The Wolf Among Us 2 has been listed as "Coming Soon" on its Epic Games Store page for so long that it's not surpri??sing folks are getting noticeably concerned over it. Following a recent rumor that it got dusted, Telltale had to confirm that it's (yes) still in development.

The rumor apparently began on a Reddit thread, where a supposed whistleblower reported that the game was on the brink of cancellation. They wrote that The Wolf Among Us 2 was "at a critical point" and Telltal??e may have "no choice but to shel??ve it."

Development on The Wolf Among Us 2 'continues', confirms Telltale

As the rumor grew wings, developer Telltale Games had to step in. Speaking to Eurogamer, the company confirmed that development on The Wolf Among Us 2 "continues" and that mor??e will be revealed later.

"As a rule, we don't comment on rumours and unsubstantiated reddit threads," a Telltale Games rep told?? Eurogamer. "But development on The Wolf Among Us 2 continues and we're excited to share more about the? game with Telltale fans and our community when the time is right."

The reply should be enough to satiate fans of the troubled series for now, although rumors like this tend to crop up during times of uncertainty for games long in development. Bigby Wolf's next adventure has been cooking for a long time, even before Telltale shut its doors in 2018. The developer made a surprising comeback in 2019 and announced that the game is still on the way. It was delayed from 2023 to this year, howe?ver,? and we haven't seen hide nor hair of the wolf man.

Hopefully, we'll hear more about a possible r??elease date soon. I need more Bigby in my l?ife, as do we all.

The post No, The Wolf Among Us 2 hasn’t been canceled appeared first on Destructoid.

When being "nice" gets a little dark

Sitting in a cab on the way to talk to the rough-and-tumble Woodsmen, Bigby and Snow White discuss their ongoing murder inves?tigation. Snow White asks Bigby,The Big Bad Wolf in human disguise, who he thinks murdered their victim after everything they've learned. Several choices pop up on the screen. Do I think it's The Woodsman? The Pimp? Bluebe??ard? Or do I remain silent?

The Wolf Among Us is one of the most popular narrative games from Telltale Games, with a sequel hopefully coming in 2023. Players play The Big Bad Wolf acti?ng as Sheriff in Fabletown, a neighborhood in New York City populated by famous fable characters. The game looks like a comic book and feels like a gritty noir detective story. But with talking animals.

What really makes it amazing is the choice-based storytelling. How you decide to interact with the people around you affects how they will interact with you in the future. You aren’t starting with a blank slate though. These characters have all experienced a history together before the player takes over Bigby's choices. As part of the narrative, Bigby is attempting to make amends for his violent past, but with the choices provided to you, it's possible ??to lean into the aggressive behavior ci??tizens expect from him. 

It occurred to me that I am playing Bigby a lot nicer than I could. With every choice, I soothe other characters, doling out compliments and empathizing whenever possible. I even managed to avoid the startling and hilarious “glass him�moment mentioned in this article about narrative choices gone awry. 

How we make choices

While every narrative game is unique, they all prompt the player to play in a few ways. The most obvious way to make choices is for the sake of the story. Tons of players make choices that direct them to a desired outcome or just to follow the best storyline. Often, being ?nice is the best way to get what you want in-gam??e. NPCs tend to be less friendly if you punch them in the face the first chance you get. 

Also, making enemies is almost always worse than making friends. I’ll never forget getting locked out of the house by my friend as ??a bloodthirsty wendigo pounced in Until Dawn. I had lost her trust with several of my previous decisions, but the betrayal stung regardle?ss. The Wolf Among Us is a little less intense in this aspect, but on a firs??t play-through, who knows? Maybe Mr. Toad will be waiting for me in a dark alley if I push him too hard. 

Making choices that you feel will?? move the story in your favor makes sense, but another avenue is to play in character. In this case, you would cho?ose replies or actions that fit the character you’re controlling as closely as possible. In the case of The Wolf Among Us, Bigby is fleshed-out just enough to guide our actions. We are told right away, Bigby is The Big Bad Wolf, and he has a temper. Smashing a bar glass into a suspect's face right after they share their feelings seems about right for him. Honestly, playing Bigby as q??uiet, calm, and understanding as I do is very out?? of character.

[caption id="attachment_362543" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

On the other hand, a player could be? happy to explore the mechanics of the game itself, testing out different choices to see ??what happens with each play-through. Trying out different combinations of choices to see different results sounds really interesting, but it also shows an emotional distance from the story.

Which brings me to how I play narrative games. I feel a compulsion to only pick nice interactions, not because of character and story, but because I have difficulty separating myself from it. There are plenty of players like me who for the life of them cannot pick the mean choice d?espite knowing that it's all pretend. For us, being nice almost isn’t a choice at all. It has been conditioned into the way we navigate interpersonal communication in real life, and then it bleeds over into the game.

Why so nice?

I think the lack of curiosity and exploration is part of why I'm bothered by my play style, but it isn't the main reason I bring it up as an issue. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with taking the nice path. It usually works out storywise, and we've alread??y established that none of it is real. Why get hung up on being nice? In short, I'm tired of the dark underlying cause of why I'm unable to be anything?? but nice.

There are plenty of good reasons why we may insert our own friendliness into the game. Empathy with the characters is an excellent reason. While talking to Snow White, it o??ccurred to me that I was interacting with her like a best friend or ideal boyfriend. During every interaction, I attempted to boost her confidence and support her as a good partner should. I even felt a little guilty when I answered Snow's question about the murder suspects with silence. My silence made her feel uncertain.

Also, and obviously, it feels good to be nice! Listening to people and reasoning with them is a wonderful de?fault. Most of us like nice people and want to be kind ourselves.

[caption id="attachment_362547" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The thing that bothers me is what I sa??id earlier about Mr. Toad. On the first play-through, knowing that my choices will have consequences, my deep-down concern is self-preservation. What if I'm rude and then I'm attacked? What if I fight and I lose? I'm sorry to say that in real life, I am always thinking about how to avoid trouble. Whether it's when I quit a job or when I try to say no, I have been conditioned to avoid conflict.

If you will all allow me a moment to be vulnerable with you, there isn't just a social expectation for women to be nice all the time. It's also a necessary survival mechanism. Saying no too forcefully can be physically dangerous. Hurting the wrong man's feelings or damaging his ego can even lead to ??deadly consequences on rare occasions. And lately, it isn't just women in danger when tempers flare! The fact that people are getting shot in road rage incidents is alarming.

I'm deeply annoyed that this compulsion to protect myself by soothing tempers and guessing consequences follows me into the virtual world. Sure, I??'m grateful for th??e survival mechanism, I guess, but I want to be able to escape it sometimes. Especially when I have the opportunity to be a tough wolf sheriff, wouldn't it be great to let go for a while?

