Back in July, when Telltale’s critically acclaimed The Wolf Among Us wrapped up its first season, The Walking Dead was only at its halfway point – but the developer has raced to Season Two’s finale since then. As those of you that are familiar with the series will already know, this second set of episodes puts you under the baseball cap of Clementine, who is still trying to find her way in the world following the events of Season One.
Since the start of the series, we’ve witnessed the short haired youngster try to make her way alone, meet a not-so-merry band of likewise survivors, and even seen the return of a few familiar faces. Not all of these episodes have hit the same highs as its predecessors, but we did particularly enjoy the introduction of human antagonist Carver, and the third episode, which placed the cast in a prison-like predicament.
Of course, as is now customary for the series, this finale begins with the Clem and her crew in arguably the biggest pickle yet: at the centre of a standoff with a group of angry Russians. This sets the scene for the last episode brilliantly, which can only reasonably be described as frantic. The episode runs at a breakneck speed for far longer than many of the other season’s episodes – and that means that this closer is just as brutal as Season One’s conclusion.
That’s not to say that it follows its predecessor beat for beat, but rather that it rekindles the emotional trauma from previous episodes. In fact, that suffering has been replicated several times over. And your sadness may differ to someone else’s, as there are a few different endings available at the conclusion of this instalment, which are each wildly different from one another. Honestly, they’re so disparate that we’re not sure how the studio’s going to tackle the already confirmed Season Three – unless it plans to make multiple games.
Whichever ending you receive, they are satisfying, though – especially seeing as they tackle one of the franchise’s most frequent criticisms: that your choices don’t really matter. They also further Clem’s immense growth, which, despite being a concern prior to release, has been one of the highlights of this season.
That’s not to say that this episode is flawless, though, as there are a few sections in this instalment that feel a little out of place. For starters, there’s a dream/hallucination sequence that seems a bit awkwardly implemented, as well as a couple of additional characters whose fates aren’t really explained. We suppose that could be because the developer intends to pick up the thread in future seasons, but it strikes us that said personalities have been simply shrugged aside.
And, of course, it’s always worth mentioning – as we do with every episode – that this game remains a mess from a technical perspective. We know that we’re starting to sound like a broken record, but the horrific frame rate lapses aren’t the only issues that we encountered in this instalment, with dead corpses unexpectedly flying around the screen, and completely breaking the tension of the events taking place at the same time. We can only hope that the upcoming PlayStation 4 version of the title will smooth out these issues.
Conclusion
The finale to The Walking Dead’s second season retains Telltale’s crown as the king of interactive storytelling. While this is a dark and frantic romp, ‘No Going Back’ also includes some light-hearted moments, which makes those closing scenes even more impactful. As a whole, this season is another seriously impressive achievement, and it will leave you asking one question: what’s going to happen next?
Comments 21
Ok. This season was pretty good, but season one is still #1. I'm kinda disappointed with the choices I made in this one tho. Lol
I loved the episode! It's hard to say anything without spoiling it but that final decision was very hard to make. After I got the first ending I imediately replayed that final section to see other endings and I don't know which I'll stick with when Season 3 comes out.
About the dream sequence I read that many people disliked it but I loved it! It was great to see that character again and it was a good callback to season 1.
So scared of spoilers! It's like a minefield in here!
@get2sammyb
I would REALLY like to know what people decided in the end, but since the episode just came out, I think not many people played it...
Does anyone know if season 2 is getting a retail release for Vita? US/EU is fine.
@Pittoo I believe it is, yes.
@crazykcarter it is happening!! Both seasons of Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us are supposed to be getting retail (don't know about digital) releases for PS4 this year!
@JMC i did the same thing! I had to see what happened the other way right after as well! I loved both endings, but I think my initial decision is the one I want to stick with (gun, not knife).
Well, while I did enjoy all the episodes, it's just not Season 1! I played episodes 2-5 two days ago and I must say that it felt so empty in the end! I was hoping for something to happen at the end, but it just ends without an impact...I was like 'is that it?'...
