source
The big bad wolf is not what you think he is.
Telltale games comes at us with something a little different from the norm. Sandwiched between the much lauded season one and two of their great Walking Dead adventure series comes a story of fairy tales. More specifically, Fables.
Fables is a comic book series written by Bill Willingham and published under DC's Vertigo label. A run of comics that I'm aware of but have not read yet; unbeknownst to me when I first started playing this adventure game. This was a pleasant surprise and only further makes me want to read the series in its entirety after playing this game.
source
This is a no nonsense type of protagonist that lives in the gray areas of life. Hero or villain? You get to decide.
The series is based on literal fables and fairy tales that you may have read or at least heard about during your lifetime. The twist is that they have left their comfy or uncomfortable lives in their tales and are now residing in the real world. A 1980's New York City and everything that comes with it.
You play as our protagonist, Bigby Wolf. Can you guess who he is?
The Big Bad Wolf as told by the tale of Little Red Riding Hood. He's a hard-boiled detective trying to make his way in the new Fabletown. A murder and soon to be numerous murders are happening and he must found out who the killer is.
source
You can be a shoulder to cry on if you choose to be. What's your choice?
Along the way you run into numerous characters from these tales. Beauty and the beast, Snow White, Tiny Tim and numerous other characters from these well known fables. The big difference is seeing them in a modern or to be more accurate; a grimy 1980's New York City.
They are regular people going about their lives trying to survive in their new surroundings. Many have not acclimated well to their new living situations. Some of Fables are in fact animals or creatures that prove difficult to blend-in to their surroundings.
source
Bandaged up again with a worried Snow White wondering what to do next. The subject matter isn't what you'd normally attribute to these characters and this is what helps make the characters so compelling.
The solution to these problems are called "glamours". Spells that allow you to hide your true animal self as a human. The big issue with this is the cost of these magic spells. They're not cheap and not everyone can afford them.
You will in fact be fined if you do not mask your true animal self as the humans in New York would find it strange if a talking pig walked up to a pizza parlor and wanted to buy a piece of pizza. This is a source of stress for many of our Fables and runs throughout the storyline of the game. The haves and the have-nots are on display at numerous point throughout our journey.
source
Don't get too chummy with our protagonist. He doesn't let others in easily for his own reasons.
The structure of the game is that of an adventure game with dialogue selections and some quick time events in the action scenes. An adventure is made on the story and I'm happy to say this one delivers. A neo-noir detective narrative is here that is structured over five episodes. As with any good story the writers hook you in nicely.
Each episode runs a little over two hours and does not drag. You can tell they've spent time working on the script with three acts and always with a cliffhanger. You want to buy the next episode and continue the story right?
source
The situations you're put in can be troubling at times. Information is needed from this character in particular. Do you take the easy route or the hard route?
All circumstances allow you to handle the situations in differing ways. This has become the formula with Telltales games and works well as you can apply these mechanics to any story they wish to weave. You will have the aggressive, passive and non-answer in your dealings with the characters and situations you encounter. The people you meet will remember the choices you make and refer back to them throughout the gameplay. This works well and the characters will certainly remind you about past decisions if they're feeling extra spicy in your interactions.
source
Sometimes the beast comes out for us all. Watch out as certain situations boil over and a battle ensues.
The art style is very alluring. A drenched neon throwback to the 1980's that scratches the itch yet doesn't linger or is cliché. A fine line here as sometimes certain games go way too far and pull you out of the experience. This could have easily been set in the 1950's with a pure black and white aesthetic that could hearken back to the literal film noir days of film. The main takeaway is that it works and immerses the player even more in the strange and fantastical world while living within a bustling city.
You can't really delve much into the story here as it's an ever evolving one based on the decisions you make. Branching paths is the name of the game in a series like this. Replay value is high here depending on how you play. While trying to think of how I played I must admit I took the more measured approach. Dealing with the issues in what I thought was a logical and tempered way.
source
Once more your choices are your own. Wielding a cricket bat like this might get your answers quickly but are they the truth? Perhaps there is a better way.
On a next playthrough I'd like to play in the complete opposite manor while causing as much grief as possible. I'm curious to see how the story unfolds if you choose the evil route.
Regardless of play type you will get into confrontations. Your character Bigby is a very flawed character and this is what makes it so intriguing. Most fables are literally scared of you and are very apprehensive when dealing with you. You've done wrong in the past and are trying to be a better person. Once in awhile someone pushes your buttons or outright attacks you; this is when the wolf comes out. He's ferocious and can handle most of the situations he's in.
source
Some of your friends cannot afford the cost of the "glamour" and remain in their true form. Your friend will no doubt draw attention once they start talking.
Sometimes it all becomes too much and this is where your friends come in.
The crux of the game is about a man or should I say wolf trying to do his job as best as he can. He's made mistakes in the past and is now trying to walk the path of the law. His true feral nature is controllable but rears its head when needed. The perception of him by others is clearly taking a toll on his mental health as he tries to be a good man while helping the community.
source
That animal instinct is rearing its ugly head again. How you handle yourself is paramount to story.