The post Nice guys finish first in The Wolf Among Us appeared first on Destructoid.

I'll believe it when I see it

Last week's Game Awards were full of lots and lots�and lots of announcements, but one that particularly stood out to me was the trailer for Telltale Games' return with their new title The Expanse??. It's a bit? jarring to see the studio's name nowadays, like it's the zombified corpse of a once dear friend.

When I was a little baby gamer who really loved story-focused games but didn't have the mechanical skills to play anything else, Telltale was my go-to. From the tough but lovable characters in The Wolf Among Us to the kickass licensed soundtrack from Tales from the Borderlands, they're still some of the most s??tylized narrative expe??riences you can find in games today.

Telltale was beloved not only by me, but basically the entirety of the gaming community, so I think I can speak for just about everyone when I say we were devastated t??o hear that the studio was shutting down in 2019. I also watched the Noclip documentary about the breakdown of the studio, which made the heartbreak of it all the more palpable.

If you aren't familiar, Noclip is a production company? that makes crowdfunded documentaries about games. In May of 2019, they released a near hour-long film interviewing some of the former Telltale employees about the company's final days. They speak of backbreaking crunch, poor leadership who bit off more than the studio could chew, and the constant looming threat of layoffs and closures. Many of the employees were completely blindsided by the news that the studio went under, who were told that they only had thirty minutes to gather their things and exit the building after the meeting.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-2nNksMBpg

Anyone who was on social media at the time of Telltale's closing, though, will remember the outpouring of love and support for the form??er Telltale developers on social media. Plenty of game companies made posts directed specifically at those affected by the closure, as they could provide them jobs at their own studios. Even the release of the Noclip documentary was cathartic, as one developer wrote in the comments on YouTube: "As another Ex-Telltale dev, thanks for this. This provided so many of us with some serious emotional closure, thank you."

So I was shocked to hear in December of that same year that Telltale would potentially return with a second Wolf Among Us game. Surely they had rallied up everyone who had been fired and reformed the team to keep going, right? Nope. The name and rights of the studio had in fact been sold to LCG Entertainment, a new holding company that had been formed in an attempt to revive the brand. "There is still a huge fanbase of Telltale players and that's one of the main reasons we decided to make this investment, said LCG co-head Brian Waddle, while at the time only hiring back a few, if any at a?ll, of th??e previous Telltale developers.

In fairness, there's a chance that LCG has in fact brought the former devs back on board, but there hasn't been much coverage of the topic since the initial media storm died down. So that brings me to my main point: as far as we know, henceforth all of the Telltale games we're going to ?get will be with a team that is at best mostly new to the brand, a?nd that makes me skeptical beyond all belief. Recapturing the magic of the originals is difficult enough as is, but that's made even more difficult when you're missing major players that made our favorite games what they were.

I'm not saying that a new group of people won't be able to make awesome games, it's just that something about Telltale's return leaves?? a sour taste in my mouth. Maybe it's the part of me that was also hurt from a project I cared about getting shut down with little warning, but something feels wrong about the previous devs being unceremoniously let go, just for all of their work and assets to be sold to the highest bidder, who can then use that to ride the coattails of the name that they worked so hard to build. It'll be hard to enjoy something new if it feels like it was built on top of the graveyard of the thing I loved.

That initial hit of dopamine when we see our favorite developer's name flash across the screen can be addicting, but every once?? in a while I want us t?o stop and think about how that name got there in the first place. I want us all to be able to play amazing games all the time, but I also want them to be created in the healthiest, happiest, least-exploitative way possible, and regardless of the sketchiness of the current Telltale situation, the evocation of its name alone should be enough to make us stop and think.

Besides the labor practices, I also just want them to make good games that are fun to play and pay homage to the Telltale formula while also iterating on it. We've launched into a new console generation since the studio's shutdown, and the fans and the namesake deserve only the best if we're going to do th??is again. If we must revivify the corpse of Telltale, then by god, just make it good.

One encouraging moment we also got from The Game Awards, though, was a trailer for the narrative adventure game Star Trek: Resurgence from a new indie studio called Dramatic Labs, whose team is comprised of former Telltale employees. If they weren't able to be rehired by the LCG, it's heartening to see that these devs ??a??re still out here making the types of games that they love. I'm glad they can return on their own terms.

The current team at Telltale recently released a short update, but it was cryptic at best, and focused entirely on the games rather than the teams making them. From where we stand, there's really no w??ay to know the full story, unless some of the former or current devs speak out more substantially. Part of me is curious to give the new titles a try when they come out, but until then I'll d??efinitely be taking everything they say with a grain of salt. Shutdowns can happen out of nowhere.

The post I’m skeptical of Telltale’s return appeared first on Destructoid.

I can't go back, can I?

Everyone loves a good choice-based game. They're simple, but often very effective in allowing us to interact with the game's world in a more substantial way. Of course, they also present a pretty difficult design cha?llenge, because writers have to make sure the players know what they're getting themselves into with just a few words, often known as the preview text.

Preview text is obviously a necessity, because there's no way you can fit all of the text you need into a little t?iny button for the player to press, but it can sometimes cause the player some prob??lems. Short lines with easy-to-convey messages are a piece of cake, but what do you do when things get a little more complicated? This is the exact problem I ran into when I was writing a choice-based game for the first time.

It's not something you really tend to notice that much when you're playin?g them, but there are tons of different ways that games try to convey their message using preview text for a choice. There are a few different ways that games will telegraph to you with previews of what exactly it is you're going to be saying or doing, to mixed results. Some games will do their best to make the sample text verbatim what the player character is going to say, but this can be difficult with longer or more emotionally complex lines.

Oxenfree is a good example of this -- for the most part you say exactly what's written in the speech bubbles you can choose from, give or take a word, and then if there's more to elaborate on, Alex will continue saying the line. Personally, I think Nightschool did an awesome job of telegraphing exactly what you meant to say when you said it in Oxenfree, so I had very few moments of frustr?ation when it came to the dialogue?? choices.

Then there's the method of using a different wording in the preview, but in a way that accurately sums up what the character will be saying. It's more of a sentiment, if you will. Mass Effect uses this technique most often, and while it usually works fine, I do recall quite a few occasions when I chose a certain line, only to get a slightly different meaning in the real dialogue. ??One particularly cringy moment happened when I thought I was just being polite to Kaidan, only for it to come off as flirting. I like you, Kaidan �just not like that.

The last method is the most simple, but can work just as well �basically, you just describe the function of what the player is going to say, rather tha??n the actual words they'll be saying, like "agree with him," "spare his feeli??ngs," or "tell her the truth." This technique was generally used in older, text-based adventure games, but we can sometimes see it mixed in with newer games, depending on the situation. If I had to guess, I would think it's fallen out of fashion because it feels less immersive to play.

