Episodic games -Telltale/Dontnod etc

[Acornvilla]

I wanted to find a sort of gaming middle ground that myself and my girlfriend could both enjoy. She likes gaming but wouldn't be the type to want to sit down and play them any more than semi regularly. As she's not a hardcore gamer type, she enjoys the fact that the control's aren't over complicated and that it's very much story driven. Killing two birds with one stone here, getting to spend time with herself, and in turn she won't give out that games are being played too much, it's a good alternative to watching crap tv, that's for sure..

Figured I might start a thread and list a few games people might find interesting, if you've not come across this particular genre before or have heard of them but not tried one out yet. It's something that's steadily become more mainstream over the past two/three years, due initially to the popularity of Teltale's, The Walking Dead series. They're are a bit like old point and click adventure games, but, perhaps it's more appropriate to call them interactive graphic novels.

The game play itself is very basic, and suitable for anyone no matter their skill level. The emphasis is mostly on the story, and how your interaction with other characters can shape it. There's also a bit of puzzle solving and quick time actions thrown in there. I'm a big fan of the sell shaded art direction they've gone in. Borderlands and The Wolf among us are especially pretty.

I just finished Tales from the Borderlands yesterday, I highly recommend it if you're into their over the top Humor, the story isn't perfect, but it kept my attention throughout, with some wonderful funny moments throughout.

If I had to rate the Teltale games in the order that I enjoyed them..

1. The Wolf Among us
2. Tales from the Borderlands
3. The Walking Dead Episode 1
4. Game of Thrones
5. The walking Dead Episode 2

They've just released episode 1 of a Minecraft game as well. It probably isn't as likely to be my cup of tea, but it's aimed at a more family friendly audience apparently, so might be suitable for some of your kids, I'll probably pick it up on sale once all 5/6 episodes are released.

[Acornvilla]

In between trying all of telltale's games, I came across something made by Dontnod/Square Enix, called Life is Strange. I wasn't sure I'd be all that interested, because yeknow, different is bad and all that. But I figured as it was a story with strong female protagonists, and had gotten decent reviews, my girlfriend would relate to it, so I gave it a go.

Turns out I enjoyed it quite a lot actually, it's an evolution from anything telltale have tried so far. The art style is different and far less rigid than the animations within telltales efforts. The voice acting is good, it has a great soundtrack. The story is decent and keeps you guessing, the rewind time mechanic is good fun, if you make a balls of a conversation and don't like how things turned out, you can just rewind and try something else. There are quick time actions, and puzzles to solve, but you have a bit more freedom and control in 'LIS' than you do in telltale games.

I think it's my favorite offering so far. Has anyone tried Beyond two souls (The game with Ellen Page) or Until Dawn per chance? I'm interested in trying them.