REVIEW : The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series (PC)
The Walking Dead and Telltale Games return to our homes once again; those two terms that a few years ago went hand in hand as two of the mainstays of the highest quality narrative adventures. Telltale put itself on the map globally thanks to its work with this license, which was well adapted to the episodic format and the decisions that branched out a story whose strong points have always been its characters and the relationships we could forge throughout the episodes. Just a few months ago, it was unthinkable to imagine that we would have this beautiful finishing touch in the form of a definitive edition. Still, thanks to Skybound Games, we will be able to say goodbye to Clementine and company with the best packaging, a pack with all the seasons, and Michonne’s adventure, which adds to a multitude of extra content and visual improvements. Is this The Telltale Definitive Series worth it? Let’s look for the answer in the following lines.
With the arrival of this new compilation, we will stop to analyze everything that its creators have seen fit to add concerning the last compilation of the saga that came to us in 2017 and in which it was not included (as it had not yet been released ) the final season. Therefore, we will not re-evaluate the quality of Clementine’s complete journey beyond outlining a bit the charm of being able to enjoy it in a row for the first time. It is enough to remember that we are faced with narrative adventures, not graphic ones. The plot and decision-making are its greatest attraction, giving us the feeling of shaping the story to our liking, but with certain limitations.
We will go first to one of its most striking novelties, that of having the first seasons with a renewed visual section, a retouch that, far from equating them to the polished graphics of the last season, refines them so that it is not so rough to start with them after almost a decade. The technique used has been baptized as ” Graphic Black, “and it is a sophisticated filter of shadows and dynamic highlights, which provide a more polished look, making up, as we say, that outdated look of the first seasons with a beautiful comic book look. That surely will like the lovers of the origin of this saga.
In the first of them, this retouching is more noticeable if we compare it with the original, but beyond the visual aspect, we find the same proposal. It is here where we see the first negative point, and that is that it comes back to our country with the same and not very gratifying translation into neutral Spanish, which contains, in addition to some grammatical errors (the same as in the original), a multitude of expressions that continue to take us out of context. We would have loved it if they had taken the opportunity to release a new translation, but this is not the case. Returning to what they have worked remarkably, it is noticeable that they have improved some specific animations, the interface, and especially the lip-sync work, which was very deficient in the original versions and now matches each situation making the immersion easier.
Skybound Games and exclusive material
As we have mentioned, we will not stop to assess the playable qualities of each of the instalments since we already know very well what the mechanics of this type of adventure are, which with each instalment have been closer to narrative adventures than to graphics, with more simplified mechanics that, except in the first instalment, in the rest dispense with exploration or objects with which to interact in the form of puzzles in favour of the pure development of the plot. We did not find important news at the playable level in any of the deliveries, but having the four seasons, it’s DLC. Michonne’s adventure in a single disc would already be reason enough to launch into this edition. Still, in addition to that, Skybound games have endeavored to add additional and exclusive material, which makes us even more rewarding for your purchase.
We find four elements in this section; they are exciting and enlightening videos, but the translation again sows the negative point. In this case, only a couple of them have subtitles, which are also in English exclusively. It is a shame because many people will miss this material as it is more difficult to follow the content thread if there are no texts. This is a drawback for many European territories, something that clashes considering the care with which, in general, Skybound Games has treated this edition. To this, we must add that, at least in the digital version of PlayStation 4, this material usually has playback errors that make it take too long to start or directly give an error, forcing us to have to go back to try again. It was a somewhat bittersweet section that a server was looking forward to with great interest and has been at half gas for its finish.
The menus are intuitive, comfortable, and easy to control, so accessing each content is very pleasant. And in addition to the content mentioned above, we also have surprises for those who love conceptual and sound material. And we will see, for the first time, with a complete Art Gallery, with elements for each of the seasons. Sketches that present preliminary versions of characters, environments, and situations, classified by seasons, enhance the work of the developers of each of the deliveries. We go from visual art to sound, and we also have a great Music Player, which works very well to put us in the situation and recall the best moments of each season, that we can also reproduce while browsing the rest of the content, making it possible for us to personalize our experience. This detail once again enhances the work in this saga.
To end the exclusive content, a more than exciting Character Viewer has been included, which allows you to see a 3D model of all the characters in the saga, with different outfits, animations, and even comments, an addition that can add a lot of entertainment. We allow you to see even the smallest detail of each character. Of course, we have found that the initial loading time to access each season is a tad long; the load in percentage appears on the screen, something that, once done, of course, will not appear again while we navigate between characters.
The Walking Dead from Telltale has been a great adventure that has left us with excellent heroine Clementine evolving with each delivery, which makes the trip a delight, and to be able to enjoy it often, it is sure to compensate the most loyal fans of the genre. Considering that each season has its own decisions, being able to go from one to another without changing discs (or consoles) is very comfortable and easy, so it feels like a single great title. The Walking Dead, The Telltale Definitive Series, has about 50 hours of content, something that represents the perfect send-off for the franchise.
