REVIEW: The Walking Dead: Michonne Episode 1

Michonne has been a staple and fan favourite for years now, between comics, television and now gaming, we’re stepping into the shoes of a complex character who can benefit from Telltale’s stellar writers and bring out a new side of our katana wielding leading lady.

The Walking Dead: Michonne is the first of a three-part series developed by Telltale Games. The first episode, “In Too Deep,” has Michonne aboard a sailing along the coast of the Chesapeake Bay. This version of Michonne is directly inspired by the comic iteration and shows a much more tortured version of the woman we know, having her two daughters taken from her once the outbreak began. Her suffering is a direct line to her survival and the reason why I feel she has survived so far.

A bit of backstory is needed to those who might not follow the comics, the Michonne here has two daughters and their whereabouts are currently unknown and we have no idea if they are alive. This is the source of the me

ntal instability Michonne exhibits here, creating a new version something unlike the television iteration.

The cast introduced in the first episode could use some work, some of the survivors feel like they will be expanded on, there is an assortment of people to interact with but Pete feels like the standout survivor who has some purpose. As it is the first episode, the introductory to most of the cast is needed, Randall is the antagonist who seems cartoonishly evil and will be a major plot point going forward, but, I trust in Telltale’s ability to put the cast to good use.

The fight QTE’s are some of the best I’ve seen in any Telltale game, and are my personal favourite part of the first episode, regardless of how awkward these events have been in past games, this is the best of the bunch. Tying in is the animation which, at times, felt robotic and out of place and the engine Telltale games run on needs to be updated to allow for future-proofing, luckily there was next to no issues while playing on PlayStation 4.

In Too Deep does well to introduce us to Michonne and settles us in quickly. The first of three episodes, Telltale plays it safe and does a suitable job to bring Michonne front and centre. The next two episodes have to make sure to do something special for Michonne, she has so much potential brimming here it would be a shame to see her fizzle out.