History VideoGame / THEWALKINGDEAD

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[[caption-width-right:256:''"In the end, the dead always win."'']]

->''"You're either living or you're not. You ain't little. You ain't a girl, you ain't a boy. You ain't strong or smart. You're alive."''
-->-- '''Chuck''', "Long Road Ahead" (Season One).

''The Walking Dead: The Game'' is an episodic series by Creator/TelltaleGames that began in 2012. As in ''[[VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame Jurassic Park: The Game]]'', you guide your character in an {{adventure game}} setting through a relatively linear series of events dotted with minor gameplay puzzles and a few [[PressXToNotDie quick time events]]. Unlike ''Jurassic Park'', it has also gained a reputation as one of the most well-written and emotionally wrenching games of its time due to its [[GreyAndGrayMorality grey and gray morality]], [[SadisticChoice sadistic choices]], and absolutely brutal {{player punch}}es.

The game takes place in the same universe as [[ComicBook/TheWalkingDead the comic]], but begins within hours of the outbreak this time, instead of weeks afterwards.

At the outset of Season One, Lee Everett is a prisoner handcuffed in the back of a police car traveling down a highway in Georgia when an accident involving [[ZombieApocalypse a weird shambling man]] [[TheJaywalkingDead on the road]] gets him loose. Shortly afterward, he meets a young girl named Clementine, and the pair have to work with others to survive, all while hoping Lee's [[DarkAndTroubledPast dark and troubled past]] doesn't cause everyone to hate him, shun him, or worse, feed him to the zombies.

In between seasons One and Two is a DLC episode entitled ''400 Days'': an anthology special which focuses on different individuals and their own stories as they cope with the zombie outbreak at various points over a slightly longer than one year period.

Season Two follows Clementine on her own, over two years into the zombie apocalypse. Slightly older and a lot wiser, she must survive in a world where adults still view her as a kid and may look to take advantage of her.

A mini-series titled ''The Walking Dead: Michonne'' was was released between seasons 2 and 3. It follows the eponymous Michonne from the [[Comicbook/TheWalkingDead comic series]], and what she did between issues #126 and #139.

Season Three, given the unique name ''A New Frontier'', follows Javier Garcia, a former pro baseball player who teams up with the now-thirteen year old Clementine to protect his family from a ruthless group known as the New Frontier.

Season Four, also given a name (''The Final Season'') released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now sixteen years old, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. Unfortunately, on September 21st 2018, Telltale laid off the majority of their employees, including the Walking Dead team, leaving the future of ''The Final Season'' uncertain. However, other companies have volunteered to help release the final two episodes so the story could be complete. Fortunately, on October 6 2018 it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9foFUPG8Z0k announced]] that Robert Kirkman's company Skybound would work with members of the original team to release the final 2 episodes.

Going along with the theme of the franchise, while the zombies are always a threat, the real issue is the remnants of humanity, and the forging and maintaining of relationships with other survivors. Almost all of your actions will have consequences in how people perceive you, and it will be up to you as to how helpful you'll be, and whom you'll help.

[[index]]
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonOne'': the trope page for Season One.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonTwo'': the trope page for ''400 Days'', Season Two, and ''Michonne''.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonThree'': the trope page for ''A New Frontier''.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSeasonFour'': the trope page for ''The Final Season''.
[[/index]]

Dedicated ShoutOut page [[ShoutOut/TheWalkingDeadVideoGame here]].

See '''[[Characters/TheWalkingDeadVideoGame here]]''' for characters page.

