The Walking Dead Tell Tale Series Ranked

In this review I will only discuss the four seasons of The Walking Dead Tell Tale games, none of the spin offs such as 400 Days and Michonne will be ranked. This is strictly all about Clementine and her story rated from worst to best.

4th place: A New Frontier (Season 3)

It's no surprise to anyone whose played the games why this one is the obvious choice for 4th place, it introduces a whole new protagonist and cast of characters, near the end of a four season run of games, this is annoying when we are fully invested with Clementine and her survival. That's not to say Season 3 is an entirely bad game, in fact it works really well as a standalone game, that might've stood better as a spin off akin to 400 Days. Clementine is still a major side character in this season however, and it's really interesting to see how your final choices in season 2 play out in her flashbacks. These flashbacks are wildly different, depending on who you saved or if you stayed in Wellington or not. These moments are a highlight of this season, but with Javier being our main character, the game focuses 70% time on him and his family instead. Your choices still have major consequences though and the endings are wildly different, this game is a major upgrade compared to season 1 and 2 in terms of graphics and gameplay, the story isn't half bad either. It does have some of the worst characters in the entirety of The Walking Dead however, such as Gabe and Conrad who are both so angry and mean, you'd rather see them dead! (At least I had history with Kenny in Season 2). Ultimately it's still a good Tell Tale game with the familiar gameplay and choices, there is even an optional romantic choice with Kate, if you're a fan of in-game romance. It's a game I still love, but it reduces the series protagonist, Clementine, into a side character and sets up the new frontier as a faction that are never brought up again in the final season. This unfortunately makes this the least important game in the series, as none of season 3's characters are ever seen again. Even though our last choice is to tell Clementine to return to Jackson or not, she'll never actually come back to Javier in the last game (and I did tell her to come back). You can almost skip this game, for it does very little to develop Clementine's overall story.

3rd place: Season 2

Trust me, it was hard ranking these games, even a new frontier is a great game in my opinion, so putting this game in third place is not to say it is bad. This game is an emotional rollercoaster full of so many impactful choices, that you can often feel guilty, happy, sad or evil depending on what you decide to do. It has some of the most complex decisions I've ever made in a video game, with 3 very different endings to boot! Kenny, Omid, Christa, Lee (flashbacks) and Clementine return from Season 1 and playing her as an 11 year old, was a really unique and interesting perspective, I seriously cannot think of any other game where you play as a little girl during the zombie apocalypse, apart from The Last Of Us for that one mission, and DLC as Ellie. Because you're "just a kid" in this game, the story does a really good job at making you feel small and terrified of the zombie apocalypse and it's cruel people. You can't win any fights as Clementine, so characters like Kenny will have to fight for you, etc. It can be frustrating (in all the right ways) being so small and powerless, as oftentimes you have next to no choice but to watch and panic as everything goes wrong! It is clearly a very intense entry in the series, but it plays, looks and feels exactly like the first game. The colours may be more vivid, but it looks like identical to Season 1, meaning it's the least innovative of the series. The lack of new gameplay features and unskippable credits after every episode pull the game down a little. It also takes the lovable 400 Days (Season 1 DLC) characters and reduces them to one off cameo appearances, making that DLC feel even more pointless to the overall games. It's still a fantastic game, that will put you in tough positions and it is very emotional.

