The Walking Dead developer Telltale Games has released the first trailer for their upcoming game The Wolf Among Us. Wolf is an episodic adventure based on the DC Comics/Vertigo series Fables.
The Wolf Among Us stars fairy tale characters like the Big Bad Wolf, Snow White and Mr. Toad. These characters were driven to the real world after their fantasy realm was conquered by an evil force. Most of these magical beings have resettled in New York City. They call their NYC community "Fabletown."
The Fables try to keep their magical nature hidden from the rest of the world. That's easier said than done, though. They're not as cuddly as fairy tales would have you believe; they fight, drink and steal. Bigby Wolf, formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, acts as the Sheriff of Fabletown and does what he can to keep order. Based on his prominence in the trailer and previous screenshots, it's a safe bet that he's the main character for the series.
Instead of directly adapting Fables' storylines, Wolf will tell an all-new storyline. The game acts as a prequel to the comics. This means that if you're a fan of the comic, there's still incentive to check out the game. Likewise, if you like Wolf, you might be inspired to seek out the comics.
Wolf Among Us was supposed to arrive this summer. There's only a few weeks left in summer, though, so it seems Telltale has pushed the game back further into the year. The trailer merely states that Episode One, entitled "Faith," will be out "soon." Can they be blamed for taking their sweet time? After the runaway success of their Walking Dead game, the bar's been raised considerably for any future projects they make. I don't know that Wolf will ever be as popular as Walking Dead, because of the gap in popularity between the source material for the two games. There are a lot of Walking Dead fans out there looking for another emotional, story-driven experience from Telltale, though.
The trailer (via IGN) demonstrates that Telltale is trying to build on what worked with Walking Dead. Wolf is described as "a series of choice and consequence," suggesting that player choices will once again have an effect on the storyline. As a bloodthirsty wolf who became a human detective, Bigby clearly has some inner conflict. I suppose it will be up to the player to decide whether he keeps his inner beast contained or not.
Wolf Among Us is in development for the Xbox 360, PS3, PC and Mac. Walking Dead was released on all those platforms as well as the iPhone and Vita. Telltale hasn't announced any handheld versions of the game yet but perhaps they'll change their tune soon. Perhaps this trailer is a sign that Telltale will be talking more about Wolf in the near-future.
