The Wolf Among Us is a tale as old as time. Literally. This is because the source material is fables and fairytales. This game is interactive meaning there are many different choices and outcomes which affect character opinions of the main protagonist . This new reimagined take on the old news of fables is done as it explores a different direction completely. This new take on the source material acts as a refreshing take on the previous iterations.
An interactive game in this case is when a player must pick one of the 4 options which appear on the screen, these could be anything from dialogue options to game mechanics. Having a game done this way allows for the user to feel more involved and engaged in the game because they physically must do things of their own accord. It also allows for moments previously done in game to have a larger affect on the end game. Telltale, the company are known for these types of games and have produced many more like The Walking Dead, Batman: The Telltale series. Telltales created this game and based it off Bill Willingham’s Fables comic book series.
The art of using fables and fairytales to tell a story is widely available and has been done many times over by the likes of Disney for example. Snow White is not the main character of the story, but merely an asset for our main protagonist. The player takes over Bigby Wolf, the ‘big bad wolf’ from Little Red Riding Hood, and now the Sherriff of Fabletown.
Bigby was perfectly chosen for the role of sheriff because he has: a human form, a part wolf part human form and a full wolf form. Due to him being this (no pun intended) big bad wolf, his presence serves as fear. He protects the community from each other.
There are lots of varying characters inside and around Fabletown. You meet a lot of the fan favorites such as: Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, Beauty and Beast, Magic Mirror, the Woodsman and many more. There are even people like: Corrupt Interim Mayor- Ichabod Crane, Crooked Man, Bloody Mary, and Colin (the pig). There are lesser-known characters that appear in the game as well, these include: Bluebeard, Georgie Porgie and Toad Jr.
Due to there being several known, and lesser-known fables, this creates a power ranking or a power levelling system within the games universe. This is where the more popular or the more well-known characters get their levels of powers from. It is shown later in the game that Bigby could not defeat Red Riding Hood, then subsequently because of his lack of notoriety got defeated by the Woodsman.
In the opening section of the game, Bigby is shown outside of an apartment block where he finds a three-foot toad standing right in front of him saying he will buy ‘glamour’ in the morning but that there is a ruckus upstairs, that is why he was spotted outside his apartment.
Glamour is something which is stated to hide the appearance of a being and make them appear to look like a human. This is here because the community of Fabletown had to move out of their homelands and be re-located to New York City.
Following this interaction with Toad, Bigby heads upstairs and we hear someone (we find out that it is the Woodsman) say “you’re gonna know who I f**kin’ am. You hear me? Hey! Look at me!”. We later found out that the altercation was brought on by the Woodsman asking Faith (the girl in the room of the altercation) if she recognized him, she said no. Bigby stops the altercation by fighting the Woodsman after he slapped Faith. This goes back to the power level of Woody (the Woodsman) and Bigby. Due to the story being told and spread more, more people feared the wolf rather than Woody which changed the power level. Bigby then questions each of them to find Faith answer an important question with “these lips are sealed.”
Faith, even though she gets killed off which sets the plot in motion, is a key part in the game. Her outfit and her demeaner give off more clues or are more evidence depending on which way you look at it. Faith wears a purple ribbon around her neck and everyone else who works at that establishment wears a similar outfit with the same striking, iconic purple ribbon. To keep things short in terms of the plot. One interaction or one death gets unravelled to unveil the secrets or the background mechanics of the puppeteer, the one who is in control of everything and everyone behind the scenes. I don’t want to ruin the fun for everyone, do I?
The Wolf Among Us goes in depth with this conspiracy that is in Fabletown, and you get to play detective. As you, and your partner Snow (Snow White), must find out what's happening in town, and who is part of it. I think this is the reason why I enjoy this telling of events. By having memorable characters that you know about but are shown and told in detail more about the characters. It also shows them in a modern day setting even though this story takes place in 1986, nearly twenty years before the events of the actual Fables. (The actual Fables being what you and I have seen in other pieces of media such as tv shows like Sleepy Hollow or read in books!) You are also viewing a story or a universe that you’ve heard and seen many iterations in a different light. This game adds new perspectives. From the point of view of the Big Bad Wolf.
I defiantly recommend checking this game out though. It really makes you feel immersed and that the choices you make determine the final moments as well as people's relationships with you.
Check back next week where I will be looking at Batman: Arkham Knight
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