The Final Season barely feels like a Walking Dead game
Ok so i want to talk about something that's been on my mind for a while now,i don't think i'm alone in this and i've talked about it to some people i know too.
I just feel like this game is targetting a younger audience,it's too lighthearted,
now it's all about Teenagers and shit and focusing on Louis and Violet most of the time,
Season 1 didn't focus only on Carley and Doug it also focused on other characters like Kenny Larry or even Lilly.
it also seems that the writers just care more about romances.
And about that let's talk about it a little,the romances are optional i know that but they feel so out of place,It's like everybody in this fucking game has to be involved in some romance.
Did they really needed to add romances in this game ? Did they really needed to make James the loner whisperer gay ? What about Aasim having a crush on Ruby out of nowhere in episode 2 ?
And apparently James can laugh at one of Louis's joke if you saved him or something i've seen that on Kent's tumblr it's like they added that scene just so people can make fan-fictions about Louis and James.
I miss how dark and depressing season 2 could be sometimes,i miss adults interactions,
i'm not even gonna talk about Lilly or the plot most of you probably already know what i think,it's a disaster.
Overall,this season is just..Pretty forgettable,there's nothing really memorable,
i don't hate this game,i think there's some good things in it,like Clem and AJ's relationship for example but these things are just not enough imo.
So,anyone here who has the same opinion as me ? Tell me what you guys think.
Comments
Idk, I like it, but I feel like its lacking story. Also, everyone in S1 an 2 were traveling. We’re just staying at the school, not really exploring the world anymore. We also haven’t met that many new people like in the other games.
It sucks knowing that this is the last Walking Dead game we’ll ever get. Im grateful, and Its not bad, but it ain’t all that good either.
Yeah i kinda miss that too.
You never know. Telltale was very ominous about whether there would be another season and Skybound didn't rule out the possibility of another season either. In fact, both TWD and Skybound Games Twitters were just asking people what kind of TWD game they'd want to see.
On the subject of this season being forgettable, I disagree. It feels like an appropriate stopping place for Clem imho. She and AJ found a home that is perfect for them: it's remote, sustainable, and inhabited by other kids who they can relate to. After a final threat from the past, hopefully they can actually settle down and stop running and barely surviving.
The whole kids group concept is original and I'm glad they did it as opposed to another group of adults that falls apart yet again. Violet/Louis are indeed a huge part of the season but there is also a huge focus on other characters. AJ is the strongest character even over Clem and even secondary characters like Ruby and Willy have backstory and development whereas previously they would have been nameless reused assets of child #3.
The season looks great, plays great, the environments are great, the characters are developed and unique, there are tons of callbacks... It's functioning perfectly as the swan song for both TWDG and Telltale Games, and I'm glad we got it as opposed to being left on the ANF cliffhanger for all of eternity.
It's not a bad game but it's not too great either, I agree it doesn't feel like S1-S2 Walking Dead anymore and it is pretty forgettable for a last season but what can you do
On the topic of romances, I kinda get it, they're kids, that's what kids do, to me it doesn't feel that out of place but I can see where you're coming from.
I like the game but I dunno, it feels like it's lacking, probably could have been much more but I am grateful that it even exists in the first place and it's not another ANF (which probably doesn't say much), also I don't really like to judge games I'm just playing them and see if I enjoy them. (I do enjoy TFS)
Maybe "Take Us Back" will turn things around, at least a little, but it might be too late
Agreed.
I liked the change but making clem romance was inevitable, I agree it doesn't have memorable moments and relys on nostalgia to manipulate our feelings like Lee's flashback but hey think about it if TT closed and we ended back in ep 2 it would've left a sour taste for the whole franchise and especially our love for this game and clementine.... I'm thankful we're getting content that is better than anf and with shit conditions like TT closing.
Final Season isnt horrible but its just another Telltale Batman like game imo. Its a good game, but at the end of the day its just "ok" its not much to write home about.
Telltales quality pretty much died after Tales from the Borderlands where the last of the real talent at Telltale left the company. Ever sense then every Telltale game's quality kept dipping and the writing was getting worst and worst and it felt like the people behind the project either have 0 drive for it, or are really not that creative.
And before people mention budget expenses, a creative person and team can still make something great with low funding. Tales From The Borderlands went all out in every way and apparently that game pretty much had no more funding by episode 5, and they still pulled through and pumped out something amazing because you could tell the team on that project really fucking cared and were passionate about what they were making. More modern Telltale just started to feel like everyone working on the projects just didnt give a shit or like I said, have 0 creativity or quality vision.
Where the heck did this come from? I know I've been gone for quite a while, but I didn't see this when I refreshed the first couple of times.
Anyway, I'm a little half and half on it, tbh. And I don't believe my thought really matters.
I disagree. I think this season tried to revitalize the game-series and it succeeds in most aspects.
