Introduction
The fourth episode of A New Frontier titled 'Thicker Than Water' released on all platforms on April 25th. The episode continues to follows Javier's story as he fights to protect the people that he cares about. After the exciting climactic ending to Episode 3, does Episode 4 keep the story flowing?
You can buy the episode on the Playstation Store for £5.35.
This review will not go into graphics quality or performance as it has not changed since what we wrote in our review of episodes 1 and 2.
Narrative
One of the main reasons that people buy games developed by Telltale is for a well written emotional story with the plot changing based on the players choices. Episode 4 continues to do this with choices that make the player think about the outcomes and then often regret their choice. However, it still seems like there are not many choices that change things in the long term and most choices only change things in the short term.
The game starts with another Javier flashback before the zombie apocalypse. The aim of the flashback is to further show what kind of person David is and the flashback succeeds in doing this, providing more depth to his character. The game then skips back to the present day with Javier trying to get his family out of the situation they got themselves into at the end of the last episode.
The writing in this episode is the same standard set by Episode 3 which is a lot better written than episodes 1 and 2. In the episode we also get a Clementine flashback which is longer than in previous episodes and shows us more about the hardships she has been through since the end of Season 2.
My main problem with the narrative arises in the fact that it is tells you what is happening instead of letting the narrative fall into place. The story also often feels predictable.
Characters
In Episode 4, no new major characters are introduced as the story revolves around characters that we already know. However, the episode adds a lot more depth to most of the characters as we learn a lot more about them, their past and how they feel about the choices that the player has made.
Gameplay
A criticism many players had of Episode 3 was that it didn't have any hubs where you can interact with other characters and the environment. Telltale have taken this into consideration and Episode 4 features a couple of hubs for the player to explore and interact with.
Unlike episode's 1 and 2, Episode 4 has a good length (not as long as Episode 3) and you won't feel disappointed when it ends.
Conclusion
Episode 4 of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is an enjoyable new episode that adds a lot of depth to the characters that we have met so far. The episode is well-written with hard choices, however, the story often feels predictable and only a small number of choices have long term implications. Clementine's flashback is longer than in previous episodes and we see more of what she has been doing since the end of Season 2 and events that have helped to define her character.
| PROS | CONS |
| + Choices that make the player think | – Not many choices have long term implications |
| + Hubs have returned | – Story is often predictable |
| + Adds more depth to the characters we have met | – You are often told what is happenning without letting the narrative fall into place |
| + Well-written narrative | |
| + Useful and emotional flashbacks | |
| + Episode has a good length |
