The Wolf Among Us

[JonCole]

E5 (and I guess some very mild comics) spoilers:

 

When Nerissa is about to walk away from you, she says the same line as Faith does the last time she sees Bigby. Something like, "You're not as bad as they all think, Bigby". Then flashback audio goes in and out that all suggests that Nerissa is actually Faith, most obviously when you consider that Faith's fable is that she always finds some way to get out of harm's way and that Dr. Swineheart was having some kind of trouble with her autopsy. That said, I still don't particularly understand why the final action was to go after her or not - I can't imagine that finding out whether she's Faith or not actually makes that substantive a difference.

 

My general impression of the story at this point is that while most of the decisions didn't have major weight on the outcomes of each situation, they did have something to say about who holds the power in Fabletown - the people, Snow White, or Bigby himself. I'm hoping that this is what plays mostly into S2.

 

I hope that S2 doesn't use Bigby as the protagonist. I've started reading the comics subsequent to starting this series and there are plenty of great characters that are worth spending some time exploring. Frau Totenkinder, Pinocchio, and Briar Rose don't even appear the games and would make interesting player characters. Cinderella would make a terrific main character for a sequel, acting as a subordinate of Bigby. Jack Horner and Bluebeard himself would also make interesting player characters, with their odd motives.

 

The fact that Bigby can't go to The Farm is reason enough to pick someone else who can go there and actually show that it's not as bad a place as people suggest. Also, picking someone with a less blatantly antagonistic relationship with Bluebeard would be nice, as Bluebeard really is never particularly well explained in the game despite (and perhaps because of) his prominence in the comics.

[SuperBiasedMan]

On the note about the Farm, I really think the game handled it poorly the way it never laid out a concrete reason why the farm was a bad place. Fabletown has obvious cracks that you see as you progress through the story, but the only reason you know people don't like the Farm is their reactions. Yet you have a very good solid reason to want to send people there. It made the choice quite unbalanced for me.

[curtofranklin]

One of the Book of Fables explains the Farm, and why you wouldn't want to go there, pretty well. Basically, it's perfectly fine, but you can't leave willingly.

 

Kind of like The Prisoner. A Season 2 where you're on the Farm and it's basically The Prisoner would be super cool.

[TheLastBaron]

Basically, it's perfectly fine, but you can't leave willingly.

This is pretty much it. Keep in mind Fables don't die of old age or anything so once you get sent to the farm you're there forever. It's not like getting sent to a gulag, but you're still trapped on a farm.

[JonCole]

What you're all saying is true. The balance between "I don't have a choice, this is a prison" and "well, this is may be a prison but it's not Hell and there are good, legitimate reasons for it to exist" could indeed explored. As it is, there's not much nuance - getting sent to The Farm seems almost as bad a threat as being sent down the Witching Well.

 

Farm spoiler:

 

When I was reading the comics and saw that the Giants were being held at the farm, it struck me as something more like an institution rather than a prison. These Fables did nothing wrong, but they go beyond talking animals; Giants walking around the normal-sized world could do immense damage. By this same token, I think they'd have an interesting time delving into the Thirteenth Floor Fables. Once you see what they can do in the comics, the world expands beyond Bigby being a big strong wolf and into this world of serious, powerful magic.

[Twig]

On the note about the Farm, I really think the game handled it poorly the way it never laid out a concrete reason why the farm was a bad place. Fabletown has obvious cracks that you see as you progress through the story, but the only reason you know people don't like the Farm is their reactions. Yet you have a very good solid reason to want to send people there. It made the choice quite unbalanced for me.

I'm undeniably biased, having read the comics and seen the farm, but I felt that Colin the pig in particular did a good job of expressing the loss of freedom he feared from being locked away on the farm. It's not all in all a bad place, but it is a virtual prison. Fables who can't afford the glamours to disguise themselves as human have no choice but to stay at the farm. It sucks.

