Telltale narrative games aren’t simply significant, they’ve started a new genre. A New Frontier is the third part of the gaming series of The Walking Dead, apart from stand alone add-ons.
So there’s really nothing new about the gameplay. In this review, I’ll share my impressions about the plot. In such games, it isn’t simply important, it’s the very foundation of the game.
A New Frontier is another story, barely connected with precious seasons. The main characters are presented by a Latin American Family, which has been divided during the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Will they reunite in this dying world?
Javier (the main character) hits the road, sharing a truck with his lost brother’s family. Will Javi find him? And what if the latter has changed too much?
Javi is a former baseball player, whose bat is pretty effective against the walkers. He’s a kind-hearted guy, but at the same time, he’s capable of acting decisively and making right choices. Eventually, it makes him a strong leader.
Clementina is the only link to the previous seasons. The girl has grown up and now she can surely stand up for herself. It was really interesting to find out more about her past. And even though Clem isn’t the main character, I empathize with her even more than Javi’s family.
Traditionally, they’ve added another familiar character to build up the suspense. It’s Jesus, whom we know from the sixth season of the show. He’s a rather secondary character as well, and brings nothing new, but his humor serves as a diversion from drama.
Like previous seasons, this one is truly emotional. Each episode is a series of tragedies, losses and hard choices. Even though your choice doesn’t really influence the plot, Telltale can really make it appear as though you make important decisions. They make you doubt and worry, you can’t stay calm during such moments.
I also like the fact that the games goes hand in hand with the show. In the previous seasons, it was all about survival of smaller groups among the zombies. Now everything is bigger and more serious. New cities, new bands, intrigues and struggle for power. By the way, ‘New Frontier’ is the name of the criminal gang the main characters will confront.
The graphic is pretty much the same. Actually, I think it’s time to improve it. Plus, I had a few odd graphical bugs.
In my subjective opinion, A New Frontier seems shorter than the previous seasons, but the scope of the whole thing is larger. There is a feeling that the plot isn’t complex enough, the evolution of characters isn’t shown.
So my general impression is a bit worse than it could be. I give the the game 4 stars, only in comparison with previous stories which were extremely fascinating. But anyway, it’s a great and noteworthy story.