The reality is that any of these methods could work, it just comes down to making sure ?the way you phrase what those choi??ces are is as unambiguous as possible, especially in high tension situations or when there are a lot of complicated emotions involved.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8os2LBgSCAs

Considering this is an easy problem to encounter when devs are writing hundreds of pages of dialogue, inevitably there are moments where the preview text doesn't convey what you're actually going to do or say with any level of accuracy. These moments can range from frustrating to downright hilarious �one of the most classic examples comes from a Wolf Among Us choice that reads "[Glass him]." I personally chose this one on my first playthrough without having seen any of the memes because I thought it meant Bigby would cheers the Woodsman or something, but I instead got the shock of a lifetime when Bigby smashed his gla??ss over this poor man's head.

Another well-known (and well-loved) example comes from Mass Effect, during a tense but otherwise civil conversation with the salarian scientist Chorban. One of the choices the player is presented with during the conversation is simply "[sigh]," and if chosen, Shepard actually says "I should kill both of you idiots." Wait, what? While the Wolf Among Us scenario is an example of ?text that imperfectly portrayed its meaning, part of me wonders if this was just a mistake that somehow made it through into the game, because that reaction is so different from what it feels like it should be.

These are really funny scenes in retrospect, but in the moment it can be annoying to have an outcome feel so different than the choice you picked. I mean hell, there are plenty of lists out there chroniclin??g how ridiculous these scena??rios can be.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoTzM8xFCMQ

One of the reasons I love choice-based games so much is because they pose such an interesting question when it comes to writing �how do you stay true to this character while also allowing the player to have as much autonomy as possible? The closest thing I can think to this idea is improvisational theater, where actors are making it up as they go, but also have to stay in charact?er as best they can. Ah, I love when games and theater overlap!

If you enjoy writing and have never tried writing a branching storyline before, I definitely recommend trying it with programs like Twine or Ink because it's a great w??ay to stretch those creative muscles.

What's your favorite cho??ice-based game? Are there any scenarios that you felt played out differently than you wanted because of some sketchy preview text? What's your most memorable moment from a choice-based game?

Story Beat is a weekly column discussing anything and everything to do with storytelling in video games.

The post Mishaps in the preview text of choice-b?a?sed adventure games appeared first on Destructoid.

Relive the tale before the sequel hits

One of the more delightful, and heavily rumored, announcements out of The Game Awards was The Wolf Among Us 2. With the demise of Telltale Games, it was unknown if the second season of the revered series would ever see the light of day. Thankfully, things have worked out because of LCG Entertainment and to celebrate this announcement, the Epic Games Store is giving away the first season of The Wolf Among Us for free right now through December 19.

We're so excited about #TheWolfAmongUs2 th?at we had to celebrate! The Wolf Among Us is FREE on the Epic Games Store?? for a limited time.

Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? ðŸº//t.co/Qd8gypcZBE pic.twitter.com/xGReo6crMq

— Epic Games Store (@EpicGames) December 13, 2019

I've seen many people argue The Wolf Among Us is superior to Telltale's The Walking Dead, so if y??ou wan?t to see for yourself if that is true, make sure you download it before Epic starts charging for it again.

The post The Wolf Among?? Us is free for a limited time on Epic Games Store appeared first on Destructoid.

May 27 is the deadline

Digital distributor GOG.com has announced that it will be delisting Telltale Games' back catalog soon. On May 27, 2019, all currently available games from the studio will no longer be up for purchase. This is similar to last year's situation with the removal of games from Steam, just that GOG is now informing people o??f a cu??toff date ahead of time.

The games that will disappear are The Wolf Among Us, Hector: Badge of Courage, Batman: The Enemy Within, Tales from the Borderlands, Strongbad's Cool Game For Attractive People, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, the Sam & Max games and both Puzzle Agent titles. The Walking Dead titles are available through the Epic Games Store (which has exclusive rights to the final season), while Jurassic Park, Monkey Island, and Back to the Future were removed last year from all digital storefronts. If yo?u previously purchased any of these ?games from GOG, they will remain in your library after delisting.

As GOG explained, this delisting is because of Telltale's closure last year. The distribution rights likely ran out and with no company to renew them with, the games have to be pulled from sale. While no sale is running to liquidate these titles, this will be your final chance t??o purchase them before they disappear. I'm not sure if they will ever return to PC, but at least physical versions exist for console platforms.

Telltale Games' catalog being pulled from GOG [Polygon]

The post Telltale Games’ back catalog is getting delisted from GOG soon appeared first on Destructoid.

No time frame given for return to store

The most recent update to iOS devices, iOS 9, has apparently caused a bunch of technical problems with the iOS ports of Telltale games. From unexpected crashes to missing audio files, a lot of Telltale's games have suddenly stopped working properl?y on iOS 9 devices.

As a response to this, a bunch of Telltale games have just been pulled from the iOS store including The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us, Jurassic Park, and Back To The Future.

Those who purchased the games already and have them installed on their device are unaffected. Those who purchased the games and do not have them installed should still be able to download them from their purchase history. Those who have not pr??eviously purchased the games will not be able to do so until the issue is resolved.

For those wondering, no word was?? giv?en on how long these titles would be missing from the iOS store. 

The post M?ultiple Telltale games have been temporarily pulled from iOS appeared first on Destructoid.

$30 each

If you haven't tried The Walking Dead or Wolf Among Us and own a current-gen system, you'll have your chance soon enough. Telltale has given us more hints as to when each will release on the PS4 and Xbox One, with Walking confirmed for October, and Wolf confirmed for November.

It seems as if Season One of The Walking Dead will be released a week before Season Two, and Wolf&??nbsp;will b??e a complete set. According to early listings of the packs, each season will be $30.

If you're curious, check out our full reviews for both series here.

Telltale Games [Twitter]

The post The Walking Dead and?? Wolf Among Us will h??it current-gen in October and November, respectively appeared first on Destructoid.

PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One

You'd be pretty hard-pressed to find many that don't like Telltale Games' The Wolf Among Us. In fact, one of the most often expressed complaints about it is that people don't like having to wait for the?? next episode to release. They need to know what happens next.

For those with the self-restraint to hold off until everything's finished, it looks as if there will be a tidy physical copy they can pick up if they'd like. Telltale tweeted a picture of some box art and confirm?ed that Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4 versions will be coming ??to retail eventually, although no release dates were mentioned.

Telltale also didn't allude to a price for the packaged episodic content. However, all retail versions of The Walking Dead have run $30 when first released. There was also a collector's edition of Season One, so don't rule somet??hing like that out.

