The Wolf Among Us Review: Howlin’ With Bigby

Based off the fairytale-inspired comic book series Fables, “The Wolf Among Us” is another exciting player-driven adventure by developer TellTale Games. Combining detective work in the streets of New York City with a slew of popular fairytale characters, “The Wolf Among Us” will ruin your childhood for good… but it’s freakin’ awesome.

Much like TellTale’s “The Walking Dead,” “Borderlands” and “Game of Thrones” series’, “The Wolf Among Us” is tailored by players’ decisions in the game. Quick-time events and dialogue options make up the majority of your adventure, and its purpose is to create an experience that targets gamers’ emotions and reflexes — meaning you’ll have to make fast, thoughtful decisions that can have significant consequences.

Players assume the role of Bigby Wolf, who is, if you couldn’t guess, the big bad wolf from the children’s tale “Little Red Riding Hood”; however, you’re not the bad guy. Actually, your full title in “The Wolf Among Us” is Sheriff Bigby Wolf. That’s right, you’re the law.

Other than maintaining the peace amongst the fables living in the Big Apple, Bigby needs to ensure that every fable is using the “glamour” spell, which allows the creatures to take the form of a human so they don’t draw attention from any non-fables in the neighborhood.

Non-fables are hardly ever seen, though, and it never actually feels as if the fables who do break the rules are ever in any danger from it. Human involvement in general doesn’t occur often in “The Wolf Among Us,” so there isn’t much incentive for you to punish those fables who don’t use glamour.

Season One of “The Wolf Among Us” features five one-to-two-hour episodes. Aside from an okay ending, the story manages to grow in intensity with each passing moment. While it’s unclear how the big bad wolf became sheriff, Bigby is a great lead character, and voice actor Adam Harrington does an excellent job of bringing him to life.

It’s up to the player to decide just how big and bad this wolf really is. Throughout all five episodes, you will be given the choice of following traditional law enforcement rules or doing things your own way. From “confiscating” stolen cash to trashing a gentlemen’s club in order to get answers, Bigby doesn’t have to be completely good. But of course, the choice is yours. Remember: sometimes even the right decision may not always be what’s best.

Unfortunately, the steepening hype accumulating throughout the the first four chapters starts to decline as the season’s final chapter plays out; the fable responsible for all your troubles is one of the weaker characters in the game, and the game’s final decisions don’t exactly hold as heavy a weight as what you’ll probably come to expect by that point.

There is, however, an interesting encounter right before the final credits roll, which will presumably set the story for Season Two.

TellTale Games has another hit on its hands. “The Wolf Among Us” delivers non-stop excitement thanks to its fantastic story and excellent voice cast; its comic book art style and mature fairy tale action blend perfectly to create an unforgettable journey that’ll leave any sane gamer hungry for more.

Where else can you see Disney Princess Snow White curse someone out?