The Walking Dead

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Keep Clementine alive through the zombie apocalypse, one hard choice at a time.

Platforms: PC, Mac, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, iPhone, Android
Price: Paid
Rated: Overwhelmingly Positive on Steam (97% of 80,747 reviews); Metacritic 82 (PC, Episode 1); 4.2 on Google Play and 4.2 on the App Store
Players: 1
Made by: Telltale Games
Released: 2012

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (The Complete First Season)Xbox Nintendo Switch (The Complete First Season)App Store Google Play

What frightens Lee Everett, a convicted man, tries to keep a young orphan, Clementine, alive as the dead rise: walkers break through doors and windows, people you have come to know are bitten or killed, and you often have seconds to choose who to save.
Content: gore, violence, strong language.

The Walking Dead is Telltale Games' five-part adventure horror series set in the world of Robert Kirkman's comic books. As Lee Everett, a convicted criminal given a second chance as the dead rise, you protect an orphaned girl named Clementine, and the choices you make, often in seconds, shape who lives and how the story plays out.

About The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead is an episodic adventure game by Telltale Games, now published by Skybound Games. Its first episode came out in April 2012, and the season runs over five episodes. It is set in the same world as Robert Kirkman's Eisner Award-winning comic book series, with its own characters. On consoles it is sold as The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season, and on iPhone the first episode is free with the full game bought in the app.

You play Lee Everett, a convicted criminal who gets a second chance when the world falls apart around him. Corpses are coming back to life, and the living will do anything to stay safe. Protecting Clementine, an orphaned girl, may offer him redemption, and keeping her alive becomes the thread that runs through every episode.

It is played through conversation, exploration of small scenes and quick actions. You talk to the other survivors, pick what Lee says, look around for useful things and react when walkers come at you. Many decisions come on a timer, so there is no time to think while the dead pound on the door. What you choose and do carries over from episode to episode: who trusts Lee, who stays with the group and how the story plays out.

The horror here is less about jump scares than about loss. Walkers are dangerous and gory up close, but what stays with you is the people you cannot save and the choices you have to live with. It suits players who want a story-driven zombie game with characters to care about, and readers of the comics or fans of cinematic horror games where choices decide who lives.

How to play The Walking Dead

Buy The Walking Dead on Steam, or The Complete First Season on PlayStation or Switch; on Xbox, iPhone and Android, start from its store page there.
Start Episode 1 and play the episodes in order; your choices carry over.
Walk Lee around each scene and look at or use what you find.
Pick Lee's replies in conversations before the timer runs out, or stay silent.
React to the prompts when walkers attack, to fight them off or get away.

Screenshots

The Walking Dead screenshot: a walker girl with red hair crawls across a kitchen floor toward Lee

The Walking Dead screenshot: rotting arms reach through a doorway as Lee and another survivor push to hold the door shut

The Walking Dead screenshot: Lee raises an axe and a survivor aims a pistol as walkers close in under a motel balcony

The Walking Dead screenshot: Lee with Clementine holding on to him beneath a motel sign at night

Tips

Do not reload to change a choice; the game is built around living with what you decided.
Talk to everyone at quiet moments; it shows you who the group are before hard choices come.
Watch the screen during calm scenes too; walkers can appear at any time.
Play with headphones and the lights low if you want the full weight of the bad moments.

Questions

Is The Walking Dead a horror game?

Its makers call it an adventure horror series. It is a story game about surviving a zombie apocalypse, with gore, sudden walker attacks and choices about who lives.

Do my choices matter in The Walking Dead?

Yes. The store says your actions and choices affect how the story plays out across the whole season.

How many episodes are there?

Five, in one season.

Do I need to read the comics or watch the show?

No. It is set in the comics' world but follows its own characters, Lee and Clementine.

Which platforms can I play it on?

Windows and Mac on Steam; PlayStation and Switch as The Complete First Season; Xbox; and iPhone and Android.