Other video games based on ''The Walking Dead'' include:
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadSurvivalInstinct'': the second ''Walking Dead'' game, which acts as a prequel to [[Series/TheWalkingDead the TV series]].
* ''[[VideoGame/OverkillsTheWalkingDead Overkill's: The Walking Dead]]'': A FirstPersonShooter from ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' and ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' developer Overkill Software.
* ''VideoGame/TheEscapists: The Walking Dead'': A standalone spin-off of prison break strategy game ''The Escapists'', broadly following the story of the comic books.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadArcade'': A 2017 RailShooter arcade. Like ''Survival Instinct'', it's based on the TV show.
* ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDeadOnslaught'': A VR game
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!!The series provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion:
** Kenny has a strained relationship with Larry. Much like how both actors' characters (Giles and Franklin) had a strained relationship in ''Law & Order: Legacies''.
** [[spoiler: Michael Madsen's character has a problem with [[Film/ReservoirDogs executing hostages.]]]]
** Perhaps an accidental one, but Nikki Rapp plays a DeadpanSnarker named Lily...just like her role as LittleMissSnarker ''Lili'' in ''{{VideoGame/Psychonauts}}''. Becomes RuleOfThree in Campo Santo's ''Firewatch'', where she plays yet another Lily.
* CainAndAbel: A prevalent theme of the last two seasons. New Frontier has [[spoiler:the Garcia brothers]] with [[spoiler:David]] being a selfish, reckless and controlling Jerkass who's the leader of the antagonistic faction while [[spoiler:Javier]] is, at worst, violent. [[spoiler:David even tries to kill Javier in From The Gallows.]] The Final Season has [[spoiler:Minerva]] and [[spoiler:Sophie.]]
** A character literally named Abel makes an appearance from a faction whos running theme is Fratricide. He smokes cigarettes made from bible passages.
* CensoredChildDeath: Certain instances where the player gets a game over due to the death of a particularly young main character (namely Clementine in Season 1 and AJ in Season 4) are edited so we don't see them directly.
* CentralTheme: "Family", "trust" and "home" being the main themes of the story.
* DeathOfAChild: Not even children are spared from the horrors of the apocalypse and we ''do'' get to see many of them getting killed on-screen. Even the [[NonStandardGameOver Non Standard Game Overs]] related to Clementine stop being censored from Season 2 onwards.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: There are some situations in which the results are the same regardless of the player's decision. An example is in the first episode in which Shawn Greene dies whether Lee chose to save him or Duck while the latter manages to escape unharmed.
* HammerSpace: The player characters have a worrying habit of storing large objects seemingly [[AssShove up their ass]]:
** Lee from season 1 is capable of somehow storing a car battery in his jean pocket; at least [[AssShove we think]].
** Clementine in season 2 (age 11) is capable of storing large cans of baked beans, hunting knives, radios and pistols in her back pocket but at least she has a tiny backpack for most of the season.
** Javi in season 3 is a slight improvement from the previous two games, having an actual backpack to store items in…… however this backpack is still comically small for all the items he needs to store inside.
** In the first episode of season four, Clem (age 16) carries around a small backpack that is somehow capable of storing a deer skull. Even after losing the bag, she can still put a boar skull into her pocket and later pulls out a bow with arrows (without a quiver) out of thin air (which she in game technically has [[BottomlessMagazines limitless amounts of)]].
* TheHero: Clementine is the main protagonist of the series, being the only character to appear in all four seasons, and having major focus throughout each season, though she is merely the deuteragonist in the first and third seasons.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: The video game series shies away from Rick Grimes' group (with the exception of Michonne for her miniseries; and [[GuestStarPartyMember guest appearences]] by Glenn and Herschel in ''Season One'' and Jesus in ''A New Frontier''), instead focusing on another group of survivors from Georgia, namely Clementine.
* HumansAreBastards: Like in the comic and TV series, the apocalypse brings out the worst in people, turning them into murderers, cannibals, or ruthless dictators.
* ImproperlyPlacedFirearms: Despite being set in America, the most prevalent assault rifle that's being used is the ''Russian [=AK-47=]'' since the creators probably didn't want to get sued by Colt's Manufacturing Company (They own the registered trademark to the AR-15).
* LateArrivalSpoiler: Lee and Clementine's parents death to those who skip the first season.
* LighterAndSofter: Compared to the TV series and comics, the gore in the video game has been toned down significantly especially in later seasons. [[ItMakesSenseInContext In fact, there are practically no humans who are decapitated at all in the entire series.]]
* TheLoad: Each season has a character who is either practically useless or causes problems to others:
** Season 1 has Ben.
** Season 2 has Nick and Sarah.
** ''A New Frontier'' has Gabriel.
** ''The Final Season'' has Tennessee. However, he's smarter and nicer than previous examples.
* TheMainCharactersDoEverything: No matter who the player character is, even if she is an eleven year old girl, they always have to figure out how to solve the group's current situation. Clem even lampshades this in season two. It becomes hilarious in season 3 when Clementine prefers to let Javi do all the work.
* TheMedic:
** Season 1 has Katja and later, Vernon.
** Season 2 has Carlos.
** New Frontier has Paul Lingard and Eleanor.
** The Final Season has Ruby.
* MooksButNoBosses: The player generally only fights zombies and human bandits. There are only a few situations that approximate boss fights.
** Seasone One has two [[ArcVillain Arc Villains]] who have to be taken out in [[PressXToNotDie quick-time events]]; [[spoiler: Andrew St. John]] and [[spoiler: the [[DiscOneFinalBoss Stranger]]]].
** [[spoiler: William Carver]] is an almost pure CutsceneBoss in Season Two; all the player has to do is kick or shoot him from behind so that [[spoiler: Luke can disarm him and Kenny can beat him to death]].
** Clementine fights [[spoiler: Lilly]] in Season Four, where she has to incapacitate her with a knife before deciding whether or not [[spoiler: AJ shoots her]].
* {{Motif}}: Adopted children are a major recurring subject throughout the series.
** In season one, Lee effectively adopts Clementine as his daughter.
** In season two, Kenny quickly becomes interested in treating AJ as his own son, which causes some strife. In one possible ending, Kenny plans to raise Clementine and AJ as his adopted kids. In another possible ending, Clementine resolves to raise AJ and has his name tattooed on her hand. She also encounter a husband and wife with a boy who is clearly not their biological son.
** In season three, Javi takes charge of raising his niece and nephew alongside their step mother, which causes strife when [[spoiler:their father comes back into the picture]].
** Season four's main dramatic thrust is Clementine's struggle to raise AJ correctly as his adopted guardian. She also encounters Tenn, a boy from an adopted family. The hold that Tenn's adopted sister has over him becomes critical in the final scenes of the series.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: In "In Harm's Way," Carver claims that, deep down inside, Clem [[TheSociopath is just as barbaric as he is]].
* NotUsingTheZWord: The word "zombie" is only mentioned twice but will often pop up during choices. Like in the comics and TV series, the most common term used on the undead are walkers. Others include geeks, muertos and monsters.
* MadBomber: Mitch was sent to Ericson's Boarding school due to his habit of making explosives and detonating them in random areas [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour when he was 8 years old]].
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Lee will make fun of Carley at several points for the time that she couldn't get a radio to work... because she put the batteries in backwards.
* OncePerEpisode:
** There's a car crash in every season with three of them taking place in the first episode.
** Characters covering themselves in walker blood to walk pass a herd.
* RunningGag: The playable character sure finds themselves tripping or losing conscious a lot, with Lee tripping at least five times in the first episode alone.
* SadisticChoice: The game often puts the player in a situation where you must decide which character to save. Whichever character you didn't save will die, hate you or be traumatized.
* SameRaceMeansRelated: Lampshaded and played with: Everyone assumes that Lee is Clementine's father, partially because they're the only two black people in their group of survivors and partially because Lee does actually look after Clem while they look for her missing parents. The only character who says that they don't look related at all is Christa, the only other black character who joins the group in episode four.
** {{Invoked}} in that Lee and Clementine weren't initially envisioned as the same race, but this was changed specifically so other characters ''would'' make this connection.
** In later seasons, a lot of characters assume Clementine is AJ's mother despite them only being 12 years apart in age completely biologically unrelated, presumably with this trope as a contributing factor.
* SeriesMascot: Clementine's iconic NiceHat is treated as such, with the last scene of the game being a close up of it.
* SharedUniverse: The game takes place in the same continuity with the comic series.
* TimeSkip:
** Season 1 Episode 2 takes place three months after the previous, Episode 3 a few weeks, Episode 4 a few hours while Episode 5 immediately.
** Season 2 takes place a few months (possibly at least 8 months judging on [[spoiler:Christa's pregnancy)]] after the end of the previous 1 and immediately skip another 16 months after the prologue.
** Season 3 and Season 4 take place 3 years after the previous.
* WalkingSpoiler: [[spoiler:Lee's death at the end of season 1]] is a huge one to those who play the later seasons first.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: As with the comic and tv series, there are many survivors whose final fate are unknown, notably, Christa, Mike and many characters introduced in ''400 Days''.
* WouldHurtAChild: Many of the antagonists have no qualms in killing children in the series.
* ZombieApocalypse: Rather obvious.