2nd place: Season 1

Lee Everett is a fantastic protagonist, and the fact we actually get to see how the zombie outbreak escalated into a full blown apocalypse is an awesome detail (we didn't even get to see this in The Walking Dead comics or TV Show, until Fear The Walking Dead). It introduces the series protagonist, Clementine, as a poor little eight year old girl, who we must protect at all costs. It's a thrilling redemption story, as Lee was imprisoned for murder, but in a twisted turn of fate, he avoids prison time because of the apocalypse. Every main character is genuinely great, even Ben (who is a character many hate) and I also thought Lilly was an interesting person, despite her confrontational attitude. Larry was detestable, but that was entirely on purpose (unlike Gabe who was Javier's nephew, but still managed to be intolerable because of his teenage angst). One of the best things about A New Frontier was the inclusion of the comic book and TV show character, Jesus, for it is always nice to see this game series connect to the main lore. Season 1 did this even better by including Glenn and Hershel, characters that are arguably even better than Jesus in my opinion. So these cameos were nice and Glenn sticks around for a long while too! There is something really special and profound about parenting in the apocalypse, isn't there? Much like The Last Of Us, the surrogate father and daughter dynamic (Lee and Clementine) are the heart of this story, all of our choices are viewed and judged by the girl we're protecting. Revealing that Lee was a killer to Clementine, had to be one of the hardest pills to swallow in any game. It is also really cool how choosing between Carley and Doug actually has a long running impact on the story, where only one of these characters will stick around until the end of episode 3, if you decide to save them or not. Most characters we save only last one or two (if you're lucky) episodes later before dying in another way, so the fact we can take one of these characters towards the finale of the game is really neat, it makes our choices feel important. The only reason this isn't the highest rated game in the series, is because of the massive innovations in season 4. It's very unfair to fault a game for being less innovative than it's later entries, but that is the only reason it isn't the best out of the four games. Season 1 is still a perfect game in my eyes, that has by far the best story out of the four.

1st place: The Final Season (Season 4)

What an ending! I'm a sucker for finales, when everything gets wrapped up into a neat little bow, and I can rest easy knowing everything turned out just fine for Clementine and AJ. It really helps me sleep at night, knowing these fictional game characters are living relatively peacefully even though it's the zombie apocalypse. Season 4 makes a ton of really impressive innovations, the graphics now look identical to the comic book art style of The Walking Dead, with it's deep contrast and pitch black shadows. They introduced a third person camera, alongside the fixed angles the series is known for. With this new perceptive came a whole new combat system, you can now move around freely using circle to stun zombies, triangle to kill them and later, you get a bow and arrow, allowing you to freely shoot enemies from afar, giving the game this really awesome Resident Evil 4 feel to it. You can even explore these 3D environments at your heart's content, making the game almost open world within these big wide open levels. You can collect random items through optional dialogue and exploration, that you can put in your very own room, at the abandoned boarding school. These quality of life improvements are the exact reason I adore this final game, but none of it would mean a thing if the story was bad, but thankfully it is actually amazing! Everything comes into play, we get a final flashback with Lee, Clementine brings up and remembers almost every choice you made in seasons 1 - 3, the game goes full circle with us now protecting AJ as Clementine (like Lee protected her in Season 1), there are plenty of callbacks and Lilly returns as our new main villain (although her portrayal in this game is over the top and a little out of character, compared to her season 1 counterpart). The game is full of nostalgia and flashbacks, making us feel like we've been with Clementine for years, she's twice the age she was in season 1 now, being 16 years old. Unlike season 3, Clementine is our player character and the transition from child to adult is something this game tackles extraordinary well. The new cast of characters are all great, and we really feel like we've earned our keep by the end of the game, when everyone goes from strangers, to hating you, friends and then family. There are two romantic paths to take, with either Louis or Violet, choosing one over the other will result in major consequences that cannot be avoided, so you have to really think about your choices in this entry! Raising AJ also returns the "a child is watching and judging your every move" mechanic from Season 1, which also adds to the game's nostalgia effect. The game is extremely action paced, mostly because of it's third person combat, this can make the story feel a little too comical at times, meaning this feels the most outlandish and less realistic out of the four, which damages the story a little bit. However, I had so much fun with this game and it's over the top moments, that it ultimately made these intense moments an absolute blast that I honestly adored. It actually wraps everything up perfectly and has a very emotional ending, that honestly brought me to tears. The Walking Dead Tell Tale Series has to be one of my favourite video game rides of all time, Season 4 really sealed the deal for me as one of the greatest game series I have ever played in my lifetime. Therefore I have no hesitation in saying that, Season 4 is by far the best game out of the four.

So there it is, my ranking of the Tell Tale Walking Dead games! Please leave a comment letting me know what your favorite games were, and whether or not you agree with my list.