 

Not to emtnion the Fables who get sent there for breaking the rules, and for them it becomes literally a prison.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I guess I didn't realise the farm was a permanent solution. Particularly since Colin said he'd escaped or something in episode 1? Or did I just make that up...

 

As a permanent house arrest it's clearly not a good place to be. I had just thought that I was missing something about the place itself that was supposed to make the fables fearful of it.

 

Oh man, now I feel bad that the toad kid has to spend his whole life there.

 

How exactly does aging work for Fables? Do they age at all?

[JonCole]

I guess I didn't realise the farm was a permanent solution. Particularly since Colin said he'd escaped or something in episode 1? Or did I just make that up...

 

As a permanent house arrest it's clearly not a good place to be. I had just thought that I was missing something about the place itself that was supposed to make the fables fearful of it.

 

Oh man, now I feel bad that the toad kid has to spend his whole life there.

 

How exactly does aging work for Fables? Do they age at all?

 

The aging works the same as the endurance. The more prevalent their fable, the more the aging slows. So, if a child-Fable is extremely popular it'll stay a child essentially forever.

[TheLastBaron]

They generally stay the age they are in their fable, but it's not very consistent.

[Twig]

I guess I didn't realise the farm was a permanent solution. Particularly since Colin said he'd escaped or something in episode 1? Or did I just make that up...

He did run away from the farm. He continues to do so. Bigby's particularly lenient on him because of the history they have, I think. Also it feels like in this game they aren't quite as strict about it as in the comics, or are building toward being super strict about it.

[SuperBiasedMan]

In a few posts I've gone from "the Farm seemed ill defined and pointless" to thinking a season 2 all about it would be great, particularly if you're a Fable that's either in power or takes over control of the Farm as the season goes on and has to decide on how to shape it.

[TheLastBaron]

Well I mean there are arcs of the comic that deal with it directly. It could make a good game, I agree, but I think the point of having the game set before the comics was so they'd avoid overlap with the comics.

[Tanukitsune]

 

Now that's some awesome Bigby cosplay!

[syntheticgerbil]

Wow, real life Photoshop!

[Tanukitsune]

The make up is ridiculous, I almost tempted to start some sort cool gamer cosplayers, I've got some ridiculously Guybrush and Laverne from DOTD cosplay that I wanted to share.

 

I've also seen people use this line effect for their Borderlands cosplay.

[TheLastBaron]

I've also seen people use this line effect for their Borderlands cosplay.

That's the very first thing I thought of when I saw this, that it would make for a cool Borderlands cosplay

[lobotomy42]

How is that effect accomplished?

[Tanukitsune]

I assume it's just make up? I guess there is an art to it, making the lines be at just the right spot, because not everybody pulls it as well:

[clyde]

So I enjoyed the game. I've skipped this thread to avoid spoilers, but now that I finished the game I read through it. I'm going to go ahead and assume that everything I want to talk about (really a list of sundries) is a spoiler and I don't remember which episode was which so...

Now that it's over, what am I supposed to do with this donkey-skin coat? I went to a lot of effort to find this thing up a chimney. I was waiting for it to come into play the entire time. I wonder if I just didn't hear any more about it because of the choices I made (that would be fine). Or maybe i just wasn't paying attention. But now that I'm hearing that Narissa is actually Faith in glamour, it would have made sense to have the coat stolen from evidence or something. The Crooked Man could have been looking for it because he knew that Faith was still alive and trying to make the heat rise (get it? Cop-attention/chimney? Anyway). I guess the idea was that frogman was renting it from the pawnshop and the egg-shaped twins were a attempting a repossession.

Next up: "Don't Laugh at me!"

Again, maybe it was because of my choices or I just wasn't paying attention but what happened to this clue? Was Georgie dumping bodies in the river? I have no idea.

Why'd they risk so much to take Crane?

