villains frequently never even being seen until near the finale.
The real challenge for those who write noir is to make it so viewers to feel like they were right in some aspect–right about who the killer is, right about the murder weapon, the motivation, who the pawns are, or whether the hero will make it out in one piece.
These noir tropes are rather cliché, but that’s not entirely a bad thing.
This penultimate episode of The Wolf Among Us is no exception to these tropes and clichés, but that is far from a weakness. Episode 4: In Sheep’s Clothing follows Bigby in his attempts to solve the two fables’ murders while recovering from a fight with one of the series’ main antagonists in the previous episode.
Bigby is sleep-deprived, hurting, and pissed off. As he does what he can to complete his investigation, Bigby also tries to protect his friends from the sinister forces behind the murders lest they join the list of victims.
The Little Mermaid isn’t having a great day.
It’s odd that what many would consider a filler episode could have so much material. Most of this content solidifies Bigby’s relationships with other characters as we see him begin to piece together the web of lies that has held Fabletown together. The episode works, though it feels a bit stretched out, especially when the previous episode could be considered one of Telltale’s greatest works yet.
No more excuses. Vague dialogue options and recaps in the wrong order should not be an issue.
As with previous episodes, the graphics are both a blessing and a curse, with the art style being beautiful but the actual graphical quality and animations once again lacking for a game in 2014. Additionally, the “Previously on The Wolf Among Us” showed events out of order. Again. This is the eleventh episode that Telltale has done in recent years (starting with The Walking Dead) that has featured an episode recap–Telltale should have this figured out by now.
Animations still suffer and dialogue choices are still vague, at best.
In addition to graphical issues, some dialogue choices that are sprinkled throughout In Sheep’s Clothing are rather unclear, the most notable being, “It won’t last forever,” meaning either that the money you’re giving a character won’t last forever, or sending them to the Farm won’t last forever (apparently, that’s the second one).
Telltale has continued its streak of excellent episodes, but there’s not much to say about this one until the season finale releases, presumably in a month or two. Over the past few months, Telltale has released episodes more and more rapidly, possibly in preparation for Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones. No matter the reason for the productivity boost, Telltale has shown that despite a few technological hiccups, they can release a gripping story that will keep gamers on the edge of their seats.