@gbanas92
Minor SPOILERS for everyone else.
I also went with gun and then I saw knife. I'm thinking about going with knife, because I really liked the redemption of that particular character. Gun was really good too, and I guess I felt harder that decision, but in the end I didn't like those new characters that appeared.
I didn't do gun then knife as I didn't want Clementime to be all alone, but I was very curious with that ending.
I really have no idea what Telltale will do on Season 3 and I REALLY want to continue playing as Clementine, but I think it'll be very hard...
@JMC
SPOILERS
My choice for opting for the gun is that it was my gut reaction (i did that, then saw knife, then replayed so gun counted as my choice again), and I like my choices being permanent in these types of games even they don't necessarily have to be. But, I completely agree with you that that characters redemption is stellar. It just came down to me thinking if there were a season 3 with the same characters, I'd much rather see a continuation of the gun ending. Really though, I feel like a new group of characters or even Christa searching for Clem would make the most sense for a third season! But I really wanna keep being Clem as well haha. I'm curious what gun and knife ends up as too though. Might hafta check youtube for that one!
SPOILERS OVER
@gbanas92
SPOILERS
My gut reaction was the gun ending, which I picked first.
I did replay some secions earlier, like the ending of episode 3 and the ending of episode 4 but I did stick with my first choice when the newer ones came out.
When Season 3 comes out I'm seriously thinking about keep my 2 save files and play them both to see the differences as I still can't decide who I want to live...
The knife then gun ending is similar if you got the gun ending and didn't forgive that other character. Clem ends up alone with the baby and see a bunch of walkers but she does what se knows to survive. I didn't do it, but I think it is really depressing as she becomes just what Carver said she would: only a survivalist and (almost) all alone.
I'm really looking forward to Season 3, whenever that comes out, as The Walking Dead was the first game in a long time that I just had to play immediately as each new episode came out.
I played it last night. I'm still not sure what I think about that ending...
Great final episode. No technical issues to speak of. Loved the dream sequence. I chose to go on alone.
@AFCC Lol I was the same way.
@XFsWorld I see so many mixed feelings about this episode, I'm glad you're with me xD
BTW, SPOILERS: I watched a video now of the ending different than mine (I picked to stay with jane and then that ending was so kinda bad). The ending I saw now is where you end up alone and you see Clem with the baby and she just uses the gut technique that jane told the guys...it's WAAAAAAY more badass ending....but, still empty, still a 'that's it?' ending...
I bet there will never be a character like Lee and that no videogame will make me cry again like the ending of season 1 did!
And again... SPOILERS!!!
By the sounds of it people chose some different endings to the one I went with. (I think the stats showed I was with about 14% of others who'd played it).
I found myself sticking with Kenny through sheer loyalty. It was actually quite heart wrenching. I could see him getting worse and worse, becoming abusive and unstable, but I couldn't force myself to turn against him like the others did. It reminded me of Papo & Yo - despite him being an abusive father figure, I felt Clem still loved him no matter what. Besides, Jane's plan with AJ was f*****g stupid.
I'm only sorry I never had the option to shoot that Russian kid. I'd have done it as soon as he led us to the house.
@AFCC Lol yeah, Lee was awesome. I think Spoiler
I even shed a tear when he first got bit trying to pick up Clem's hat . Lol
@RawShark RIGHT!! I hope Season 3 let me kill that darn Russian kid! How dare he!
Pushsquare community: Am I wrong for this?
Minor Spoiler
I was hoping that the baby was dead.....am I wrong for that?
@XFsWorld
SPOILERS
Nope haha! I was kind of hoping that myself to be honest. Clem's had enough responsibility, especially this season with having to reel in Kenny, and do all manner of other thing, that adding another player who will have to rely on Clem even more feels like it could push her further to a breaking point than's already happened!
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