Should you buy this episode? Read our The Walking Dead Around Every Corner Review
The Walking Dead: The Game is one of my favourite games of this year. The episodic nature works very well here and the game continues to reach new heights with each episode. Now Episode 4 released a few days ago and the important question here is "How does it compare with the previous ones?" *Note that this review is based on the continuation of a single playthrough of the game, so to keep up please read the reviews of all the episodes so far.
Episode 4 picks up where Episode 3 left, the survivors are headed for Savannah to find more about the creepy dude on the walkie talkie. But you will be surprised to find out that the walkie talkie dude isn't the main "story" here. The survivors arrive at Savannah only to find it wrecked and filled with undead. Their overall goal is to find the boat and get the hell out of here, but to go... where? For that we'll have to wait for Episode 5. Now back at Ep. 4. The (or in this case, your) survivors after reaching Savannah, they are immediately attacked by zombies which were alerted by the church bell. This was very strange, who ringed the bell in a city where everyone is a walking dead? Later in the episode you find who and why, but I will not spoil that for you.
After taking refuge in an abandoned house, Lee and Kenny start the search for a working boat. This task takes them to the docks, where they not only find out that all the boats were gone or destroyed, but they also learn about the "Survivors City". Here they meet a new character with a very interesting backstory. They return to the house, utterly disappointed, only to find out that they had the boat they wanted, was there all of the time. Some strong emotional moments also happen during the time you're at the house and to help increase their impact, Telltale used some amazing cinematic camera pans. Believe me these moments are strong!
The boat need some repairs and and for that you and your group must infiltrate the "Survivors City". What happens next, you have to find out for yourself! Zombies, new survivors, some old one dying, some clever and easy puzzles and a lot of close encounters. Now I understand why it's called "Around Every Corners". The episode ends in an amazing cliffhanger and makes you wanting for MOAR!
The dialogue in this episode is relatively good, but not great like in the past episodes. Lee's relationship with Clementine continues to grow ( if you have chosen that path). She is growing up and she is becoming a helping hand in the group. How she react to the different situations, how she copes with the whole zombie apocalypse is amazing. This shows the amazing character development that Telltale is known for. Also the interaction with the remaining survivors become more let's say intimate. You start to care for the others and they for you. Remember that this depends on how you have played the first three episodes. There are some strong emotional moments and some "action packed" ones, but these happen far from one another. Maybe Telltale choose to do this, slow down things for the big finale and let me tell you that this waiting for the fifth and final episode is killing me.
Visually the game looks great. The cell shading effect and as I said above, the amazing cinematic camera pans truly help in delivering some strong moments. But the problems that were in all of the episodes are also present here. The voice acting is stellar as usual. The use of music and silence is also great and these two help in the overall atmosphere of the game. In a moment you are just walking around with only the sounds of your footsteps in the background, then immediately the music picks up and you are overrun by zombies.
Overall Around Every Corner is a good episode. The story, the dialogue, the puzzles, the things you choose to do clearly don't surpass those of the last three episodes. But if you have played the first three, you don't have an excuse. Buy, download and play this episode. You will enjoy it and the ending will leave you wanting for more. But if you haven't played the first three episodes, wait till December 4th. 8.5/10
