After speculation arose that Telltale may be planning next-gen ports of their best-selling and highly acclaimed episodic graphic adventure games, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us, the developer has now made the news official via their personal blog; All three games’ full seasons are headed to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One some time this year.
Currently, these games are available on digital channels for PC, Mac, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iOS. Both seasons of The Walking Dead have also come to PlayStation Vita, and The Wolf Among Us is planned to release all five of its episodes on PlayStation Vita in the Fall. The first The Walking Dead game’s five episodes have also been made available on several lesser-known current platforms, including the Ouya and the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX, with the combined game also recently coming to Android devices.
The first season of The Walking Dead even has a retail package available, for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. In the same blog post confirming the next-gen versions, Telltale announced that both The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us would receive retail releases that combine all five of their episodes onto a disc in turn, due to the highly positive reception of both games. These are no doubt slated for Fall, when both seasons have wrapped.
Currently, said retail package is only confirmed for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, though a PlayStation Vita package is probably likely for both, as are eventual PlayStation 4 and Xbox One packages.
No exclusive features or bonuses have so far been announced for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One releases of Telltale’s best-selling games, but it’s likely that they’ll pack in improved resolution and animation, at the very least.
The Walking Dead was the game that skyrocketed the once lesser-known Telltale Games to high-profile success, being nominated and winning several Game of the Year 2012 awards as a combined package. The game has been widely praised for being an outstanding example of interactive narrative done well, despite limited gameplay interaction beyond dialogue prompts.
The Walking Dead centers on a school teacher turned murder convict, Lee Everett, who must attempt to survive in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-filled Georgia, while taking a lost little girl named Clementine under his wing. It is adapted from the Image Comics series of the same name, and takes much more after that in terms of style and tone than the popular AMC television show adapted from said comic.
The Walking Dead: Season Two continues in the same universe and gameplay style as its predecessor, but unfolds many years later, now from the perspective of a slightly older Clementine. It has now released three episodes, with its fourth and fifth currently without a release window.
The Wolf Among Us meanwhile is adapted from the Vertigo/DC Comics series, Fables, being a prequel that takes place in the 1980’s, decades before the events of Fables’ first issue. It takes place in a New York City secretly populated by refugee fairy tale creatures and personalities, eking out a small private society in a burg called Fabletown, which is protected and watched over by the player character, Bigby Wolf, the former Big Bad Wolf of The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood fame. After a shocking murder rocks the small society, Bigby becomes the only hope to stop a conspiracy that has all Fables in its sights. Four episodes have been released, with the fifth and final episode currently without a release window.
After concluding The Walking Dead: Season Two and The Wolf Among Us, Telltale plans to start an episodic graphic adventure game based around television and literary sensation, Game of Thrones, as well as shooter/adventure hybrid spin-off, Tales from the Borderlands, some time this year.
Telltale is confirmed to be present at E3 2014, likely touting these newly announced next-gen re-releases. We at Eggplante will be providing coverage of the many E3-related game announcements and news, on Telltale games and otherwise.