@telltalegames [Twitter]

The post There will be a retail version among us of The?? W??olf Among Us appeared first on Destructoid.

A satisfying ending

The Wolf Among Us has been one hell of a ride. Although Tellltale's The Walking Dead managed to craft a grimdark world worth seeing time and time again, Wolf has a more nuanced take, with larger-than-life fairy tale characters who have decidedly human problems??.

All of it comes to an end here with Cry Wolf, the last episode of the series. While I'll refrain from spoiling anyth??ing in particular, I will say that?? is indeed a satisfying conclusion.

The Wolf Among Us: Cry Wolf (iOS, Mac, PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Released: July 8, 2014 (PC, PS3, Xbox 360) / TBA (iOS)
MSRP: $4.99 (Each Episode)

[As is the case with all my Telltale reviews, there will be no spoilers or specifics for the current episode (outside of new character introductions), although events of previous episodes will inevitably be discussed.]

Cry Wolf picks up immediately after In Sheep's Clothing's conclusion -- in the inner sanctum of The Crooked Man behind the curtain. The same Crooked Man who seemingly set all of the events of Wolf in motion, and who we only got a mere glimpse of in the penultimate episode. The good news is -- you don't have to wait long for revelations. In fact, some secrets are immediately revealed, ??setting the tone for a rather fast-paced episode that doesn't screw around or waste time.

The rest of the dark realizations will unfold over the course of the tale, but the pacing is pretty spot-on throughout, sprinkling a good amount of action scenes on top of confrontations and a few inquisitions. Fans who enjoyed the pure detective elements might be a little disappointed un?til the very end, but this is a finale after all, and there is a lot that's expected in terms of excitement -- which it delivers.

Unlike some scenes in past episodes, every event in Cry Wolf has a point ??to it, whether it's to contribute to the overall plot, give us some character development, or deliver some plain old fun. There's hardly any downtime -- hardly any time to catch your breath from the get-go.

One boss fight in particular is a very fun battle that's unlike anything in the collective of episodes so far -- it also happen to feature one of the most terrifying and unique character designs Telltale has dreamed up to date. The action has always ramped up in terms of showing off Bigby's abilities, and this one blows the roof off. Cry Wolf's diverse feel is also accentuated by a chase scene that's unlike anything we've se??en so far.

Also, the time is over for choices that "may or may" not influence something later. Although you still have your "[x] will remember that" prompts even near the end just for impact, said impact happens immediately, and there's no wondering or hoping that your choice will matter somewhere down the line. In terms of past choices finding a way back to the finale -- they do pop up in a satisfying way, but don't expect too much in terms of actually ove?rhauling the episode's final?? moments.

The real question for any finale is -- "is it satisfying?" -- and I think Cry Wolf passes that test. It gives us a good villain worth confronting, an incredibly tense final set of choices, and a narrative that wraps everything up nicely. Some of your favorite characters might not get more f?anfare than others, but there's at least a nod to the supporting cast. Although I wo?uld have liked to have seen a little more from a few people in particular, I wasn't disappointed by what I was shown.

I don't want more Wolf Among Us -- I need more. It delivers a tone unlike anything Telltale has given us before, and really shows us how they've matured as a studio. The series has also influenced me to read Fables, the source material for Bigby's adventure, just so I can pass the time and hold out hope for a season two. If you're listening, Tel??ltale, find a way.

The post Review: The Wolf Among Us: Cry Wolf appeared first on Destructoid.

'Cry Wolf'

After a long wait since the series' launch back in October 2013, we're finally going to see the conclusion of Bigby Wolf's story in The Wolf Among Us: Cry Wolf. D??ropping on July 8th on PS3 and PC for $4.99 (or part of the $24.99 S??eason Pass), you'll be able to take part in the final confrontation, which will no doubt bring some of the toughest choices yet.

The Xbox 360 version will arrive on July 9th, ?and if you're playing along on iOS, that version will be released on July 10th. ?Expect a full review near launch.

The post ??The Wolf Among Us will conclude with episode five on July 8th appeared first on Destructoid.

Nice!

I've been heartily enjoying both Season 2 of The Walking Dead and the first outing of The Wolf Among Us (which I'm also hoping moves on to a second season), and Telltale has a new bit of?? news to announce -- both of them are coming to the PS4 and Xbox One later this year.

Specifically, both Season 1 and 2 of Walking Dead will hit both consoles, as will the complete edition of Wolf. Both of them can be pre-ordered now, and will likely hit after Walking Dead finishes, which has two more episodes to go compared to Wolf's one.

Telltale? Brings Hit Games to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 [Telltale]

The post Telltale is bringing The Walki??ng Dead and Wolf Among Us to the PS4 and Xbox One appeared first on Destructoid.

Today's Best Thing

Former Destructoid Editor-in-Chief Nick Chester left us years ago, but even today his presence is felt on the site. This morning, he linked to what was originally thought to be a hysterical bug in The Wolf Among Us that you've just got to see for yourself. It's safe for work, probably.

We have since learned that this was the result of a fan tinkering with the game's animation, not a glitch. Slightly less fun, then, but still highly enjoyable. It's just so sudden. Haha.

One more, for good measure:

The post Spontaneous pole dancing in The Wolf Among Us appeared first on Destructoid.

Smoke & Mirrors 'coming soon'

Mine is that I work too hard.

If you had any faith that things wouldn't continue to be just awful after the first episode of The Wolf Among Us, why? Things are clearly awful. Th?ings wi?ll undoubtedly get more awful. It's the way of the world -- especially neo-noir gritty fairytale worlds. 

The somewhat tardy episode ??2 is 'comin??g soon.' That's not soon enough.

The post Everyone ??has a weakness: Wolf Among Us?? episode 2 trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

Telltale's Fable series will continue in the first week of February

After really enjoying the first episode of Telltale Games' The Wolf Among Us, I've been wanting to play more. I've been hankering to kno?w how Bigby carries out his search for the serial killer who has been plaguing Fabletown but at least we now know we'll be getting the sec??ond episode in the first week of February. 

In a forum thread, Telltale president Kevin Bruner announced the anticipated launch of Episode 2 and that there had been a bit of a rough patch getting it completed. "It's been a struggle to get this episode out, for a variety of reasons," Kevin writes. "We are very concerned about the long delay for this episode, bu??t this is one of those occasions where several things conspired against us."

Kevin also posted the news on a reddit thread th??at questioned the lack of infor??mation about the second episode of the series. I have to be honest, I was disappointed when November and December came around without a new episode, especially after the ending of Faith. 

The post Th??e Wolf Among Us Episode 2 will be out in February appeared first on Destructoid.

$10.04 for the season pass!

