The Walking Dead Game Series - Beginner's Guide & General FAQ

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In an effort to help newcomers get into the series as well as help answer some frequently asked questions (and most importantly: unpin the statue post), we’ve created a megathread that is meant to serve as a resource for people getting into the game series.

This thread here will cover some basic questions for the series as a whole. I plan to make separate threads for season specific questions that get asked here a lot, and will eventually link the threads all in here so this post here will act as a giant resource. I'll also probably add this to the sidebar once everything it finished for an easy-to-go to resource.

This entire thread is a work in progress so I will be adding/editing questions over time. If you have any suggestions for questions/resources that would be helpful for newcomers, please comment below or DM me.

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What are these games and why should I get into them?

The Telltale/Skybound The Walking Dead games are episodic titles with a heavy emphasis on choices and story. These games aren't particularly the most action based titles out there, as they primarily play on making difficult decisions and following along with the deep story. They also incorporate puzzle segments seen in other point-and-click titles in the past. The series has received a ton of praise, with Season 1 winning a ton of Game of the Year awards when it released in 2012. The high ratings of the games have continued through future titles such as Season 2 and Season 4.

Are the games in the same universe as the comics/show?

The games are not connected to the TV show at all, as the show is set in its own universe. However, the games are indeed in the same universe as the comics. This is seen through characters such as Glenn and Hershel who appear in the very first episode of the Telltale games, as well as a few other references to the comics across the game series.

Do I need to read the comics to get into the games?

No. Outside of a few cameos/references, the games are completely isolated from the comics and can be enjoyed to the fullest without prior knowledge of the TWD series. I would even argue that the games may be a tiny bit more enjoyable if you are going into the series blind.

There are many versions of the games I can buy! Which version should I get?

There are three different versions of the games spread across various systems:

• Original versions: The first versions of the game sold when the episodes/seasons actually released. These are the versions sold individually instead of being bundled with the other seasons.
• Available on: PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Steam, Epic Games, and Switch (note: Michonne spinoff game not on Switch).
• Collection: (Pic) Released in 2017. Contains all games in the series (including Michonne) with the sole exception being Season 4 which wasn’t released at the time. Seasons 1 and 2 have (supposedly) enhanced graphics.
• Available on: PS4 & Xbox One.
• Definitive Edition: (Pic) Released in 2019. Contains all games in the series (including Michonne), as well as a ton of extras like developer commentary, gallery mode, different graphic options, etc.
• Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Epic Games Store, and Steam.

Keep in mind that the actual games are the same throughout each version so don’t expect any alternate paths, vastly different plot elements, or anything like that.

In a nutshell:

Definitive Edition > Originals > Collection

Definitive Edition is definitely the way to go. It greatly improves the visuals of all the first few games and comes with a lot of extras.

The Original versions are the most basic versions that you can't really go wrong with. The main drawback for the original versions is that they probably have the most visual bugs.

The Collection is without a doubt the worst version of the games. as it is missing tons of small details such as bloodstains and tears for crucial scenes. Apparently it even removed a few optional dialogue segments like being able to talk to a certain character in S1E3.

What order should I play the games?

Season 1 → 400 Days DLC (optional) → Season 2 → Season 3 (A New Frontier) → Season 4 (The Final Season)

This is the chronological order of the series. 400 Days DLC is optional as it mainly just covers a few minor Season 2 characters.

The Michonne Telltale game has absolutely nothing to do with the Lee/Clem/Javi games whatsoever. It is not required at all to experience Clementine’s journey. If you do decide to play it, best to do it before Season 3 since it originally released before A New Frontier.

I heard Season 3 was bad! Should I skip it?

As much as I (and many other people) disliked this season, I would not skip it. Either get it on sale if you’re strapped for cash or just watch a Youtube playthrough of it. It's the shortest of the first 3 seasons for whatever that is worth so at least it won't take too long.

What's the deal with Telltale and Skybound? Didn't Telltale shut down in the middle of Season 4? Are they back now?

All of the TWD games featuring Lee/Clem have been made by Telltale. However when Telltale closed down in late 2018, Skybound (who owns the rights to the overall TWD franchise) agreed to finish the final two episodes of Season 4 by bringing in many former Telltale staff.

Telltale Games has been revived and are now a company again, however they no longer have the rights to the TWD games which is all with Skybound now. All of the other series such as The Wolf Among Us are still with Telltale though.

Will there be a Season 5 of the games?

Skybound has confirmed multiple times now that a fifth season is currently not in the works. As it turns out, the game that is actually called The Final Season will indeed be, well, the final season.

Didn't Robert Kirkman tease of a future project involving the game characters?

At the end of the Negan Lives one-shot comic released in July 2020, TWD series creator Robert Kirkman left a small note at the end hinting at the return of one of the characters from the game. The note itself has heavy implications about it so only check it out if you have completed Season 4.

EDIT: On 4/13/21, it was confirmed that Clementine will be appearing in a five-issue comic series in July. You can check out the official announcement here.

I love this series! What other games should I play if I like this?

• Other Telltale games. The best ones that come to mind are The Wolf Among Us, Tales From The Borderlands, and the two Batman games.
• Life is Strange
• Until Dawn
• Detroit: Become Human
• If you're into the puzzle segments featured a lot in Season 1 then I would recommend: Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, and Sam & Max to name a few.

I'm interested in trying out the other The Walking Dead games outside of the point-and-click ones! Which ones would you recommend?

Saints & Sinners is probably the best TWD title outside of the Telltale ones, however it requires a VR headset which some may not have. There's also Road to Survival which is a F2P mobile game. I'm not too familiar with it myself but I've heard it's alright plus it contains the Telltale characters in it.

The only other TWD games out there are Survival Instinct and OVERKILL'S The Walking Dead, both of which are really bad and aren't worth your time.

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That is all for now. Again if you have any suggestions for some general info about the series as a whole that would be helpful to newcomers/people with questions, please put them down either in the comments of this post or with a DM to me.

Also I'll be taking suggestions for some questions that would be good to add for the Season specific FAQ posts. See my pinned comment below for more detail on that.