If you missed out on the first part of Telltale’s The Walking Dead story, then you missed one of the best zombie games of recent times. It was an excellent blend of zombie slaughtering and pointing and clicking, demonstrating Telltale’s storytelling skills to their fullest. The best thing about it though was that there were still four more parts to come to sink our teeth into.
This is episode two and no time is wasted getting you into the swing of things. After an incredibly brief recap, outbreak survivor Lee and fellow survivor Mark find themselves sent into the forest opposite their motel hideaway to find food. It’s a task far more risky than even visiting Tesco on a busy Saturday morning, and so within the first five minutes alone you’re forced to make an important decision.
These decisions keep on coming throughout, and as the time span in which you have to make them gets shorter, they get tougher. The actions made during the first game are also carried over to here too, prompting some of the group to draw upon things you’ve said to them in the past.
As the sub-title suggests, food is getting scarce and that’s putting the group of survivors on edge. Thankfully for them, help comes knocking. A pair of farmers from a nearby dairy farm offers the group the chance to trade some gas for surplus food. They need the gas to power the electric fence around their farm, which is doing a rather fine job of keeping the undead at bay. Soon the group finds themselves at the farm with the promise of a much needed feast for all. Is their offer too good to be true? Sadly, yes.
Episode two begins with a focus on doing the right thing. There’s lots of talk of nominating a leader for the group, or whether they should just continue to watch each other’s backs. This decision is made even tougher to make due to two of group members constantly arguing. After the turn of events at the farm the game ends with a focus on survival. There is no right or wrong any more – we’re told there’s no such thing as stealing if you need it. It’s the gradual change between the two distinct moral standpoints that really impresses here.
From start to finish Starved for Help captivates. We wouldn’t be surprised if most gamers will want to play through this in one go – the desire to find out what’s really going on at the farm compels you to keep on playing, right until the ending credits roll. The few puzzles present are pleasingly logical while the voice acting and dialogue remain a cut above.
The only issue we had was some stuttering during one of the later QTE events, in which the controls locked up for a few seconds causing us to miss a button prompt. Thankfully that wasn’t enough to make us fail the section.
About a year ago we weren’t too keen on the idea of episodic gaming but Telltale have managed to convince us otherwise. Starved for Help provides an evening of captivating entertainment for less than a fiver and for those wanting more there’s the chance to play through it again making alternative decisions. We can’t imagine anybody being left feeling unsatisfied.