Telltale's The Wolf Among Us: Faith is free right now on Xbox Live. Doesn't matter if you're a Silv??er or Gold member, you can go right ahead and snatch it up for the price of nothing.

This is pretty much the best way to figure out if you really want to get invested in the series. Check out the first ep?isode, and if you end up liking it you'll more than likely want to pick up the season pass that contains all five episodes for $14.99. Actually it's only $10.04 right now!

So hey, go check it out and see why?? everyone has been losing their heads over this latest series from Telltale.

The post The Wolf Among Us episode 1 is free on Xbox Live appeared first on Destructoid.

A couple of new screenshots

At first, I felt bad for holding off on playing The Wolf Among Us until the first season was finished. It's required some serious restraint, but seeing how long it's taking Telltale to put out the next chapter has me feeling okay about my decision. In a progress update, the studio wrote that episode two, Smoke & Mirrors, is close to being completed.

"We wanted to thank everyone for playing the first chapter in The Wolf Among Us, and ask for your patience as the team works very hard this month to finalize what is shaping up to be another episode full of surprises. We're anticipating another update on its ETA for release very soon after the holidays, and we couldn't b??e more excited to continue this series with all of you."

In the mean time, there's a pair of new screenshots. The one above shows Jack Horner from "Ja??ck and the Beanstalk," and the one in the gallery below has a shot of the club Pudding & Pie.

Update and first screens f?or E??pisode 2 of The Wolf Among Us [Telltale Games]

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Look for episode one this fall

Telltale Games is releasing its new adventure series The Wolf Among Us -- which just debuted its first episode on PC, Xbox?? 360, and PlayStation 3 -- to PlayStation Vita and iOS later ?this fall.

Specifics on pricing aren't nailed down yet, though the studio suggests it should be in line with the price scheme for The Walking Dead. As for iOS compatibility, The Wolf Among Us supports iPad 2 and iPhone 4 or newer. I never did play the former series on iPho?ne -- how was it?

The post The Wolf Among Us is headed to PS Vita and iOS appeared first on Destructoid.

Sure!

Short answer: yes.

I've heard talk over the past few days that the first episode of Wolf Among Us may be hard to follow for those of you who haven't read the Fables series, published by DC Comics' Vertigo line. Having played through it yesterday as someone who hasn't read them, I can say for sure that it's very easy to follow, mostly because it is a prequel. So long as you've dabbled into any sort of fiction that deals with "fairytales in the real world," such as 10th Kingdom, Once Upon a Time, or the TV show Grimm, Wolf Among Us shouldn't give you any trouble.

Basically, all you need to know is that a bunch of fairytales once lived in a magical land similar to the stories we read as children, and now, they are forced to live among humans ("Mundanes," or "Mundies") in the real world -- d??epending on their physical appearance, they need to use "glamour" spells to blend in. That's it. Everything else, whether it's character introductions or established roles, is very easy to follow and pick up.

Shortly after completing the first episode I was even inspired to read some Fables, and while it's clear that there will be some fanservice and foreshadowing involved, fans and non-fans alike should be able to enjoy The Wolf Among Us.

The post Should you buy Wolf Among Us if you haven’t read Fables? appeared first on Destructoid.

Who's afraid of the Big Bad Wolf

What if the tales we were told growing up such as Snow White, Red Riding Hood, The Wizard of Oz, and so much more were actually all real? That these princesses and monsters exist, and their world neighbors ours? Now consider for a second an evil entity simply known as the Adversary. An evil so powerful that it has systematically taken over the world of all the fables, and those that were able to escape his tyran??ny have taken refuge in our world, the ordinary and mundane reality of human beings.

That's the very quick and simply premise of Telltale Games' next major episodic adventure, The Wolf Among Us, based on the DC Comics and Vertigo's Fables graphic novel series. Don't think for a second that these are all happy and cheerful Disney-like characters either. N?o, just like humans they're all broken in so many ways. These characters of lore are doing all that t??hey can to survive and to keep their true lives a secret. There's crime, there's sex, and more than anything else there's death.

In particular, there's a murder to be solved when a severed head of a Fable lands on the doorstep of Snow White and t?he Big Bad Wolf.

The Wolf Among Us: Faith (Mac, PC [reviewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release: October 11, 2013 (PC, Xbox 360) / October 15, 2013 (PS3)
MSRP: $4.99 (Each Episode)

The first thing you need to know is that you don't have to be familiar with the Fables comic at all here -- The Wolf Among Us is a prequel set years before the events of the very first issue. ??The said, fans well versed in the series like myself will be in for some ?very jaw-dropping surprises.

You play as Bigby Wolf, also known as the Big Bad Wolf from the story of the Three Little Pigs and Red Riding Hood (it was the same wolf in both tales, who knew!) He may have been a bad ??guy in his past life, but everyone that came into the human world was given a clean slate and Bigby took this as his chance to reform. In doing so, he's ended up as the sheriff to the Fable community located in New York.

It's up to Bigby to watch over his flock of sheep as it were, and the beginning of the game has you on your way to the South Bronx sometime after midnight to investigate a disturbance ??reported by Mr. Toad. Upon entering the building you hear the sounds of crashes coming from a room upstairs, but more distressing at this exact moment is the lack of Glamor that Mr. Toad has on out in the wide open.

Non-human looking Fables that can't transform into a human form like Mr. Toad have to sport a Glamor spell to make it seem like they'?re human if they want to live in normal society. These spells come at a price, and those who can't afford it are sent off to the Farm, a location far from prying human eyes where Fables can run around in their true form, but at the cost of being restricted to said farm.

In true Telltale fashion, you're given an option of four dialogue choices when responding to other characters. You can be nice to Mr. Toad here and give him a pass??, or be the strict stern sheriff and threaten Mr. Toad with the Farm. Interestingly, you also have an option to stay completely mute in largely all the dialogue choices.

How you interact with characters will of course affect how they perceive you, and they will remember your actions throughout the series. Unlike The Walking Dead though, I wasn't too concerned in what anyone else thought of me. Whereas I wanted to be the best person I could be with Lee Everett, I embraced Bigby's more cold and wild side. Whatever you decide, it doesn't seem to have to much impact in this first episode. If there were any changes they were far too subtle for me to notice, and I'm hoping the episodes going forward really show players the consequences of actions mo??re substantially.

After dealing with Mr. Toad, Bigby will go on to investigate the disturbance. He finds The Woodsman drunk out of his mind, attacking a prostitute -- a Fable prostitute, no less. A fight ensues, and you'll have to attack and counter The Woodsman by matching the quick-time event pop-ups. On top of the QTE fight, you'll be given the option to shove Woodsman into a desk, a table, and any other objects that may h??elp you knock him down.

