Its that time again. Tell Tale Games has released the third episode to The Walking Dead. This episode is the Long Road Ahead, and by the time the episode is over players will realize that the journey with Lee and Clementine has only just begun. The story is still the main selling point of the game, and if you are unfamiliar with the other episodes or want to know about the game play check out my thoughts on the past 2 episodes of A New Day and Starved for Help.
This episode felt kind of short to me after looking back on it, but in all actuality there are a lot of key events that happen that will shake up Lee, Clementine, and the other survivors they have run into during their journey. The story picks up day’s after the last episode. The gang is having to deal with bandits that were leaving them alone at first, but now because of circumstances in the last episode have set their sights on Lee and the group.
Not only is the group having to deal with the robbers, but lately there has been a string of medicinal and food supplies going missing for one reason or another. The group is paranoid that there might be one of them giving these extra supplies to the bandits. Paranoia is high in the group at the beginning. After finding a place where the medicine is stashed, everything goes to hell for the group as the bandits show up unannounced. From here the story deals with the paranoia of not knowing who the traitor is in the group and the consequences of that paranoia.
A lot of familiar faces will be departing, and the sad part is that there is nothing you can do about it. I normally play these games accepting my decisions and pressing on despite maybe doing something I didn’t intend too. This time I actually tried to go back and fix things to save certain characters, but it was to no avail. It was their time to die, and it sucked. The good part is that because of their death I realized something very important.
I truly cared about these characters, and I did not want to see them go. This made me take a step back and realize that I have spent countless hours caring about these people and the tragedy that has befallen many of them. If you have a favorite character by now, get ready to see some tragic things happen to them. No one leaves this episode with out something terrible happening to them.
One of the biggest story moments is when the group realizes one of it’s members has been bit. This scenario was bound to happen in a game about zombies, but the way the progression works on the character and the toll it takes on the group is amazing. There are a lot of hefty decisions that will tug at the heart a little bit.
Another big section is where Lee realizes that Clementine needs to be on guard and that there might be a time where he could not be there to protect her anymore. There is a special moment that he spends with Clementine that is so much like a father-daughter scene that I almost forgot that Lee isn’t Clementine’s father. The actors play their rolls well and sell the scene.
This episode did not disappoint in delivering the continuing story of Lee and Clementine’s survival during the zombie apocalypse. This episode made some drastic changes to what is going on in the story with the loss of certain characters. Long Road Ahead is a very depressing episode for Lee and the crew, and with the cliff hanger at the end of this episode it sounds like it will be a long road ahead for the characters that are still standing.
