Top 10 Best Games of 2012: The Critic’s Choice

Five: The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead doesn't depend on metaphor. Nor is it randomly generated. It's as intentional as a boot into the head of an undead zombie, and more powerful for it. Telltale Games took the idea of “moral choice” that's become stagnant in RPGs in invested with the amorality and powerlessness. You try to make your lot in the game world slightly better, but you know the shit's gonna go down anyway. That's tragedy. And understanding that is quality. Telltale also made The Walking Dead a solid game beyond simply being a fantastic choose-your-own-adventure. It improved on its structure over the course of its episodic run, while also toying with that structure in order to add shock to events that really shouldn't have been shocking.