Just in time for the holidays, there’s a new episode in our stockings. It’s been a bit of a bumpy series so far in terms of quality, which is a surprise given Telltale’s high standards. But despite the slow start, I quite liked the last entry, so had high hopes for this penultimate episode. For the most part, I wasn’t disappointed.
At the end of the last episode, the stakes were quite high, with all seeming lost. From there, things pick up quickly. There definitely seems to be an improvement in the writing, since the first episode. The pacing has been far better recently, especially here; with the action moving along swiftly from scene to scene, without feeling rushed.
The dialogue is much more engaging too, with better jokes and more personality to it. Like I said about the last episode, Soren is fantastic. He’s certainly the most interesting character in the series, for me. There’s actually some depth to him, as well as just being generally well written and voice-acted. He also gets the best joke of the whole series so far. I won’t spoil it, but it’s about a key.
Like the last episode, the stakes and the drama are much more effective again, instead of being as tame as it was in earlier moments. Even as a deeply cynical person who has been critical of this series, some of the final moments almost got a tear. Almost.
This chapter also has the biggest plot twists yet, with some revelations that turn the whole thing on its head. It’s actually some pretty smart storytelling for various spoilery reasons, but also erases some of my earlier criticism about hero worship. So good job there, Telltale.
That’s all that can really be said about the episode plot-wise without giving things away, but there are some decent interactive moments here too. There have been a number of quick time events (button-prompt things) throughout the series, which have been pretty hit and miss. The same is true here, but they seem slightly more challenging this time, which is welcome. Still, QTEs are never welcome regardless of challenge.
Most interestingly though, is the puzzle sections. Again, there have been puzzles before, but a couple in this episode actually required a tiny amount of brainpower for once. A bit more challenge in the puzzles would be really nice if they did another series like this, as like I said a while back regarding the writing, Telltale have seriously underestimated kids’ intelligence.
Unfortunately there is also a maze section that is a test of patience rather than intellect. It’s so boring that it actually feels like padding more than anything else. These episodes are quite short, so I wouldn’t be surprised. But Telltale are usually above that sort of thing, so hopefully this was just a bad idea and nothing more.
Summary
I’m still not sold on this series overall, and will give some more thorough analysis of why in the chapter five review. But episode to episode, I’m having more fun than I was at first. Where they’ll go from here, I don’t know, but if they keep up the quality from three and this one, I’ll be moderately impressed. I can’t recommend it to most people, but for kids or very optimistic players, it’s getting close to a cautious thumbs up.
Dean was a regular ICXM contributor between 2015–2017, publishing 39 articles across game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news. Their work focused on hands-on reviews, platform commentary, and breaking-news reporting during the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative. They post on X as @SpookyWomble.