Some stories affect readers deeply, and those readers in turn expect to have their stories represented faithfully when transferred from source to screen or in this case, source to game. Being a relatively newcomer to the Fables universe, and playing through the first episode of Telltale’s new point and click title, The Wolf Among Us, I didn’t find myself lost at all. It was a gripping murder mystery with interesting characters who seem to have plenty of secrets and shared backgrounds. That is good. Not everything needs oodles of exposition from the word go. Some audiences are capable of making cognitive connections by themselves and don’t need to have everything spelled out for them at every turn.
I know it’s hard to present established material in a way that’s faithful to the original and will excite fans at the same time as it remains accessible for people like me who know next to nothing (and would be put off by more aggressive cameos and references that are needed to read said material to get).
Maybe, The Wolf Among Us is holding many of its cards close to the chest in order to build on the mystery and “magic” of Fablestown and it’s cast. And in many respects the game is for both new and old; new in that it keeps from answering every lore question, and old in that it shares in a knowing nod and wink for those who know the paths of the various features characters. And maybe the game has likewise shown that certain things aren’t as what we might have imagined they’d be or described in the Fables series to a tee, so there is an element of possibly changing the course of a few characters or events, or even filling in the blanks.
It could be one of those things where you, as a reader of the comics, are unable to imagine what it would feel like to be a non-reader of the comics. Like people who read the Harry Potter books most likely got more enjoyment out of the movies than the people who didn’t. The Wolf Among Us isn’t going to great lengths to explain every little thing, I believe that’s intentional. Unlike The Walking Dead game that beat you over the head with the same plot elements and tragedy ad-nauseum, The Wolf Among Us intentionally leaves many things without greater detail in order to better fuel the mystery element to the overall story. People don’t need to know every single detail of a world they’re reading about/watching/playing, and in some cases they’re better off not knowing.
Or would the experience be better served doing one or the other here… either making a game just for fans, that included everything you already knew and was full of those little squee-worthy references and scenes that make any good adaptation so welcome, or make it more geared towards newcomers with an infodump-style setup. You can’t be everything to everyone, but I sort of feel like leaving one group pissed and another elated is better than a general feeling of “meh” or disappointment from all involved.
The Wolf Among Us is smart, slick, cool and outstandingly well written. The characters are instantly engaging and the action holds a surprising amount of tension for what are essentially very well staged QTE’s. All I can say is that I enjoyed the episode immensely and I can’t wait for the next one.
–Dagobot
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