How was this useful to the Crooked Man? Is the idea that Crane was dileberately negligent so that more people would need the Crooked Man's services? Was he an informant for the Crooked Man? I never saw him again after they put him in the limo. Was Crane intentionally blackmailed with the photos so he would do the Crooked Man's bidding? I have many suspicions and no idea what the deal is after episode 5. Maybe that is the nature of the story.

Torture

This is just the part where I get to say that this is my favorite torture-scene ever. I had a fucking crisis trying to get through the torture-scene in GTA 5 and I don't watch movies or shows if I know that there will be torture-scenes in them. I fucking hate torture scenes, I feel the exact same way about rape-scenes only torture scenes seem more nefarious to me because there is this bullshit rhetoric that sometimes nice guys have to break the rules to safe lives. Yeah whatever, it's torture. If your character is intentionally making someone in captivity suffer then you are part of the problem. Not interested.

But The Wolf Among Us allowed me to live out my fantasy about stopping torture from happening. Yes; this was valuable; I enjoyed it; treatment of the issue was simplistic, but I don't care; best use of torture in a television-show, movie, or game clyde has seen; congratulations.

The trial

I guess it's time to admit I haven't finished The Walking Dead, but I enjoyed the trial scene. I liked it when my choices were brought up here.

"You don't send your friends to the Farm!"

-Tell that to the frog-family and the pigI just put on a Greyhound this morning.

"You use torture!"

-Nope, in fact I used my authority as a civil-servant of Fabletown to stop the torture of a known criminal who was refusing to provide us with essential information on an urgent and dangerous matter.

"You are the most violent monster in Fabletown!"

-You must be referring to when I held an egg-shaped man against a wall and stared at him disapprovingly.

I enjoyed that.

The Romance

I thought Bigby and Snow's flirtation was refreshing. At no point did I feel that I was investing kindness-coins an cell-shaded sex-scene (I don't have any problem with polygonal skin-ship, but the optimization towards it is creepy and boring to me) but I did consider Snow's opinion in both a professional manner and in a romantic one. I really enjoyed the aspect of Bigby's character where he obviously cares about how Snow thinks of him.

Use of Female Characters

I think we are still in a period of time where I notice the most basic execution of realized female characters in studio-made games. I think that TellTale did a good job with the female cast (with the exception of Bloody Mary's voice-acting). When I consider the spectrum of demeanor, motive, and narrative purpose between Snow, Faith, Narissa, Holly, and the witch; I see a basic acknowledgement of female experience that considers gender, but doesn't hinge on it. In my opinion this is far more than the vast majority of games do.

Oh one more thing. That fight scene with Bloody Mary was a tedious unfun mess that actually reduced the amount I enjoyed the game.

I liked it.

[twmac]

I finished last night after marathoning through 4 episodes in a weekend.

 

I will never play another Telltale series like that again, the reason being that a lot of the things being brought up in this thread did not resonate with me at all but I think that had more to do with the fact that I was blundering through each scene and not really giving any pause for thought.

 

Worse, I think that some of the quieter moments were completely lost on me because I was churning through it and just found them outright boring (I dozed off in Episode 3). Which, I think was just me consuming it in the incorrect way.

 

Anyway, overall, I enjoyed it - I thought there were some really poor choices in terms of achievements (these games should never encourage repalying through them as I feel it ruins some of the 'magic') - but I still think that Walking Dead is stronger.

[syntheticgerbil]

Finished this and man, I don't know, I think I'm done with Telltale no puzzle linear adventure games. I might bother with Walking Dead Season 2 at some point because I own it, but 500 days was pretty bad so I'm not thrilled about continuing.

 

What I love about Wolf Among Us is it is gorgeous, the style looks amazing to me here. I liked the characters, world, dialogue, voices, animations, and expressions. This is what kept me going because I don't care for this gameplay watered down this much at all. In Walking Dead the timed dialogue responses were not for every sequence completely, just character defining ones, it still had a lot of the (great) adventure game tropes of having areas to walk around and explore as well as ask questions of individual characters just to get more information on the world around you. It also had some puzzles, they weren't hard but it was a good thing to throw in the mix.