It definetly has a very different vibe to it compared to the prior seasons, but I really like what they're doing and it's cohesive to the characters involved with it.
In regards to there being not much of a plot, I can agree with that. However, I do believe it's absolutely intentional to focus more on the characters and their relationships instead of a general plot, because that's where ANF and to a lesser extend S2 went wrong.
S4 is much closer in it's structure and narrative to S1 than to the other seasons and I think they do a great job by still giving it its own feel and identity.
It's totally okay to dislike the amount of teenager-subjects covered and presented in this season, but it's actually really well done, especially If you compare it to something like LiS.
But as I said sometime ago, the world of The Walking Dead and how it presents itself is - or should be - based on the point of view character. A more optimistic character will see the world differently than a pessimistic one and that should also translate to the player/viewer, which is something I love about this season. It knows when it can have some fun, but it's also aware of the shit going on everywhere at all times.
That's the point of the season, though.
After reading the OP, I do generally agree with much of it.
The thing about Aasim and to an extent the adults, though? Not so much.
Also, Lilly and Larry should be swapped.
You know what's odd--you're probably not too far off the mark when you say that.
Isn't that classic tale of corporate creativity?
My opinion doesn't count for much as I have quite a bit of bias towards the Series, but the feeling of The Final Season being different to Season One and Season Two is one I share also, but having it be unique and feel different makes it, in my opinion, more memorable, as you have not experienced it previously. It also sets it apart from the past Seasons, instead of having to be shrouded in Season One's shadow, it can stand on its own two feet as its own thing, unlike Season Two which, due to following up from Season One, and not completely reaching the heights of Season One, ended up being put in its shadow. A New Frontier on the other hand, most people don't even associate it with the Series out of dislike towards it, I enjoyed it, but that's just my bias I spoke of in the first line of this comment.
The Final Season is quite lighthearted, to me, what may make that feel odd is because it is The Walking Dead, the apocalypse, the end of days, happiness isn't usually associated with either of those, because the depressing thought of humanity being wiped out by a virus that is not curable. But, an underlying theme that I feel doesn't get enough attention is Hope, and with The Final Season, that theme seems to be more apparent, at least when I look at it and play it, it's what I see. There is a focus on romance, that is definitely true, but as you said it's optional, but keep in mind we are with teenagers, personally I think it would be odd if there was not a slight amount of romance involved in a Season primarily focusing on a teen cast.
As for Aasim's crush for Ruby being revealed in Episode 2 "out of nowhere", we can't expect to learn everything about the cast in the first Episode, like real life, spending time with people gives us the chance to learn more about them.
James laughing at Louis' joke is simply due to Louis being a funny, charming guy, he is an optimist, and grows on you, even if there was someone who didn't like them, I think they would certainly crack a smile due to the type of guy Louis is, he is just hilarious.
I think that once the entirety of the Season is finished, when people have ample time to look back and reflect on what was the conclusion to Clementine's Story, they will see plenty of memorable moments that were underrated at the time of release
I know my view on this doesn't really count for anything, as it is a well known fact that I have a bias towards this Series, so feel free to ignore this comment
While I agree that the romance was pretty shoehorned at first, it's still written way better than what we got in New Frontier. I mean, Louis and Violet are actually likable. They take the time to give these characters histories, past relationships, and a level of depth that bratty Gabe never had.
Also, making the Final Season about the youth is what we call coming around full circle with the ideas. In the first and second, we're already guiding a child through the apocalypse and in the second, we're trying to sustain a baby. Then finally for the last, the adults are gone, and what's left is the newer generation. It's a coming of age story.
The Final Season has plenty of darkness to it. I mean seriously, Minnie killing her own sister wasn't enough for you? Brainwashed child soldiers? Cutting out Louis's tongue? 34 kids dying at the boarding school? Violet watching her grandmother commit suicide at the age of 11 and being so shell-shocked afterwards, she could only finish watching her cartoons five hours later?
The difference is, unlike Season Two, things aren't laughably dark. There is a certain thing called darkness-induced audience apathy. It's when so many bad things happen to the characters that you're no longer invested. Darkness means nothing without light.
When I saw Walter, I was like, "Yeah, he's a nice guy. Sigh. How long until he dies?" And then what do you know? Carver shoots him in the head. Same with Reggie. He's there to be kinda funny, kinda socially awkward, and then he's thrown off of a roof because we weren't trimming berries fast enough. Rinse and repeat with Sarah. Innocent, sheltered girl either gets eaten by walkers inside a trailer or eaten by walkers as she's trapped under a large part of the collapsed deck.
This is why I'm glad they've finally scaled down the deaths, so when they do happen, they really matter. Brody and Marlon died in the first episode, Mitch alone in the second, and then Lily and James can die determinately for the third. That's way more reasonable than just going full Hunger Games and dropping them like flies.
