Parents' Guide to

The Wolf Among Us: Season One

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Smartly written adventure immersed in adult themes, content.

Game Mac, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One 2013
The Wolf Among Us: Season One Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • The Wolf Among Us: Season One Game: Screenshot #1
  • The Wolf Among Us: Season One Game: Screenshot #2
  • The Wolf Among Us: Season One Game: Screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 15+

Based on 3 parent reviews

TheLateGamer T.
TheLateGamer T. Adult
April 8, 2017
age 16+

TheLateGamer Here!

Here's my honest year late review of The Wolf Among Us @ http://www.thelategamer.com/video-game-review/pc/late-the-wolf-amongst-…

This title has:

Too much violence
road_construction
road_construction Parent of 11 and 12-year-old
July 27, 2015
age 12+

Great game! Perfect for Tweens/Teens

First, my name is Tony Mayer. I have two sons, one 12 years old and one 11 years old. My younger son turned 11 a few months ago and up until that point, he'd been begging for me to let him play "Mature" rated games. My other son's been playing them for about a year, and my younger son usually watches, so I thought to myself, "Why not?" I had been told at work that The Wolf Among Us was a great game. I checked it out from the library, and played it while both my sons were in bed. I was impressed and immediately let both my sons play it. Now, let's get to what I think. For Violence: There's quite a bit of blood, and a handful of gore, but it's not too over-the-top like in games like God of War (which I don't let my sons play). For Sex: There's not much. In Episode 2, you're investigating at a strip club (murder victims are prostitutes) and a woman is dancing topless. You banter with women but that's about it. I let my kids watch The Strain and The Walking Dead, and this has less sex and nudity than in those shows. For Language: There is A LOT. A LOT. Frequent uses of f**k, s**t, b***h, and bastard. For Drinking/Drugs: The main character smokes frequently, and drinks infrequently. For Postive Messages/Role Models: The main character is ALWAYS willing to do the right thing. There are always choices that offer a positive way to solve problems. For other characters, some are the same way, and some are exactly the opposite. In conclusion, this game is intriguing for tweens/teens new to M games, with its stellar performance, great role models, and overall fun. ON: 12+ IFFY: 11 OFF: 10-

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Easy to play/use
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 3 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (10):

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: Magic and Fantasy, Fairy Tales
  • ESRB rating: M for Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Drug Reference, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
  • Last updated: August 25, 2016

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