 

In Wolf Among Us, I was being rushed over everything even though the pacing of the story is slow. For an investigator, Bigby frequently would leave scenes once he found whatever bit of evidence that leads to the next linear sequence without me agreeing to this. There were many places where I just wanted to see everything I could click on before running out the door, so instead I start playing a game against the game where I try to click on the things I predict are the least important first so that I can enjoy the game more before I'm transported to the next room. It's completely idiotic. Most dialogue sequences were arbitrary choices, and they didn't always make sense on conveying what I was trying to say. Since you can't skip dialogue just like in Walking Dead, I learned early on that reloading means that I have to sit around and watch all of these cutscenes again to get back to where I was before the game did what I didn't quite want it to do because a dialogue option didn't make sense or I ran out of time or something.

 

Walking Dead S1 didn't matter so much on that stuff because the general flow of that game was going from timed linear sequences to open areas you explore and repeat. Also Fables did try to do a couple of open areas where I could ask a character a question about something, but it often would only let me get one question in and not let me talk to the character again despite them still sitting right there. In almost every case I would have wanted to ask questions about other things pertaining to the world, but since reloading is a punishment I had to go without. It's a bunch of nonsense to design this way.

 

I guess the game got too Heavy Rained and suffered for it.

 

Also episode 5 kind of killed the whole story for me, which I was loving until then.

I have no idea why photos of Lily, Faith, and Nerissa were posted in that factory, was this explained ever?

 

Also it seems like no one ever took the time to use a silver bullet to kill Bigby, I guess that's too easy in terms of writing and we need our long drawn out fight scenes, but why drive the point home by showing made bullets being made if no one is going to actually fire them?

 

Like others had mentioned, the trial was incredibly sloppy writing and completely illogical. You are only trying the Crooked Man on whether or not he ordered Georgie to kill those women? Really? What about all the times he failed to have Bigby killed, Snow White saw he was in the car while the Dees and Bloody Mary continuously shot at him and broke his damn arm. They kidnapped Crane in front of her. They have people chained to the floor to work for the fucking guy. Multiple people tried to kill Bigby in the guy's living room. Are the rules for policing not the same as the human world? My friend brought up that everyone tries to kill Bigby all the time and they don't go to jail, but to me it seemed like that was all on Bigby's grace, like Grendel and Woodsman.

 

I guess none of this is substantial because the game needs some crappy informal trial with a random set of characters, some of which who could have helped convict the guy were just absent. It also makes zero sense why Nerissa is able to break free the ribbon spell and start talking during the trial. Did I miss something? Is it because either Vivian or Georgie died?

 

Then the game ends on a bummer where nothing changes, everyone is in line, fables still can't afford glamour, and Snow White is still to busy too bother with anyone. So people will still keep slipping throw the cracks despite Snow White making all of these declarations on how this won't happen anymore along the span of the game.

 

I would care more about the obscure twist of Nerissa being Faith or vice versa but everything was already soured for me. Oh well.

[Dewar]

Yes, Vivian dying ended the curse of all the ribbons.

I don't have much to say to most of that because I liked it a ton. Of course, I haven't played any of the other modern Telltale games so it was pretty fresh for me.

[syntheticgerbil]

Ah okay, thank you for clearing that up, I couldn't find an answer searching on google.

[Dewar]

I think it's one of those details that can be very clear or very not clear depending on how... aggressive, you are in that scene and maybe even scenes in past episodes.

[brkl]

I don't know what to say to those comments. I thought the game worked great and the choice of where to go next over who to save felt a lot more true compared to Walking Dead. I had a great time playing this, but the newer Telltale games don't seem to have as attractive properties so I haven't gotten anything after the (disappointment) of Walking Dead Season Two.