4 Important Things We Learned from The Walking Dead: The Final Season Demo

Telltale Games released a demo for The Walking Dead: The Final Season, and while the developer has explained a little of what we can expect from the last chapter of Clementine’s story as she finds a home for herself and AJ, here are four important things we learned in the roughly twenty to twenty-five minutes of gameplay.

Warning: Spoilers!

Objective Prompts: 

The objectives now appear in a threatening red directly in the middle of the screen. While it doesn’t seem like that drastic of a change, it has a way of subtlety raising the stakes, and even gives the low ones a sense of urgency. The content in the demo is pretty mild, as your only real objective is for Clem to find food for herself and AJ. Even something as simple as finding food, though, can make the player feel a little anxious.

Heavy-Handed Themes & Choices:

There has always been an unspoken, gray line between right and wrong throughout the series, and plenty of moments where the game really forces you to stop and contemplate your next actions. This is still present in The Final Season, but in these first twenty minutes, it’s noticeable how heavy-handed Telltale has gotten with its themes. At one point, AJ blatantly asks Clementine “What’s best?” and through in-game text, Telltale lets players know up-front “Your choices determine what he [AJ] will become,” or that “AJ is always listening.” The messages soon become subconscious, and their impact resurfaces in choice-based dialogue in a way that makes decisions feel more permanent or damaging.

Parallels Present: 

Not only does Clementine show off her smooth driving skills (R.I.P, Kenny) in that first scene of The Final Season, but it’s almost impossible not to notice the direct parallels from the very first episode of the entire series, where Lee is being escorted to prison in the backseat of a police car.

In the first few seconds, Clementine even adjusts the mirror, like Lee’s parole officer did in that first scene. Rarely does Telltale insert things by accident, and this could very well be them hinting at the fact Clementine’s final chapter could mirror Lee’s in more ways than one. Not to mention, she is also taking care of a small child, in the same way Lee did for her.

Dark Color Schemes Return: 

Telltale has gotten back to its roots, in terms of the look and feel of the earlier seasons of The Walking Dead. The series had been known for its dreary environments and strong post-apocalyptic aesthetics, but much of that was toned down in A New Frontier. In that season, everything was noticeably more colorful, with some characters even wearing pink and light blues. The artists at Telltale have done a 180 from the previous season- clothes are more ripped and dingy and color schemes have darkened significantly.

If you’ve played the demo, what are some changes you’ve noticed? Drop them in the comments!

The first episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season will be released on August 14th for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.