* LighterAndSofter: Compared to the TV series and comics, the gore in the video game has been tone down significantly especially in later seasons. [[ItMakesSenseInContext In fact, there are practically no humans who are decapitated at all in the entire series.]]

** Kenny has a strained relationship with Larry. Much like how both actors' characters (Giles and Franklin) had a strained relationship in Law & Order Legacies.
** [[spoiler: Michael Madsen has a problem with [[Film/ReservoirDogs executing hostages.]]]]

* CentralTheme: "Family", "trust" and "home" being the main themes of the story.
* TheHero: Clementine is the main protagonist of the series, being the only character to appear in all four seasons, and having major focus throughout each season, though she is merely the deuteragonist in the first and third seasons.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: The video game series shies away from Rick Grimes' group (with the exception of Michonne for her miniseries; and [[GuestStarPartyMember guest appearences]] by Glenn and Herschel in ''Season One'' and Jesus in ''A New Frontier''), instead focusing on another group of survivors from Georgia, namely Clementine.
* HumansAreBastards: Like in the comic and TV series, the apocalypse brings out the worst in people, turning them into murderers, cannibals, or ruthless dictators.

Season Four, also given a name (''The Final Season'') released the first episode on August 14, 2018. Now sixteen years old, Clementine is once again the main character and Telltale has said this will be the end of her story, as she tries to keep her adopted son A.J. safe. Unfortunately, on September 21st 2018, Telltale laid off the majority of their employees, including the Walking Dead team, leaving the future of ''The Final Season'' uncertain. However, other companies have volunteered to help release the final two episodes so the story could be complete. Fortunately, on October 6 it was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9foFUPG8Z0k announced]] that Robert Kirkman's company Skybound would work with members of the original team to release the final 2 episodes.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Like in the comic and TV series, the apocalypse brings out the worst in people, turning them into murders, cannibals or evil dictators.