The Wolf Among Us - Game Review (Spoiler Free)

The Big Bad Wolf Huffed n' Puffed and definitely blew my socks off, although it didn't quite blow me away. Although it sure as hell made me fall in love with it.

Lets start with a little preamble. The Among Us is based on the Fables comic series and follows the noir footsteps of Bigby The Big Bad Wolf.  Its his Job to maintain order in this community of fabled characters and to solve the crimes committed under his nose. This is where the game earns its first shiny sticker, the world and setting are in a league of their own. The attention to detail that brings this world to life is staggering and it just creates a place you want to spend time in and explore. Half the fun of this game is seeing what has become of the characters you may know so well and finding out how the world has twisted them.

The cast of characters, both good and bad, are expertly brought to life and are given so much detail. Its just a letdown that there isn't more of an opportunity to talk to them outside the linear story. This may have helped flesh out some of the characters that fall by the wayside due to there lack of importance. Other than that conversing with them and watching the story unfold in these moments is a treat, even though there are some story threads that seemed to be forgotten about.

So, I have got this far in and haven't yet talked about the gameplay, well, this is where the game walks up to the house made of bricks and doesn't really leave a lasting impression. Outside the conversations, the game starts out with aspirations of being a detective game, collecting clues, finding evidence etc. But the game leaves that behind in its early hours after not doing a particularly great job. Not that its bad, just rather far to simplistic, go around the room a click on everything and your done, your never get given the opportunity to be wrong and it never lets you use the thing between your ears. It would have been nice if the game developed the detective side more. It would have also been a good idea to implement a L.A Noir style interrogation aspect to certain scenarios, it could have helped increase players interaction with the story.

Then we have the QTE's, which in my opinion weren't to bad, it would have been nice to have more control and a bit more variety but in the end they worked and allow the action to be fast paced and cinematic.

I also have to give a quick shout out to the art style and graphics, which are f***king terrific, the neon stained locations and detailed characters left me in absolute awe at some moments. The cinematography is also outstanding with it nailing it style wise, but also does a job of directing your attention and drawing you in and getting you pumped.

Ultimately there is just one major thing that seems to be holding it back, and that's its linearity. Despite for a few little bits the game seems to lack moments that make you want to recant the choices you have made. It has a trouble shaking off the feeling that all the paths lead to the same end and although your along on a thoroughly entertaining ride, its a bit sad you couldn't have had a go on the controls. Not to say its completely lacking these options it just doesn't feel like enough.

Overall though, The Wolf Among Us is an excellent ride, with brilliant twists and turns, and some ridiculously memorable characters. The setting and art style alone make it hard to not to fall in love with, and the story and characters also leave there mark (although I get the feeling there is a lot left unanswered). It just a shame we couldn't have messed around with a few more of the strings.

Rating: 8/10