THE WALKING DEAD: A NEW FRONTIER – TIES THAT BIND

A brave new world for Telltale’s defining series

JAVIER GARCÍA’S SIMPLE TASK OF PROTECTING HIS FAMILY MAKES HIM INSTANTLY SYMPATHETIC.

£ 5.35

Abandon any expectation of picking up where you left off in Telltale’s continuing post-apocalyptic saga. This series immediately places you in the shoes of new playable character Javier García, and while Clementine plays a big role throughout this opening two-parter (you’ll need to buy each episode individually), this feels more like a soft reboot rather than a sequel. Fortunately, this turns out to be a masterstroke.

That’s largely thanks to Javier. Dropping a new protagonist into an established story is always risky, but his simple task of staying ahead of the undead hordes and protecting his family makes him instantly sympathetic, while his fast wit makes him fun to follow.

Importantly, his introduction and Clem’s continuing presence means anything can happen to the pair, and their survival is far from guaranteed. So while the broad story beats will be familiar to returning fans – interactions with other survivors tend to go as well as you expect – the twists, so far, genuinely shock. The only issue is that the technical performance don’t match the superb art design and storytelling, with characters sometimes moving with the grace of a decadeold Barbie figure.

Still, it’s a promising start, and we’ll have a full review of the whole series when it wraps up.