Telltale’s The Walking Dead
Though the studio behind it might have met an untimely end, Telltale’s The Walking Dead established a positive trend for story and character-driven games.
Released at a time when bombast and action set pieces drove most mainstream titles, The Walking Dead instead opted for quieter, more thoughtful character moments.
An exchange between Lee and Clementine on the morality of stealing food; choosing which of your allies to back in an argument; and deciding whether to spare a loved one from zombification were all put center stage.
Even better, however, is that it was well received by fans. These small, personal moments carried just as much weight as the world-ending ones presented in other games, and players couldn’t get enough of them.
This caused a shift in what mainstream games sought to present to players. Alongside The Walking Dead, other series started to put more weight behind characters and their interactions, now assured that it could succeed.
Even if games would have reached this realization eventually, The Walking Dead brought it about much sooner than it could have happened, and gaming has been all the better for it.
