Developed by Telltale Games & Skybound Games
Published by Telltale Games
Released for Xbox 360 (2/2016) & Xbox One (4/2016)
Also on iOS/Mac/PC/PS3/PS4
The Walking Dead: Michonne is Telltale Games third entry into the Walking Dead series of games. If you've played any of the previous entries you have a decent idea of what to expect, though none of the recurring characters are featured in this game and instead the story focuses on Michonne on her quest for survival.
The main character, Michonne, is constantly haunted by hallucinations of her two missing daughters. She was away from them when the zombie outbreak started and has been unable to locate them in order to find out if they survived or not. Every now and then you'll enter a flashback sequence where you'll try to help them before snapping back to reality. While Michonne is searching for survivors in the first episode, she is captured by another group of survivors with bad intentions. This theme of good-natured survivors being captured by evil survivors is starting to feel a bit played out when it comes to the zombie apocalypse stuff and it's beginning to feel like we've seen it a hundred times (which we likely have). Even with that said, Michonne is a badass character and I had no problem playing through the game to see what would happen to her next, though there aren't as many surprises in this Walking Dead as there were in previous entries. The remainder of the cast aren't bad, but you don't get enough time with any of them to become that invested in them.
The Walking Dead: Michonne is called a Telltale Miniseries for good reason: the game has only 3 episodes and will only last about 3-4 hours before you've finished the story. As usual in Telltale Games, you'll have a few choices to make along the way that make a few scenes play out slightly different. Like other Telltale Games, the story is mostly the same no matter what you choose so it really ends up being more of an illusion of choice than really having much impact. You can definitely sense that Telltale was spread a little thin at this point due to taking on too many projects and they didn't put the same TLC into this game as the first two.
Though not as good as the first two games, if you enjoyed those entries you'll likely enjoy your brief time with the Walking Dead: Michonne. During my playthrough of the Xbox One version, I didn't experience any of the issues I'd run into with previous Telltale Games (crashing, frame dips, etc.). It's good for a quick playthrough, maybe even a second, but you're not going to get more than a few hours out of the game. If you're cool with a short point 'n click style game, give Michonne a try. It's a bit hard to recommend it at the full MSRP, so I'd suggest waiting for a sale. Unlike the first two Walking Dead games from Telltalle, the Michonne Miniseries has yet to receive a physical release.
Final Verdict: The Walking Dead: Michonne is a short but fun zombie survival point 'n click game. Though it doesn't feature any of the characters from the original games, the gameplay will appeal to those who enjoyed previous Telltale releases.
Related Links:
Buy The Walking Dead: Michonne for Xbox One - Microsoft Store
Buy The Walking Dead: Michonne for Xbox 360 - Xbox Marketplace
Telltale Games - Xbox Overview
The Walking Dead: Michonne - GameFAQs
The Walking Dead: Michonne - True Achievements
The Walking Dead: Michonne Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
