The Wolf Among Us - Episode 4: In Sheep's Clothing Review

Posted by Mark Goninon on
Just seconds after having surgery done on life-threatening injuries and it's straight to the booze
  • Developer: Telltale Games
  • Publisher: Telltale Games
  • Release Date: 28 May 2014
  • Time Played: 77 minutes

It's just been under two months since the release of A Crooked Mile and now we've got the fourth episode in The Wolf Among Us to play. This one is called In Sheep's Clothing and at a mere 77 minutes of gameplay, this is the shortest episode yet.

Note that the review will read very similar to previous The Wolf Among Us reviews as not really much has changed besides the plot.

Plot (4/5)
The Wolf Among Us is set during the 1980s in New York City. Fairy tale characters (aka "Fables") now live amongst normal humans (called "mundanes") in their own immigrant neighbourhood known as "Fabletown". Some fairy tale characters, who can afford it, use "glamour" in order to disguise their true appearance from mundanes. Those that cannot afford to disguise themselves are sent to "The Farm" in rural New York. You play Bigsby Wolf aka The Big Bad Wolf, whose job is sheriff of Fabletown. Consequently it's your job to keep the peace and in this fourth episode, you finally reveal who is behind the big conspiracy and what it's all about - or so it seems.

Just as it was with the previous episodes, there appears to be a branching narrative in this game so conversations will be slightly different based on your relationships with other characters or certain clues you notice. At the end of an episode, you're also able to review whether you sit with the majority or not when it comes to pivotal choices in the game (e.g. showing compassion to a character or not).

As mentioned this episode is extremely short clocking in only slightly over an hour and you could forgive it if the story compensated but unfortunately I think all this episode manages to do is set yourselves up for the big finale which is to be episode 5. I felt that episode 4 was more of a tie-in episode between what occurred in episode 3 and what is to occur in the final episode. The episode does have its moments though even a touching moment between the unlikeliest of characters, so it's not at all bad, just short and not really heavy on any new details. There was also the re-appearance of a certain character that I found confusing since it didn't explain why he was back which felt a bit lazy to me since they obviously just wanted him there as a potential victim for an ethical dilemma you have to face.

Gameplay (3/5)
Just like The Walking Dead, and indeed previous The Wolf Among Us episodes, gameplay may seem minimal by some since it basically consists of very simple puzzles ala the adventure game genre incorporated with visual novel elements (e.g. conversations having an impact on character relationships) thrown in with a bit of Quick Time Events (QTEs) for action sequences. For those valuing gameplay over plot, you have been warned!

Like the previous episode, at one point you're given a choice of which place to investigate first - assumedly picking one over the other will have different consequences when you arrive at your next destination. Along with a couple of other decisions you can make that either re-asserts or undermines Snow White's authority, this gives the player a little bit more freedom in tailoring their own story which is always welcome.

Where's the baker and the candle-stick maker?

Sound (4/5)
Voice acting is great but that's to be expected from veteran voice actors – the only issue I had was that the audio was sometimes too loud or too soft.

Music (4/5)
The game has some moody 80s-style synth which fits the game perfectly (this is a neo-noir game set in the 80s after all). Nothing too memorable but top quality stuff all the same.

Graphics (4/5)
The graphics are on par with The Walking Dead and since this game is also based on a comic book, it has incorporated a similar style. The only issues I had was the occasional framerate jumps and the occasional animation glitch.

Replay (3/5)
Just as it was in The Walking Dead, replaying The Wolf Among Us will reveal a slightly different narrative depending on the choices you make. Just as I did with the previous episodes, I tried to continue my stoic and professional approach, i.e. refraining from violence and trying to stick to the rules where I could (although I ended up bending the rules despite my best intentions).

Unlike The Walking Dead, it's slightly more difficult to get all achievements, requiring you to explore different choices I believe in order to unlock all of them (which in turn invites at least one replay).

Polish (4/5)
Unfortunately, as it's a Telltale game, it uses the most recent Telltale Tool so the interface is a very console-friendly one, not a simple point 'n' click adventure. The game also has the annoying Type 1 save system where progress is autosaved but you never know when the next save point is.

Score – 7/10

Episode Four seems to be the shortest The Wolf Among Us episode yet and feels more like a tie-in or a prelude to the big finale to the series than a fully fledged episode. However, there are a couple of touching moments in this episode that make it worthwhile.

If you want to get the game, you can get it on Steam or Telltale Games .

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