The Wolf Among Us: Cry Wolf
Overview -
This is it; 'Cry Wolf,' the fifth and final episode of 'The Wolf Among Us' season, has been released. Fans who have been playing the game and delving deeper into Fabletown episode by episode should be ready to face this final episode with high expectations, while those that may have been waiting for the full season can now indulge. Telltale Games has become a household name thanks in large part to 'The Walking Dead' game series, and with both 'Tales From the Borderlands' and 'Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series' on the way, the developer's ascendance appears to know no limit. By comparison, Bill Willingham's 'Fables' comic book series might seem like a less promising target for adaptation. As proven through four episodes, nothing could be further from the truth. 'Fable' has been adapted into 'The Wolf Among Us' with serious gusto, and the pay-off for players both and old and new to 'Fables' really couldn't be higher. Now, the conclusion.
Video Review
Sadly, the visuals have taken a step back in this episode. It may just be a case of engine fatigue, but there's very little in the episode that we haven't seen before. We get an industrial area that qualifies as a background, and we get something new visually that I'm not sure Telltale has tried before, and unfortunately needs either more work or a different engine. Especially after seeing 'Tales From the Borderlands' in action, the assets for the sequence in question look half-baked.
Again, the recycled settings and characters continue to look very good minus the troubling animations I witnessed in the first chapter. Overall, I'm fine with not introducing much new visually for this last episode, but it's still slightly below series standard.
Audio Review
The soundtrack has stayed the same for the whole series. It effectively sets the mood, but I hope in future series they can add a track or two in each episode. Telltale does deserve credit for maintaining the voice acting quality. Bigby as always can occasionally read lines in a 'I'm Ron Burgandy?' manner, but overall is very good. With all of the returning characters in the episode, there are a lot of voices at work, but the result is topnotch.
Final Thoughts
'Cry Wolf' does an excellent job of concluding and capping a powerful season. (I don't know if there will be a second, but I would like one.) It also managed to instill a much greater desire to replay the whole thing than I was expecting. Even after the last episode's thrilling almost rampage, this was the first time I felt the full weight of playing as Bigby, and I don't know that the character would be proud of the choices I made. That's a good thing for the game, and Telltale must be tremendously proud of what this initially questionable series has achieved.