Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Reviews

The Walking Dead Season Two review

Adam Rosenberg
By
The Walking Dead Season Two
The Walking Dead Season Two
MSRP $25.00
Score Details
DT Editors' Choice
“The Walking Dead: Season 2 is a triumph of interactive storytelling, from beginning to end.”
Pros
  • Truly commendable work of interactive storytelling
  • A magnificent finale that perfectly captures the choice-driven gameplay
Cons
  • You're probably going to cry at some point. Deal with it.

Editor’s note: It goes without saying that spoilers lie ahead if you’ve never played an episode of The Walking Dead, being that this is a review of the second season. You can, however, read with confidence knowing that none of the events of Season 2 are spoiled here beyond very general descriptions. As always, it’s best to play first, then read and respond to criticism like this second. You already know that Season 2 delivers the same level of star-caliber writing, so let’s make this a conversation.

You’re going to watch your friends die. In some cases, you’ll be the one that kills them.

Related

That is both the solemn promise and the inescapable truth of investing in the fictional zombie world created by comic book writer Robert Kirkman. Whether you’re reading his words, watching the AMC TV show, or playing Telltale Games’ wonderful episodic series, you check your humanity at the door when you immerse yourself in The Walking Dead. The series is brilliant because it’s never been about zombies; it’s really a story of humans trying to survive under terrible circumstances.

Always remember, WWCD: What Would Clem Do?

There’s no room for conventional morality in this space, and Telltale fully embraces that notion in The Walking Dead: Season 2. The first season evolved over time; while the storytelling was always strong, early chapters are marked by relatively clear-cut decisions to make. There’s always going to be some deviation, but when it’s a choice between saving the shy computer geek or the salty journalist who’s handy with a gun, which would you rather have at your side in a zombie apocalypse? You do what you must to survive.

That’s not the case in the second season. With Lee Everett dead and Clementine out on her own, Telltale explores some very dark places. Clem – through you, the player – makes her own choices this time around, but it’s always in the context of a brutally unforgiving world. Sometimes you’ll go with a course of action at a critical moment and then watch your expectations shatter as something you never planned for occurs. Other times you’ll make a seemingly innocuous choice that, in hindsight, changes absolutely everything. It’s like this from moment one.

After a tense opening sequence that establishes the time and place in relation to the events of the first season, the story settles into one of its rare quiet moments. As with most things in this universe, however, the respite turns out to be an illusion. There is no good to be found, no happiness. Everyone and everything is desperate, and Telltale delivers a harsh reminder of that in episode one by forcing players into committing an act that shatters deeply ingrained social taboos.

The Walking Dead Season Two
Image used with permission by copyright holder

It’s a powerful statement to make, and it very effectively sets the tone for Season 2‘s dark doings. The memory of Lee looms large for Clem, but there’s no one to hold her hand anymore. She’s got to rely on herself. If the first season was a father-daughter-like journey in which two strangers found shared love and safety in the eye of a proverbial storm, season two is all about growth. Evolving into the sort of person that can survive in this hellscape. Clem’s got the lessons Lee left her with, and now she’s got to live by them.

Sometimes that means stitching up a wound, one swipe of the needle at a time, screaming and crying the whole way through. And sometimes it means simply watching, helpless, as the light fades out of a drowning friend and protector’s eyes. There’s no “winning” in a game like this, a story like this. Lee’s lessons turned Clem into a more capable survivor, but they can only keep death at bay. Free will offers no protection from a world in which morality is measured on an individual scale.

The Walking Dead: Season 2 is a truly masterful fusion of plot and play.

If Season 1 taught us that you can’t save everyone, Season 2 reminds us that, at the end of the day, you’ve got to make sure you save yourself.

As a player, the most valuable thing you can do to better immerse yourself in the story is figure out what Clem’s mindset is in a post-Lee world. Who is she to you? What do you want her journey to look like? Is she a solitary survivor or does she still have the capacity to trust people? The story is scripted yet pliable based on how you interact with it. You can’t think strategically about Clem’s survival, you can only act in the moment. Your self-perception may even change and evolve as new experiences soak in. That’s kind of the whole point. Figuring out what makes your Clem tick is a valuable thought exercise that better equips you to make snap decisions. Always remember, WWCD: What Would Clem Do?

It usually works out. Telltale’s writers are getting better at building a branching story that seamlessly spins off in multiple directions. There’s an occasionally clunky line of dialogue or character performance that doesn’t quite sync up with whatever’s happening on the screen, but these moments are rarer than they’ve been before. The illusion is close to perfect, and it gets better and better as the season wears on. 

The closing episode’s final, terrible choice brings it all together. Again and again throughout the season, Clem’s journey is constantly influenced by forces beyond her control. You can have a meaningful impact on characters and situations, but there’s always a puppetmaster looming just out of sight, pulling the strings. It’s always OK, because the emotional journey is the one that really matters, but you see easily enough which twists are scripted in hindsight.