I completely disagree.
The problem is that this season is so lighthearted that when something dark happens it's just ridiculous,like Lilly cutting Louis's tongue was fucked up but made absolutely no sense,it's just Lilly doing evil things because she's evil,it's pathetic.
Mitch's death was a complete joke,they gave him more development and killed him at the end just as he was getting good,wow amazing what a great character man.
And James's death was dumb,you're telling me Clem didn't see Lilly trying to kill James ? And why would James turn his back on Lilly ? Clem or someone else could've stopped her,that was just absolutely stupid.
I do like the teenager concept i'm just not exactly happy of what they've done with it,they just focus way too much on Violet and Louis,characters like Willy only starts to get some development in episode 3 and yeah that's a shame.
Yeah, that's super lighthearted.
I mean, I guess compared to S1 and S2, but even now, it's less of a focus than it was in ANF. And even now, it's more of a subplot going on in the larger scheme of things, and it's completely optional, so I don't see what the issue is.
Except that it's really only Clem, Louis, and Violet. You have a tiny, small mention of Aasim and Ruby, but that's pretty negligible, and James' boyfriend is dead, who may not even be mentioned depending o your choices.
That was more so to prepare for Clem's dare towards Aasim, not so much to introduce another romance. It doesn't hurt the overall story as a whole and adds a little bit of humor to the game, I fail to see a problem with this exactly.
It's more of an uncomfortable laugh because he's not use to being around people. Louis jokingly says he'll take two walker skin masks, it's not really much to get all shippy over. If someone actually starts shipping them, then that's more of a problem with the fandom than it is with the writing.
Honestly, you want to know my opinion, this has been the best season since Season 1. The writing has been pretty strong, the characters amazing, the choices have had a significant impact, and I love AJ and Clem's relationship. It's not as good as Lee and Clem's, but I love how it has progressed and seeing how the apocalypse impacts the psychological and moral development of AJ. The music score, especially in Episode 3, was astounding, and I think some complaints that the game "feels different" compared to previous seasons is pretty hypocritical, considering how a big reason Telltale went out of business was because their games were becoming creatively stagnant and not doing enough to innovate and change. The gameplay, while not a drastic change, was and continues to be a very welcome upgrade, as was the graphics and art this season, and the inclusion of collectibles to customize our room is a great feature. While it's disappointingly only 4 episodes, it's already proven to be longer than ANF as the episodes have all been well over 2 hours for me.
I'll leave the bulk of this alone because there's actually some point to parts of it, however ...
Eeeeeh...nnnnn...nooo? Not...really?
so this isnt really related but does anyone else think The Final Season's intro credits are really bad?
I said this all the way back when episode 1 released, but I still think its just really cringe and silly. The style during it clashes with the rest of the game, the whole grass and flower growing on the walker, all of it. It thematically never fits. Unless something happens in episode 4 to justify this awful intro, I really find it to be pretty bad.
(My best guess is that its suppose to symbolism growth or some shit even though Final Season barely features any themes about "growing up" or anything like that)
Case in point, intro sucks MEGA pee pee and thats a FACT
That scene was laughably dark imo,Lilly cutting Louis's tongue made absolutely no sense,they just did it so we could have another reason to hate Lilly/the raiders.
I also don't know how to really explain this correctly but the game is just so lighthearted that when something actually dark happens,it just feels..weird,like it doesn't fit with the rest of the game.
Sorry if i don't make any sense lol.
But yeah this game is targetting a younger audience and i'm not really happy with that.
Eh it's like 30 seconds long so no biggie
Yeah, that was definitely the big one.
They gave a specific explanation for what happened. They were all told to keep quiet, Louis wouldn't stop talking, they cut his tongue out. How is that hard to understand?
I know it's pathetic, but it's also how the #StillNotBitten team wanted to write her character. They are grown men and women, they can write their Characters however they want. Lilly doing fucked up things isn't anything new. She killed Carley/Doug in Season 1 and determinantly stole Kenny's vehicle after the incident. What you're seeing in this season is merely a progression of what we've already seen from Lilly thus far.
That's really not this game's fault tbh. This is a trope that's been going on with TWDG for years. They introduce characters, evolve them a little bit, then kill them off. This isn't anything new. If u wanna complain about something like that, you may want play all the other games again to refresh ur memory.
That's not a problem with the game, that's a problem with James. He was idealistic and henceforth paid the price for it.
Probably has something to do with Tellale not having the funds to make the usual 5 Full Episodes which could've provided ample time to develop all the other characters. There's a lot of them by the way.
Yeah i know that,but that's uh..not a good reason,like i said,Lilly doing evil things because she's evil,it's lame in my opinion.
Actually they went much further than that. Lilly mentioned that her father raised her by making examples of what happens when she didn't do as told. She wasn't doing evil things simply bc she was evil. She did those things because that's how she was raised. That's a VERY GOOD explanation. If you think you can do a better job with it, maybe YOU should get a job in the gaming industry and see how many people complain about your work.