It's not a big deal having such option??s, however -- it seemed like I eventually had to smash him into everything available before he finally settled down. Additionally, sometimes you'll have to move your reticule to a specific body part on an opponent in order to attack. Moving the cursor is a bit of a challenge to mimic a struggle, but that said you don't have to exactly line up anything -- just be close.

The fight between the two gets pretty brutal, but one of the many perks of being a Fable is that you're near immortal. It takes an extreme action to kill someone, and one such way we learn is by decapitating someone. Snow White, a key figure in helping maintain Fables in New York, discovers the severed head of the prostitute players meet earlier and this is when episode one of The Wolf Among Us switches gears and bec??omes a detective-like game. It's up to Bigby to investigate the murder, and to discover what's going on.

After doing some digging you'll discover who the prostitute really was, and that she happens to be married to another Fable. As you mak??e your way to interview the husband, Mr. Toad calls to tell Bigby that there's another disturbance occurring in his apartment building.

This is where things stray from that of The Walking Dead's formula as you now have a choice: Go to the husband first or go to Mr. Toad first. Picking one over the other will net different results and consequences??, as the time of day is factored into the game. It was in this instance (and another similar one near the end) that I really felt the weight of my consequences, as opposed to my dialogue choices.

I went to the husband first, and as it turned out I wasn't the only one searching for answers -- another Fable breaks into the place. Confronting the intruder sees him running away, which triggers a rather intense and fun chase sequence. There's some QTE elements as you have to dodge obstacles, and there are diverging path??????????????????????????s that may allow your target to escape if you choose wrong.

After all this, I went to see Toad again and for some reason he's trying to hide something. You notice he's hurt, and his son has been crying too. You'll have to go into his apartment, investigate the scene, and try to catch Toad in a lie in order for him to confess the truth. T??his sequence was extremely fun and re?ally made me feel like a detective. The dialogue choices have a very short time limit so you really have to be on top of your game when interviewing suspects. Telltale, I want way more of this in the future episodes.

In terms of the story content, I largely described the first half of the two-and-a-half-hour experience. The latter half gets pretty intense, especially the closing shot that will totally stun fans of the comics. Again, newcomers don't have to know any backstory from the comics -- a general appreciation of fairytales will do just fine. That said, I'm coming at this as someone who's kept up with the comics, and while I was able to keep up with a lot of what was going on, I'm afraid it may be too much for newcomers to take in everything that's happening. There's a lot o?f lore, characters, and different settings all thrown at the player that may be too much to consume all in one go.

On this note about the story, with The Walking Dead I committed myself to every choice I made, even when I was horrified with the results. I didn't want to change anything though, and ultimately I didn't care at all what the other possibilities could have been. With The Wolf Among Us, I find myself wanting to replay it just so I can see all the different possible results. That's not a knock on the game mind you, just that I didn't really feel the weight from my choices over the course of Faith apart from having to decide what locations I would? go to first.

Gameplay mechanics are again largely the same as other Telltale games. You're selecting clickable objects to either look at them and state something, interact with them, use them, or store them in your inventory. You're free to control Bigby directly, or you can click at a specific location on the screen to have Bigby move there automatically. One new thing compared to old games is that you can now speed up his movements by holding the right trigger (on an Xbox 360 controller), so the pacing feels a little be?tter when not talking to characters.

The visuals are a sight to behold with their vibrant and bright coloring. It's the best looking Telltale game to date. That's not to say it can contend with the visuals of AAA titles, but what it lacks in extreme realistic detail it makes up with its wonderful high saturated color palette to bring a real unique sense of life to this world. It's also very complementary to the wild setting of the game, with its odd and wild cast of mythical characters.

The Wolf Among Us is an overall a good start to Telltale's next episodic series. There's a lot on offer here for fans of Fables, but I fear there's a bit too much happening that would scare off newcomers with episode one. Whether you're into the lore or not though, one thing is for sure -- the few moments where I got to be more detective than brawler were an absolute joy and I sincerely hope this is given more of a sp??otlight in the rest of the season.

The post Review: The Wolf Among Us: Faith appeared first on Destructoid.

Clear some room to play this weekend

I don't normally have much interest in launch trailers but that changes when, in the case of The Wolf Among Us, there's been comparatively little promotion and the release date comes out of nowhere. The first episode of Telltale Games' new adventure series, Faith, is out on Friday for Xbox 360 and PC. PlayStation 3 users will have to wait until Tuesday??.

Even in this short clip, you get a good sense of the tone, the atmosphere -- that sh*t is about to do down. I haven't read the Fables comic books, but that's not ??about to stop me from getting heavily invested in this story. Bigby Wolf is going to be one hell of a fun character to follow.

The post We’re so ready: The Wolf Among Us launch trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

On select platforms

We knew that Telltale's The Wolf Among Us was on the near horizon based on recent pricing info and a vague October release target. Can't say I was expecting it to be out this week, though! The first episode, Faith, goe??s live on Friday, October 11 for Xbox 360 and PC. The PlaySta?tion 3 launch hasn't been locked done quite yet, but it's expected to be a few days later.

Episode one is priced at $4.99, while there's also the option to grab the rest of the series (episodes two through five) for $14.99. From what Hamza's had to say about the game, this should be another worth-pl??aying adventure series from Telltale. It sure has become easy to love what these guys are working on.

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10 percent off

Well, lookie here. It's a pre-order on Steam for The Wolf Among Us, Telltale's (the makers of our Game of the Year for 2012) latest and maybe greatest. Putting your money down now gets you 10 percent off an already reasonably priced g??ame series. Holy bloody murder, that's good news. 

Speaking of series, all the names of the five episodes of this season are shown here for the firs?t time (listed ??below).

Oh, and P??C/Mac system requirements, too. Don't worry. ?The requirements are super mild. 

Get that Steam wallet out, folks. 

Episode 1: Faith 
Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors 
Episode 3: A Crooked Mile 
Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing 
Episode 5: Cry Wolf

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Plus how the studio will appeal to a wide audience with its Fables story

As a big Fables fan, I'm pretty happy, if not relieved, that The Wolf Among Us looked great based on my hands-on time with the game. Adaptations of other mediums into games tend to be as bad as adaptations of games into movies, yet Telltale pulled it off again after its successful run with The Walking Dead.

I spoke with lead writer of The Wolf Among Us, Pierre Shorette, and he shared with us how they're going about appealing to a wide audience with their story. There's also the fact that they haven't actually finished writing out season one of the Fables tale yet.

The Walking Dead game did great, and a lot of that momentum came from the stellar comic series. That, and the television show has been extremely successful. People also know more or less what to expect when it comes to de??aling with a zombie setting. Although arguably Robert Kirkman has raised that bar on how to tell a great zombie story. 

So what about non-Fables fans? How do ??you go about appealing to an audience with a setting involving these well-known but separate fictional characters all living ? together?

