Common Sense Media Review
By Chad Sapieha
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Smartly written adventure immersed in adult themes, content.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
The Wolf Among Us: Season One
What's It About?
Based on Bill Willingham's long-running Fables graphic novels, THE WOLF AMONG US is an episodic series of games that imagines a New York populated by fairy tale creatures who've come to our world. Average folk don't notice them because they use magic spells known as "glamors" to assume human form. They take on normal roles in our world, running bars, working as receptionists, and running deliveries. Their security is left to Bigby Wolf -- also known as the Big Bad Wolf of Little Red Riding Hood fame. He's a surly cop who finds himself looking into a series of grisly murders in which women's heads are found lying on sidewalks. His investigation leads him to question storybook characters ranging from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum to Beauty and the Beast, and it quickly reveals both corruption and some menacing figures.
Is It Any Good?
There's no mistaking that The Wolf Among Us comes from Telltale Games, the same folks who brought us The Walking Dead series. From its hand-drawn, cel-shaded graphics -- which make the game feel like a comic book come to life -- to its preference to entertain via engaging interactive dialogue rather than twitchy action, The Wolf Among Us is unquestionably a spiritual cousin to Telltale's award-winning zombie series.
That said, it manages to carve out its own distinct personality thanks to an interesting cast of characters and a focus on investigation rather than survival. Plus, Bigby Wolf is one of Telltale's most complex heroes yet. Given his previous life as a villain -- and many characters' unwillingness to forgive him -- it feels OK to make him come off as a bit churlish to some characters while revealing a softer, more caring side to others. He's fascinating. The game suffers a couple of issues -- most notably a frequent failure to allow players to investigate every object in an area before triggering a new scene (this is likely to drive obsessive players a little bonkers) -- but older players interested in enjoying an intricate story with memorable characters won't come away disappointed.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the impact of violence in games such as The Wolf Among Us. The body count in this series is relatively low compared to most games, but the intensity of the violence is high. Is a game with a few deaths shown in excruciating detail more difficult to play or interact with than one with less gore but a kill count in the hundreds or thousands? Do players grow numb to violence when it becomes too common?
Discuss the character of Bigby Wolf. Did you make decisions for him based on what you would do in his shoes or on what you think someone like him would do? Would you have a hard time making him be mean to a seemingly innocent character?
Game Details
- Platforms : Mac , PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation Vita , Windows , Xbox 360 , Xbox One
- Pricing structure : Paid (This game is purchased as a "season" consisting of five episodes released over the period of about nine months. Individual episodes can be purchased for $4.99 each.)
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : Telltale Games
- Release date : October 15, 2013
- Genre : Adventure
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Fairy Tales )
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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