Spoiler Warning: I’ve attempted to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but if you’re reading a review for the season finale before even playing this episode, then what the hell are you thinking?!

 

I’ll be honest, just as I did with the final episode for Telltale’s The Walking Dead in season one; I have been putting off playing season two’s finale No Turning Back.  I have done this for a number of reasons, such as knowing that once this episode is done, it will then kick-off the agonising wait for season 3.  The other reason for my delay, (now I have no shame in admitting this), is that I consider myself to be quite a stern individual and it takes a lot to emotionally rock me.  But two games that have emotionally drained me beyond belief were the closing moments from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and the other was the season finale for Telltale’s The Walking Dead.

 

I admit, saying goodbye to Lee and the manner in which it was told, brought a lump in my throat and it’s an episode that I will never forget.  In fact I will never forget the entire of season one and this is brought to the forefront of my memory during certain moments in season two when Telltale give you a little reminder to the friends that you have lost along the way.  Without giving any spoilers away, there’s a truly magical moment in No Turning Back that reminds you of certain memories from season one.  And it’s done in such a clever manner, that it tells you that there are no right or wrong answers in this world, either has a consequence, no matter your intentions.  It’s about doing what you feel is right at that time and some things in life are inevitable and cannot be avoided, people will get hurt, no matter what path you take.

 

 

This is what episode 5 No Turning Back is all about and the title of this episode sums up the finale perfectly.  No doubt you have made some very tough choices throughout season two, some you know that you did your best and perhaps many that you’ve regretted.  But no matter the choices that you may have made along this path, nothing can quite prepare you for what’s in store with this finale.

 

It’s no spoiler to say that friends will be lost during No Turning Back, because if you’re a fan of either The Walking Dead TV series or Telltale’s adaptation, then you will know that more than most, the death toll with rise with their respected finales.  The difference arguably between the finales’s of the TV series and the videogame, is that in Telltale’s world you truly have made this journey with the characters.  You have interacted with them, made choices for them, some have made choices for you and this helps build a strong bond with some, and perhaps resentment for others.

 

It’s the bonds that you build that helps you make friends for Clementine, helps you decide who to trust and who not to trust.  This is often a factor that you get wrong…a lot, because many a times will some characters not be who they appear to be.  Some folks start off as good guys and gals, kind, genuine people.  But in this world, it will change a person and that one individual that you have great fondness towards, will make for the most troubling and conflicted of choices.  Sometimes you have to let go of the past and move forward into the future and leave behind those that you love.

 

 

Make no mistake, if you thought that season two of Telltale’s The Walking Dead was lacking the emotional and storytelling that won season one such high acclaim, it’s all here in episode 5 (and season two as a whole).  Upon starting each episode, you are informed that your game is tailored to the choices that you make.  It’s one of the elements that make this series so special.  Throughout the course of season one and two, Clem starts off as a fragile child, one that you want to look after and keep from harm.  This emotion is portrayed through Lee Everett, but in season two, you take control of Clem and your whole perspective and outlook changes.

 

It goes from wanting to make choices to keep Clem from harm, to making choices that will mould Clem into this new, harsh world in order to survive.  It’s not even so much what kind of person will you become (as I once thought in previous episodes); it’s the kind of person that you want Clem to become.  You’re in control of her destiny and I suppose in essence, you are actually still making those choices to keep your Clem safe by ensuring she adapts and survives in this cannibalistic world.

 

 

In the end, Telltales The Walking Dead is all about who you want Clementine to be and perhaps the biggest survival tool you can learn, is not how to survive against the Walkers, it’s knowing how to survive against our world’s biggest threat, mankind.  The word masterpiece can be thrown around a lot within the videogame industry and this is something that was achieved by Telltale Games with the amazing season one of The Walking Dead.  So naturally when season two came around, Telltale had a big reputation to uphold and many (including myself) doubted as to whether they could once again give us another emotionally charged masterpiece, with the toughest choices you are ever going to make in a videogame.

 

For two seasons in a row, Telltale Games have taken me on an emotional rollercoaster and for those two seasons, they have forced me to live through an emotion that I thought wasn’t possible in this medium, they made me grieve for characters that I care oh so dearly about, an emotion that I thought wasn’t possible outside the real world.  Telltale Games make your truly care for the characters in their game and this is reflected by the emotions that you feel during the closing moments of No Turning Back. This ladies and gentleman is why Telltale Games are masters in the art of storytelling and with season two of The Walking Dead, they have without a shadow of doubt, achieved yet another masterpiece.  Bring on season three!

 

You can catch up on the reviews for previous episodes below:

 

---

 

*Episode 1: All That Remains
*Episode 2: A House Divided
*Episode 3: In Harm’s Way
*Episode 4: Amid The Ruins

 

Screenshots courtesy of GiantBomb

Do you want reveal the Review Score?