"It's definitely something that we've been conscious about," Pierre told me. "With The Walking Dead, you say 'Oh it's a story in the zombie universe.' Most people actual?ly know the rules of a zombie universe already.

"Our job, at least in the writing department, was to make sure we kept people feeling comfortable with the world [of The Wolf Among Us] a??s the story progresses, as opposed to just dumping a box of [story] into your lap to start the game. I think the fact that it's grounded in something that people understand, which is just a murder mystery -- I think tha?t's sort of the bait to pull you in, and then the rest of the world opens up from that.

"And hopefully just the grit, and realistic sort of adult take we have with the story is something that we can offer that other versions of this kind of story can't. Like the Once Upon a Time or Grimm of the world, they can only do so much on network TV. We can take it to a different place than they're able to, which I hope appeals to Walking Dead fans."

The core mechanic ??of you being able to choose h??ow to interact and proceed with people is back of course, and in a slightly improved way. Multiple choices come in, well, multiple ways this time around, and I can't image how difficult of a task it is to write out a story with so many different variations.

"It's a lot of?? just breaking your brain," Pierre told me, right after he put his hands to his head as he mimicked the sound of an explosion with his voice. 

"We can't build ten games," Pierre went on. "There are production limitations that are at least on the very end of the spectrum that you have to butt up against. But you also want to make it feel like a really customized experience. The toughest part is making sure that it all feels good, there's no 'this is the best playthrough.' I really feel confident that they all sort of feel good in thei?r own way. 

"A lot of it is just gaming it out, even in the written phase. Where you play through it multiple ways to make sure that the scenes don't break when the stor??y converges back."

Pierre and the team are adamant about making the choices players pick feel organic, which is no easy task. At the same? time, the team at Telltale takes fan feedback very seriously as they told me "it's not just their game, but the fan's game."

The team is wrapping up production, and once Episode One: Faith ships, they'll be able to bring out subsequent episodes (planned into 2014) at a faster rate as they'll no longer have to worry about the underlying technology. They'll also be looking to see what fans have to say about the first epi?sode, and the feedback will effect future installments.

Telltale is "still exploring" how the story continues on, to the point where the conclusion hasn't been locked down yet. The studio has a "we'll do it live!" mentality with its games, and it's something Telltale has done in the past with a number of titles including The Walking Dead. For instance, Du?ck's character was more flesh??ed out thanks to how fans reacted to the unfortunate little boy.

The Wolf Among Us will be out within ??the next couple of months, and how it continue the story will depend on your feedback. I know I'll definitely be voicing my opinion,?? although it'll mostly be me demanding Telltale to let us play as Bigby in his true wolf form and wielding his power to huff and puff things down. 

The post Telltale ‘still exploring’ how The Wolf Among Us will end appeared first on Destructoid.

The first hour of the game

With The Walking Dead, Telltale had an advantage when it came to selling a game to a mass audience. The comic series is huge, and you have the AMC television series to back it all up. Plus, everyone knows what a zombie is. The myth of the zombie has been with us for hundreds ?? of years now.

With Fables, it's a bit of a harder sell here. Sure, shows like Once Upon a Time and othe??r similar concepts have popped up in recent years, but before television executives thought it would be a good idea to mix up our childhood tall tales, there was author Bill Willingham who came up with the concept of "What if we brought all these stories from our childhood together?" 

While The Wolf Among Us will definitely make fans of the comic series happy, outsiders shouldn'?t have to worry here either. All you need to know is that there's a murder mystery you have to solve, and it just so happens to involve characters like the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Beauty, Beast, and so many other mythical characters.

The Wolf Among Us (Mac, PC [previewed], PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Release: Late September / Early October 2013
MSRP: $4.99

For those not in the know, the world of Fables involves these beloved stories of our youth such as Snow White, Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, and so many others all living in one big world. Sort of like neighboring countries, if you will. All? of the characters you meet at the beginning of the comic series were ousted from their respected homes and forced into our world, the human world (or the Mundy world as the Fables like to refer to mundane reality). Here they reside as refugees, while a big evil known as the Adversary is waging a war for total control back in the homelands. 

There's a huge backstory for sure, but you don't really need to have read any of the comics to understand what's happening in The Wolf Among Us. What you should know is that there are some very heavy adult themes with these characters. Just because we're talking about princesses and fairies doesn't mean it's all happy endings. To that point, there's murder, there's war, there's drama, there's sex, and tons of jaw-dropping moment??s you wouldn't expect involving these characters. It's well worth the read, folks. 

Anyway, The Wolf Among Us takes place about a decade and a half before the first comic, and stars Bigby Wolf, otherwise known as the Big Bad Wolf. In the Fables universe, the wolf that went after Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Littl??e Pigs is the one in the same here. When all the Fables went into the human world, everyone was granted a fresh start. Villains were given a clean slate, and Bigby choose to lead a more virtuous life. He's still kind of an asshole, though. 

Bigby's role is more or less that of a sheriff. It's his responsibility to keep Fables safe, and more importantly, hidden from the humans. Episode One: Faith, begins with you on your way to some kind of domestic dispute called in by Mr. Toad. Upon entering the apartment complex, Bigby spots Mr. Toad i??n his real form. Characters like Bigby sport a glammer charm that they get from witches in order to ma??intain a human appearance.

Bigby isn't happy that Mr. Toad is in his natural form out in the open, and threatens to send him to The Farm, a place where?? non-human Fables live. The entire conversation here is happening in true Telltale form, as you have a few options in how to respond. You could ignore this incident with Mr. Toad, and who knows, maybe he'll help you out in some way in the future.

You have four options in how to respond to characters, with one being to say nothing at all. I saw this option pop up most of the time, and it kin????d of plays to Bigby's character. It's basically the asshole response, where you just stand in silence giving someone a mean look. Bigby isn't really all that concerned with what others think of him.

Bigby heads up to the apart?ment where the dispute is happening and sees that the Woodsman is attacking an unknown female. The Woodsman -- the same one that filled Bigby's belly full of stones and left him to drown in a lake as the tale goes --?? is drunk out of his mind. He wasn't happy with this call girl, who already has some bruising over her body, black eye and all. The Woodsman wants to fight, and for the next five minutes you'll be attacking and avoiding his strikes as you try to match the button prompts that pop up on screen. While you have to match the right button prompts, you are given options of how you want to inflict pain on The Woodsman such as deciding what piece of furniture you want to slam him into.