That ending, though. In a sense, all of the choices you make over the course of the second season’s five episodes come to a head in the closing 20 minutes of the finale. It’s left completely in the player’s hands, and the choice that’s made has a very real, very noticeable influence on the way everything turns out. There’s no subtlety to Season 2‘s climax and denouement. It’s designed and realized as a reflection of Clem’s journey. WWCD? That’s on you. 

The Walking Dead: Season 2 is a triumph of interactive storytelling. Video games simply have not seen its equal. The scope of what’s been accomplished, not just over this season but in the story as a whole, isn’t fully clear until the credits roll on the finale, but the realization leaves you breathless. It’s a truly masterful fusion of plot and play. The Walking Dead: Season 2 may kill your friends, may leave you alone, wounded and helpless, in an unforgiving world, but it never loses sight of the fact that Clem’s destiny, Clem’s humanity, is always in the player’s hands. As it should be. 

This game was reviewed on a first-generation Alienware X51 gaming PC using Steam codes provided by Telltale Games. 

Highs

  • Truly commendable work of interactive storytelling
  • A magnificent finale that perfectly captures the choice-driven gameplay

Lows

  • You’re probably going to cry at some point. Deal with it.

The Walking Dead: Season Two Finale – Episode 5 – No Going Back Trailer (beware of heavy season two spoilers)

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Adam Rosenberg
Adam Rosenberg
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Previously, Adam worked in the games press as a freelance writer and critic for a range of outlets, including Digital Trends…
The best weapon mods and perks in Dead Island 2
Dead Island 2 zombie

Ever since Dead Rising came onto the scene, it is almost mandatory for zombie games to include some kind of weapon-crafting system. The first Dead Island had it, and now Dead Island 2 does as well. This system lets you turn any ordinary bat or blade into an electrified powerhouse, flaming flurry, and much more. Aside from needing the materials to actually construct these mods on your weapon of choice, you also need to find their respective blueprint in order to craft it. Considering there are more 30 mods -- and even more perks -- in Dead Island 2, we don't expect you to go find them all and figure out which ones are best. You've got too many zombies to kill for that, so we've done the homework and listed all the best weapon mods and perks in Dead Island 2, plus where you can get them if you haven't found them yet.
Best weapon mods

Superior Melee Liquidator Mod
Any mod that applies the Liquidator effect to your weapon means it will start inflicting Caustic damage. While every element is useful, Caustic in particular is the top choice because there are very few zombies that are immune to this damage type. Because status effects build up based on continuous hits, this mod works best when attached to a weapon with a high rate of attack like a dagger or brass knuckles.

Read more
The best Skill Cards in Dead Island 2
A deck of skill cards.

You may not think a first-person game about bashing zombies with all sorts of melee weapons would be an RPG, but Dead Island 2 is a little deceptive like that. Each of the six playable Slayers has its own base stats, but once you've selected them, there's not much else to worry about in that regard. What will really define your build is the Skill Cards. These act as a mixture of abilities and buffs you can slot into your character, but unlike a traditional skill tree where you simply unlock new skills as you go, cards can be swapped in and out whenever you like. While that's great for versatility, the sheer number of cards can make creating an effective build more intimidating than a swarm of flesh-eaters. Before you take on the horrors of Hell-A, take a look at the best Skill Cards in Dead Island 2.
How to get Skill Cards

Before getting into the deeper aspects of Skill Cards in Dead Island 2, you need to know how to actually get more of these bad boys. You'll start with two Innate Skills for your chosen Slayer, and get your first one when you hit level 2, but the system won't open up to you until you hit level 3.

Read more
Which character should you pick in Dead Island 2?
Dani lights a cigarette as zombies attack her from behind in Dead Island 2 key art.

After a brief introductory sequence showing how each of the playable characters, referred to as Slayers in Dead Island 2, end up on the doomed evacuation plane at the start of the game, you are forced to pick who you will play as. If you hadn't played the first game -- and considering it came out over 10 years ago we wouldn't blame you if you hadn't -- then you may not know that your choice of character is more than just cosmetic. Each of the six playable Slayers not only starts off with its own stat distribution from the others but with two ability cards as well. In a narrative sense, almost nothing is different depending on who you pick, so this decision all comes down to choosing the right character for how you prefer to play. Don't let the excitement of bashing in some zombie heads rush your decision and first make sure you understand just how important this choice is in Dead Island 2.
Can you change characters in Dead Island 2?

This is the main reason your character choice is so important. In Dead Island 2, once you choose a Slayer, you're locked in for the duration of the game. If you want to try out a different character, you will need to start the game over from scratch, so unless you're okay with undoing all your progress, or want to do a second playthrough, give this decision a good deal of thought so you don't have any regrets.
Every character's stats and skills

Read more