Picking Up Steam | The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episode 2 – A House Divided Review

After reviewing the first episode, All That Remains, and claiming it was just “okay” because it was mainly an introduction for the second season, I was eagerly awaiting the second episode. Now that the setup was out-of-the-way I could anticipate The Walking Dead to getting back to its emotional draining and gritty story that everyone loves. While the episode didn’t necessarily blow me away, it definitely satisfied some of my cravings for intensity.

Let’s get the “same-old, same-old” stuff out-of-the-way first. The gameplay hasn’t changed in the slightest. You still walk around, examine objects, talk to people, and make tough dialog choices. There is no upgrade in graphics, which no one is really expecting anyways. They exactly the same: cel-shaded and cartoony, just like they always are. Problems like pop-in textures and an unstable frame-rate continue to persist. The game froze for a second or two and then would jump ahead to catch up to where it was supposed to be. These are problems that have existed in every episode of every Telltale Games series, so they aren’t really shocking to see. They can be pushed aside since the priority revolves around the story, but it would be nice to see these minor issues buffered out in future episodes.

Episode 2 takes place immediately after Episode 1, and where it starts depends on what you chose in the first episode. You’ll end up in the same place no matter what though, which is an empty house with a stranger knocking at your door. Do you let him in? Do you listen to what he has to say? Do you answer his questions, or do you threaten him with a gun? The choices are thrown at your almost immediately, and from there the events only spiral out of control.

This episode also introduces what will most likely be the season’s antagonist, and so far he does not disappoint. A ruthless man who other characters describe as smart could certainly be a terrifying person to deal with. So far his reasons are sound for the way he acts, and he knows how to get things done. Believable reasons for a person’s actions are one of the most important elements in creating a solid villain. Any time he was on-screen the atmosphere changed and everything seemed far darker. I look forward to future episodes solely to see how else he acts.

You are still with the group you meet in the first episode, but tensions are rising in the group. Clearly this is why the title of this episode is A House Divided. You can defend people, lie for them, or out them. These are the choices and decisions people play The Walking Dead games for. Once the episode started it never settled until its conclusion, and man what a climax. The ending is top-notch and will have your heart pounding until the credits roll. You are bombarded with decision after decision, and yes these ones matter. I played through the sections multiple times and was rewarded with different outcomes. Sometimes a character would die, and other times I was able to keep them alive. A majority of the time you don’t care about replaying an episode in this series, but A House Divided might differ enough that you want to experience it twice at least.

You didn’t have to be fighting a zombie to feel the intensity of this episode. Even in the slow moments between the action, there was always something going on in the group that made you on edge. Helping someone make dinner seems harmless enough, until afterwards when someone else asks you what you were talking about with the person making dinner. Trust is a fragile string that is getting stretched too thin, and it is only a matter of time until it snaps.

This episode does a good job of capturing real-life problems. There was someone that seemed to be unstable in the group, and then you uncover important information. I knew telling him would be the best in the end, but I wasn’t sure how he would react as soon as he heard. So I lied. Do I keep on lying as long as possible, or should I come clean? There was even a point where you had to choose who to sit with for dinner. Something so trivial and small carries a surprising amount of weight.

The only thing that really bothered me is when people do something stupid, and there’s really no acceptable explanation for it. They give some justification for their actions that is flimsy at best. There were a couple of moments in this episode where after a character did something I just sat there thinking, “Why? What was the point in that?” I could understand for the fictional reasons of moving the game along in a certain direction, but it broke the immersion element for me and caused the realism to slip slightly.

The other thing I found strange was how trusting everyone was with Clementine. Trust was something everyone seemed to be weary of, but when it came to Clementine, everyone was completely open. Clementine was only with the group for less than a week, and they trusted her more than each other. Not only that, but they relied pretty heavily on her as well. I was amazed the group survived so long when they relied on Clementine to accomplish every task. There is even a point where Clementine can say, “Why don’t you go do it?” since she is practically doing everything for everyone in this episode. Playing as Lee it was disregarded as annoying that you had to do everything, with Clementine, you can’t help but question why a little girl is doing all these dangerous tasks. Once again, I understand for fictional purposes why the game did this. There is always some disbelief suspended for the sake of the gameplay, because this allows the gamer to experience the story and actually play the game. However, the game needed to find better reasons for why Clementine did everything, or why someone acted the way they did, because I was finding it hard to believe as it stands.

This episode was a dramatic improvement over the first one. A House Divided is a thrill-ride from the very beginning, and you make heavy choices in this episode. Some of the choices come to fruition in this very episode, and others which will undoubtedly have some recourse in future episodes. I enjoyed every moment of this episode, but there were still things that bothered me. Telltale’s games always have technical issues, and while that isn’t the most important, it still is a negative. Every time the frame stutters I am taken out of the world that I am being presented, and I don’t want to break that immersion. Plus, you can only suspend so much disbelief before you have to outright ask, “Why did that person do that?” and not come up with a good reason as to why. This episode is still one of the better ones I have played. I look forward to future episodes, because if they are anything like A House Divided, this season is going to be very memorable.

This review is based off a review copy of the PC version of The Walking Dead: Season 2 Episode 2 – A House Divided Developed and Published by Telltale Games.