After nearly a decade, Telltale Games is finally releasing the The Wolf Among Us 2, but is it too late to revive a beloved game that fans thought was canceled forever? After Telltale Games shut down in 2018, LCG Entertainment stepped in and purchased several IPs to maintain creative control over its projects. LCG also rehired many Telltale staff to continue work on their projects, promising faithful sequels to their existing games. The Wolf Among Us 2 is the first game sequel from the company since its defunct status, meaning this project could determine its future.
The Wolf Among Us takes place in Fabletown, where players take control of Bigby Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf and Fabletown Sheriff. In the first Wolf Among Us game, players discovered the murder of several Fabletown residents at the hands of the Crooked Man. The game largely followed the Fables comic storyline that inspired The Wolf Among Us' storyline but introduced new player choices that changed story progression and character relationships. Telltale revealed little about The Wolf Among Us 2, but confirmed Bigby would face characters from The Wizard of Oz.
Despite Telltale Games' popularity, the company shut down in 2018 after several financial collapses. Thankfully, LCG Entertainment salvaged many projects and promised continued development of projects like The Wolf Among Us and the Batman: The Telltale Series. It's unknown how many other titles the Telltale team could be working on or what other projects could survive a lengthy absence, but The Wolf Among Us 2 is a promising sign for the company's future.
The Wolf Among Us' Source Material Is Completed
Like most Telltale Games, The Wolf Among Us is inspired by independent comic source material. The Wolf Among Us is based on the Fables comic series by Bill Willingham, but the series was still ongoing when the first game released in 2013. It ended two years later in 2015, just a few years before Telltale Games initially shut down. Given the numerous differences between the game and the comic series, it's likely Telltale used the series as a loose reference rather than a play-by-play dictation. Still, Fables' completion allows the developers to utilize previously unreleased storylines. The appearance of Dorothy Gale, Scarecrow, and Tin Man in the trailer suggests Telltale is adapting existing storylines with their own creative twists.
With the Fables storyline complete, Telltale Games has the benefit of planning ahead with potential plots and character fates. Changing the roles of characters too drastically could have resulted in severe plot discrepancies in the future, which may have slowed development when the company still operated independently. Comic adaptations for well-known games like Batman or The Walking Dead provided the basis of colorful worlds and unique characters and introduced some constraints with characterization and world-building restrictions.
The Wolf Among Us Revamps Classic Fairytales and Genres
Many fairy tale games provide dark twists on classic stories everyone can connect with. For example, tales like Cinderella and the Little Mermaid have various versions between many different cultures. The Wolf Among Us introduces several dark twists to fairy tales, introducing complex topics like drug use, poverty, the inner failings of the organized governmental authority, systematic oppression, and more. By modernizing these stories and largely removing the fantasy escapism, The Wolf Among Us 2 has the chance to tackle difficult themes in a tense world while still allowing players to relax and enjoy new stories. Additionally, The Wolf Among Us isn't bound by the original outcomes of various classic fairytales. For example, the Big Bad Wolf supposedly died in several stories, but Bigby Wolf is still alive and defies death throughout the first game. He'll likely continue to do so in the sequel judging from his combat with Tin Man.
Many modern games feature open-world designs with hundreds of hours of content, but more often than not, these time-consuming formulas can make games seem more like a chore than an enjoyable adventure. However, point-and-click adventure games emphasizing story still provide a fulfilling experience with replayability through dialogue choices and outcomes. Like many RPG developers, Telltale Games has been criticized for their lack of meaning in final outcomes, but The Wolf Among Us didn't have enough time to prove player choice could matter. However, the IP's chance at a sequel could resolve many criticisms the developer and the game suffered.
The Wolf Among Us Sold Over 1 Million Copies On Steam
It's likely after coming back, Telltale Games wanted to comfort fans with the revival of past series. The Wolf Among Us presented an attractive, safe option with its early success. The game sold over one million copies on Steam and may have sured two million across all consoles, according to SteamSpy. Since Telltale concluded The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us may have been its most successful series and provided a restarting point for the company. If The Wolf Among Us 2 offers satisfactory results for LCG Entertainment, fans could likely see the revival of several old series or the creation of new IPs.
The Wolf Among Us 2 can capitalize on lingering popularity from the first game and draw attention to the sequel. Thankfully, The Wolf Among Us 2 trailer provides several interesting introductions to characters and storylines. Bigby Wolf continues his adventures as a detective in defense of Fabletown. It appears Dorothy Gale, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow are just the first of many enemies players will face in the coming sequel. It's unknown how many more fairytales will appear in The Wolf Among Us 2 or what story details fans will learn as time goes on, but the first game's success and the marketing strategies of the sequel may decide the series' fate.
While the almost decade-long wait may have diminished The Wolf Among Us' popularity, it's just as likely fans of the Fables comic series could unite around new content. There are already several differences from the series based on The Wolf Among Us 2's trailer and the storyline. Fans of Telltale Games are likely to receive more information as time es, which may reveal more characters and plots that appear in the sequel. The Wolf Among Us 2 is scheduled to release in 2023 but hasn't received a specific release month or date.
Source: SteamSpy