Dude, fffuck, talk about thematic and especially tone dissonance.
I almost laughed at Clementeen's reaction.
Cheese and Rice, holy shit.
Lilly is comically evil because comparing her not turning off the lights so the power was off for a day to cutting out a tongue forever because they wont stop talking is not a good enough reason for why she does what she does. Its overly extreme and a bit silly and mostly jarring because its the one dark thing that happens the entire season so far.
Also Lilly's character really isnt written well. Whole time they want "the kids" but half the time she just kills the kids. Captures James? Wants to kill him. Literally talks about how the kids they kidnapped are worthless idiots and she cant believe Clem was able to turn them into fighters, which is literally why they are taking the kids, so why even steal kids you are so convinced are idiots who cant fight that you want to fight for you? Plus that whole dropped plot line of Lilly showing remorse in killing the kids and determinant double thinking about killing Clem in episode 2 all gets dropped in episode 3 for "grrr i hate the KIDZ" Lilly.
Yeah yeah i know,she gave us her villain monologue about how she's a bad person,Larry turned off the lights or some shit and she's evil now,yeah that's a "VERY GOOD" explanation lol.
Really, because I just found it dark dark. It makes sense considering Louis hides behind the jokes and singing as a way of coping, take that away from him, and it ultimately breaks him (hence the title "Broken Toys").
I'm sorry, but I am just not seeing that, at all. It's been a pretty dark season with child soldiers, human trafficking, mental, as well as physical, torture and trauma, the Louis and Violet backstories, and much more.
Why does everyone keep using that argument? You don't have to be a chef to know whether food tastes great or not. You don't have to be a game developer to know whether a game sucks dick or not. You don't have to be a writer to know whether a story sucks massive tit or not. It's fucking stupid.
As for your point, her character would've been so much better had it stayed the way she was in Ep2. It would've given her some depth and let us know that she still had some humanity left in her. In Ep2 she hesitated before killing the kids and she even regretted killing Mitch (judging by her response to his death). In Ep3 she's just cruel because why not. I wouldn't call what she told us a total justification for her ruthlessness - "woah let me cut off someone's tongue because I didn't turn off the lights!" Where's the justification for her taking kids to fight for them, especially with her methods? They made her evil just because she was just evil. Carver was a better villain than she is.
(edit: refreshed the page and saw poogers responded with pretty much the same thing so there you go)
Are you being intentionally dense right now? It's not just about the one incident with the lights. It's the principal that if she didn't do as she was told she would face severe punishment. Read between the lines and use common sense.
These last 5 or so posts are some form of catharsis--both personally and in terms of actual discussion.
I will refer you to Poogs and Monkey's posts they did a much better job explaining this than me.
And I will refer you to the Tumbler post by Kmudle. You you wanna complain. Speak to him.
I didn't want this thread to turn into another "i hate Lilly" thread lol but i guess it was inevitable.
Once again, how is it lighthearted? It's lighthearted when Marlon bashes Brody in the head with a flashlight because she revealed his terrible secret of handing over the twins to the raiders.
It's lighthearted when a five-year-old AJ blows Marlon's brains out and then has no comprehension that what he just did was wrong?
It's lighthearted that this same child knows absolutely nothing of the old world or even a sense of morality?
That's just episode 1.
Uh huh. Because Carver pushing Reggie off of the roof because two girls weren't trimming berries to his liking totally wasn't pathetic. (Sarcasm.) The whole time in Howe's was nothing but bad dudes doing bad things because they're bad, Troy being the worst offender. "Look at me! I'm gonna curse every sentence and slap around little girls the whole episode just so Jane can shoot me in the dick!"
And James's death was dumb,you're telling me Clem didn't see Lilly trying to kill James ? And why would James turn his back on Lilly ? Clem or someone else could've stopped her,that was just absolutely stupid.
I'll give you that. Their deaths were pretty stupid, but what I was saying was that they cut down on the kill count which I think is refreshing.
I don't think I've seen it yet, so if you'd be so kind...?
She did regret it, but only because she was suppose to recruit the kids, not kill them. She didn't feel bad about Mitch's death, she had a mission. Killing the same people she was suppose to recruit was not accomplishing that. Once Mitch was kill, she basically said "Fuck it." We'll kill if we have to.
Pretty much.
Though I'd say it can generally attributed to her not meaning to kill them either way.
The only one she was understandably lax about was Clementeen and that was only in case she inevitably becomes a problem.
Ok, name one memorable trait that Gabe had.
We know Louis plays the piano, got put into the boarding school after he tried to break up his parents' marriage out of pure spite, uses humor to cover up his deeper insecurities like a lack of self-confidence, Marlon was his best friend, etc.