You can't ask for a more complex protagonist. You are thrust into the game playing as The Big Bad Wolf. Will you be a level-headed detective trying to solve the murders in Fabletown by the letter of the law? Perhaps you'll give into your more feral self and get those answers by force?
The choice is yours is this is what's so interesting about this game. There is no right or wrong answer. You play as you wish and watch the circumstances unfold before you. Some will love you and some will hate you. This is how it goes.
source
Even in the world of Fables, the bureaucracy can be suffocating.
Get the job done at any cost? That's up to you once more.
Telltale has weaved a very interesting and compelling story here that's well worth a play. Little did I know but there is a season two that Telltale is working on. I can't wait. I had a blast playing this one.
Thanks for the read 🙂
All media courtesy of Steam. Thank you very much.
Oh man, It's time to leave my inner geek show and I love when that happens!
The comics are one hell of a read, or at least all the ones I have read. TWAU acts as a prequel to the series, taking place before the first comic. They actually did a comic of this game, but a lot of people disliked it as it meant that certain decisions were considered canon.
Lore wise, it goes a bit beyond this. Those who can not afford, or just wont get a glamour, get sent to a place called "The Farm" The Farm is exactly what it sounds like, it is a giant farm, although it does have it's own issues like a rebellion, but that doesn't happen until the comics.
You are right, Bigby is a very flawed character. He was one of the biggest villians in The Homelands ( The world the fables were from before escaping into "our world" while escaping The Adversary.) And it's one of the reasons he is not "allowed" to wolf out. People are afraid of him and are afraid that he didn't change, and when he wolfs out it reminds people of the past, not to mention the chances of a mundie spotting him. In fact when The Farm was established, a lot of the fables that went there went there under the condition that Bigby Wolf would never be allowed to step on the property.
Later in the comics him and Snow ends up getting a piece of land behind The Farm ( which is a vast amount of land, not just a farm) and moves there with their kids.
I'll also throw in this interesting fact!
The reason why Bigby smokes is because it is the only thing that dulls his senses! If he doesn't smoke he can smell Snow White almost all the time, and it drives him crazy!
Thanks for the additional background information. This is what I call an epic comment!
I wasn't aware this was a prequel to the comic books and now I'm more interested than ever to read the series or at least try to 😀
I see the comic series is still ongoing at 158 issues!
Even more interesting about the constant smoking to dull his senses. This adds a little more to his complex character. The writing is really what drew me into this in the first place.
Thanks again for all info. This world is utterly fascinating.
!PIZZA
No problem! The comics are really good! The art style can bit kind of weird at times, as sometimes it looks like Bigby doesn't have a mouth but it is really good! It explores Fabletown mainly through bigby and snow, the troubles the fables face, and how they ended up in "our world" which is only one of many!
I really liked this game, without a doubt I enjoyed it, quite an entertaining story, good decision-making and a very interesting ending. highly recommended
I fully agree, the whole presentation is done very well. Telltale games found the working formula for these type of games once they made this one.
Thanks for your comment.
!PIZZA
As soon as I saw the images, layers of my memory of the game began to illuminate. I've played this somewhere before (likely on mobile).
I just checked Play Store and found it. 801mb
I love the graphics, details and story of the game. I'm definitely replaying it.
Thanks for sharing this @buffalobison🥂
You're welcome and I hope the second playthrough is a good refresher. I'm curious to see where season 2 goes all these years later, 2024 isn't too far off 🙂
!PIZZA
This looks awesome. I like how it’s in installments, plus it’s a very modern take on fairy tales or urban fantasy. Also, pretty sweet that it’s available on Steam so I’ll definitely be on the lookout for it. Very cool art style.
I was very pleased with it and the subject matter really drew me in. Urban fantasy is such a great term to describe this game, I might need to borrow this one for the future 😀
Thanks for the comment, part two should be coming next year after a very long hiatus. I can't wait.
!PIZZA
Congratulations @buffalobison! You have completed the following achievement on the Hive blockchain And have been rewarded with New badge(s)
Your next target is to reach 40000 upvotes.
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCheck out our last posts:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!
The rewards earned on this comment will go directly to the people( @buffalobison ) sharing the post on Twitter as long as they are registered with @poshtoken. Sign up at https://hiveposh.com.
Yay! 🤗
Your content has been boosted with Ecency Points, by @buffalobison.
Use Ecency daily to boost your growth on platform!
Support Ecency
Vote for new Proposal
Delegate HP and earn more
Hey @buffalobison!
Actifit (@actifit) is Hive's flagship Move2Earn Project. We've been building on hive for almost 5 years now and have an active community of 7,000+ subscribers & 600+ active users.
We provide many services on top of hive, supportive to both hive and actifit vision. We've also partnered with many great projects and communities on hive.
We're looking for your vote to support actifit's growth and services on hive blockchain.
Click one of below links to view/vote on the proposal:
$PIZZA slices delivered:
buffalobison tipped clintaribs
buffalobison tipped shortshots
buffalobison tipped gamergeek56
@buffalobison(1/5) tipped @juliocamacho
Congratulations @buffalobison! You received a personal badge!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Check out our last posts:
Support the HiveBuzz project. Vote for our proposal!