Are Episodic Games Really Needed?
In recent years, unfinished games have been releasing in the form of Episodes. With the final chapter of “Life is Strange” releasing this past week, it really got me thinking. Are episodic games really needed??
The very first game I’ve played in this format was Telltale’s “The Walking Dead Season 1”, which is one of the most emotional games I’ve ever played (seriously, if you haven’t tried this you’re missing out). Watching Lee and Clementine’s journey to survive the zombie apocalypse will hit you right in the feels. Especially when it comes to Clementine, you will do everything in your power to protect and keep her safe (trust me).
So when Telltale announced Season 2 of TWD, of course I immediately downloaded episode 1 the minute it was available. However, upon finishing season 2, i didn’t receive the same impact I did from Season 1. Not because the game wasn’t amazing. Not because the characters weren’t deep. Strictly because when I played Season 1, all 5 chapters were out already. There were no cliffhangers that made me wait two months to find out what happened next and THAT is the issue I have with this style of gaming.
Square Enix and Don’t Nod’s “Life Is Strange” Chapter 1 released on January 30th, 2015 and Chapter 5 released October 20th, 2015. A 9 month gap between the beginning and ending. This game had so many emotional moments and key plot points that are completely forgotten by the time the next chapter rolls around. For example, according to my PSN profile, I finished Chapter 3 in May… and finished Chapter 4 (due to my own backlog) a week before Chapter 5’s release. I was so lost at what had happened previously that I more so wanted to finish the game just because I had come so far, rather than finishing it due to being passionate about what would happen next.
Even with this being said, Telltale has had huge success with this style of gaming. The Walking Dead Seasons 1 & 2, Game of Thrones, The Wolf Among us and Tales from Borderlands have all been hugely successful, and its well deserved. My only wish is if this format is here to stay, companies need to shorten the gap between episodes, because 1 every 2-3 months isn’t cutting it.
How do YOU feel about this format?