Eventually the two of you are thrown out of the fourth story window and land on the streets below. The Woodsman is able to recover before Bigby, and starts to choke him out. Bigby is about to transform into his true form before an axe is smashed into the back of The Woodsman's head by the mysterious call girl. No, that's not the murder we're talking about here. Sure, there's an axe in his head and not to mention he did just fall out of a building, but the Woodsman is alive, and is able to escape before Bigby can talk to him. Fables can die, but it will take something very extreme to kill one. Way more extreme than an axe into a skull, for instance. Age isn't ?an issue either when it comes to death -- some of these characters have been alive for centuries.

Bigby questions the girl about what's happ??ened, and seeing as how the situation has resolved itself, the player returns to Fabletown, the main home of the Fables in New York.&n??bsp;

After a little odd run in with Beauty, and then Beast at around 2AM, Bigby settles into his apartment where Colin the pig is crashing. Bigby kind of owes Colin after the whole huffing and puffing his house down that one time, so he wav??es an eye at Colin being in his natural pig form. Plus, the two seem pretty chummy. Well, so long as you help Colin smoke a cigarette ??or drink some beer at least.

To close the demo, Bigby is woken up by Snow White in the middle of the night as they've found an ??actual dead Fable right on the front entrance of the apartment com??plex they all reside in. And it's the same girl we met earlier in the night during the altercation with The Woodsman. 

Snow, Bigby, and the flying green monkey Bufkin do some digging in the famous Business Office's archives, and are able to figure out who the girl is. From here, we're shown one of the major changes that you can expect over The Walking Dead's gameplay mechanics. You're given two paths, basically -- either you can go interview the husband of the dead girl, or return The Woodman's apartment as a new incident has arisen there according to Mr. Toad. You decide where to go, but know that time is a factor. There will be consequences for the path yo?u choose to take, and these decisions will alter the story, in this episode up to the last.

Investigation isn't par?t of the gameplay, but it is part of the plot. You're aren't always really in situations to look for clues or details, but you can look around for more story points if you want. This design plays into Bigby's conflicted nature. He could be a proper detective, one that goes by the books. Or go more with his wild side as the Big Bad Wolf to sniff out crime scenes and use his gut instinct. You'll find different things depending on how you investigate the situation.

On the technical side, you can now hold down the right trigger to move your character a little faster. Also, the Telltale engine has been improved to resolve issues players had with The Walking Dead such as save-state problems, frame-rate hiccups, and the like. The technology for Telltale games kind of gets locked into place with the first episo??de to a series, as the subsequent episodes are treated as downloadable content. So a lot of the issues have been ironed out, Telltale told me.

I have to mention how gorgeous the visuals are? too. The heavy com??ic-style just works here, and it all looks like moving concept art.

As a big Fables fan, I was super pleased with what I saw of Telltales' take on the series. It doesn't butt up against what we've already seen in the comics, and it's open enough that even non-fans can enjoy this. Really, if you enjoy murder mystery and are a fan of Telltale's work, then you're in for a good time with The Wolf Among Us.

The post Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us will please Fables fans appeared first on Destructoid.

Walking Dead-style adventure game based on the comic Fables

Telltale's coolly named follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Walking Dead riffs off of an established property once more. The Wolf Among Us is a prequel to popular Vertigo comic Fables, which I know by name, but haven't read. That being said, with the initial screens and now this trailer, I??'m already aw?aiting this one with bells on my toes.

Also, for as pretty as the art style is, what with it?s cool purples and such, let's not?? forget to credit whoever made that title font at the trailer's end. So slick.

Early grumblings suggest Telltale is sticking with a focus on making choices, but there's also more divergence being added with some sort of time keeping that could yield players differe??nt scenes depending on when they do things relative to the narrati?ve. Could be cool.

Telltale has built up a bunch of goodwill with the strong The Walking Dead. Now we wait to see if it can do it even better with The Wolf Among Us' first episode, Faith. I'm already down for the slightly?? more stylized design ??and weird setting. Also the green monkey gargoyle thing.

The post Telltale’s The Wolf Among Us has a green, flying monkey appeared first on Destructoid.

Move over Walking Dead, there's a new Wolf in town

Telltale is developing The Wolf Among Us with the weight of the most critically acclaimed game of 2012 on its shoulders, but it's starting to look like the studio may have another ace up its sleeve. Game Informer's interview with Kevin Bruner, president and co-founder of Telltale, has revealed the first (unbelievably good looking) screens and details of The Wolf Among Us, a prequel to Vertigo's popular comic series Fables.

While the game's development started around the same time as The Walking Dead, it appears Telltale sees The Wolf Among Us as a continued evolution of the studio's efforts in tech and design. Like The Walking Dead, Wolf will contain characters that reappear throughout episodes and provide tough moral choices to the player. After studying the player stats that drove The Walking Dead, Telltale is changing its approach.

“We like that 50/50 divide when we look a??t stats,” Bruner told Game Informer. “If everyone goes down one direction, then it rea?lly wasn’t that interesting of a choice.”

Another evolution in design is the addition of a timeline that dictates different scenarios happening at certain?? locations at different times. In other words, two players may have different experiences because they chose to visit an area at later or earlier.

I've never read Fables but I've been looking forward to Telltale introducing me to its world. After concerns that the game wouldn't share The Walking Dead's strengths, Bruner has made me believe The Wolf Among Us will be an even better game. I?f not that, at least?? an even better looking one.

The Wolf Among Us: Telltale Is B??ack Again To Torment W?ith Tough Choices [Game Informer]

The post First screens and details on Telltale’s Wolf Among Us appeared first on Destructoid.

The Big Bad Wolf will walk the mean streets of New York

A couple of years ago, Telltale announced that it was going to be bringing the Vertigo comic series Fables to PC and consoles. Now, with the studio's successful adaptation of The Walking Dead complete, or at least the first season, Telltale is almost ready to release the first episode in its new Fables series, The Wolf Among Us. 

This episodic adventure is set before the comic series, and puts players in the shoes of Bigby Wolf, once known as The Big Bad Wolf, an?d now the sheriff of Fabletown, the secret community hiding within New York. Wolf is working for Snow White, trying to maintain law and order in this bizarre part of the city. 

"Developing The Wolf Among Us based on the Fables universe h?as allowed our studio to build upon all of the hallmarks of what makes our episodic series so engaging for players," Telltale CEO Dan Conners explains. "Through an evolution of our approach to choice and consequence, we can further explore the complexity of each and every iconic character in a uni?verse rich with untold history from the darkest sides of the storybooks."

Being a huge fan of Fables, I'm really looking forward to being able to interact with the characters and world I've grown so fond of. With The Walking Dead, Telltale showed that it can treat comic IPs with a lot of respect while still making new, compelling stories, so I hope we see the same here. The Wolf Among Us premiers&??nbsp;on Mac, Windows, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network this summer. 

The post Te?lltale delves into the world of ??Fables this summer appeared first on Destructoid.