Some games come and go, but others plant themselves deep in your chest and never leave.
Telltale's The Walking Dead is definitely one of them. There's no pretending it's perfect; not every season hits the same note, and some parts seem a bit patched up.
But when I think about the games that truly stuck with me, this one is always part of the list. Telltale's The Walking Dead didn't need big explosions to stand out. It just needed a man named Lee and a little girl named Clementine.
Back in 2012, Telltale Games wasn't a name most players paid much attention to. The studio had worked on a few licensed titles, including Sam & Max and Back to the Future, but it was more of a niche studio.
Then, they chose to turn The Walking Dead into a point-and-click narrative game based on Robert Kirkman's comics. A broken man and a lost little girl, thrown together in a dying world, trying to survive the collapse of everything.
Surprisingly, that story hit harder than any action-packed blockbuster could ever hope to. It's a simple game at its core. There's not much traditional "gameplay" in the way you'd expect from something like The Last of Us. There's no running around scavenging or shooting.
It's mostly about choosing dialogue and reacting to quick-time events. But all of that pales in comparison since the weight of those choices is overwhelming in the best possible way. The choices don't flip the plot upside down, but they sure change the feel of it.
Season 1 is still the gold standard. It's best described as an emotional gut punch wrapped in brilliant writing. Lee has a past and is now trying to make things right for a girl he barely knows. On the other hand, Clementine doesn't stay a little girl for long. Over four seasons, I watched her grow, face loss, survive, and learn, and by the end, I felt like the one who helped raise her.
Not every season lands the same. Season 2 was darker and bleaker, and it introduced characters like Kenny (who fans still debate about years later). A New Frontier took a detour by having you play as Javier, which rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. It wasn't because Javier was bad, but because it meant less of Clem. The fourth and final season promised the proper sendoff, but it almost didn't make it.
After years of overworking staff and churning out games based on big franchises, Telltale finally hit a wall. The company unexpectedly shut down in 2018, firing most of its staff without any forewarning. Players worried the worst was yet to come: Clem's story would never be finished.
But then Skybound Entertainment, the company founded by Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, stepped in. They gathered some of the original developers, called themselves the "Still Not Bitten" team, and finished what Telltale started.
The Final Season gave fans exactly what they wanted: a solid ending to Clem's story, with closure, agency, and a new direction. It ended not with her death (as many feared) but with a quiet victory.
She lived. She got to keep living in a world that hadn't been kind to her. She handed the torch to AJ, the boy she raised just like Lee raised her. Honestly, it's one of the best closures to any game series I've ever seen.
The way the story plays out stays with me. Lee and Clem are talking on the train. AJ asked if he did a good job. Clem on crutches, showing she's been through hell and back. Players still debate what the "right" choices were, but it was never about making the right call. It was about making it through together.
After a long pause, rumors are cropping up once more. As the final Clementine book concludes in 2025, fans are left wondering if this opens the door for a new game featuring her.
Skybound holds the rights, and although the comics didn't quite hit the mark with fans, there's still hope. Hope for a new chapter. Maybe even a new character. Perhaps we'll see AJ or Kenny again.
No matter what comes next, Clementine's story already gave us more than enough.
And if you've never played it before?
Well, you really should.