5 Reasons Why You Should Play The Wolf Among Us

This month, IGN is giving away the first episode of Telltale Games' The Wolf Among Us for free. Based on Bill Willingham's critically acclaimed Fables comic series, The Wolf Among Us is an episodic choice-based game that pulls you into a mystery in the heart of Fabletown, a secret neighborhood in New York where fairy tale characters live and work. With three episodes already released, and a fourth on it's way, now is the perfect time to jump in. Here are a few reasons why.

You Get to Play Good Cop, Bad Cop

Telltale Games

As with Telltale's The Walking Dead series, The Wolf Among Us offers the player choices concerning how the protagonist, Sheriff Bigby Wolf, proceeds through and reacts to events in the story. You can have Bigby respond to a situation with sensitivity, with violence, or any manner in between. Choose to remain consistent, or change your style at every turn. The game reacts accordingly.

Intriguing Mysteries Abound

Telltale Games

Fables is a multi-genre series, but The Wolf Among Us gets things started with a mystery that, like Fabletown, isn't what it seems. What starts as a simple murder turns into a situation that threatens to destroy the Fable community. And TWAU's episodic nature makes it so there's plenty of time between releases for thorough sleuthing.

The Art Direction is Incredible

Telltale Games

The Wolf Among Us embodies it's source material not just in story, but in style. The game's art style is unique and graphic, with distinct character design and a sharp color palette. It conveys a sense of love and respect for the story's comic origins, and it flows well with the game's animation. If you want a play a game that feels like a comic, this is it.

Your Partner in (Solving) Crime is Snow White

Telltale Games

Bigby may bring the gruff detective angle to the table, but the real star of The Wolf Among Us is his boss, Snow White. Professional, tenacious, and sharp-witted, Snow is the one who runs Fabletown behind the scenes. But even as she works her way into the investigation with cold efficiency, she expresses caring and concern for the future of her community. Snow isn't the player character, but The Wolf Among Us is as much her story as it is Bigby's. In a series that already has numerous well-rounded female characters, Snow stands out as a truly complex woman.

It's a Realist Fairy Tale

Telltale Games

If Once Upon a Time (itself based in part on Fables) is a little too saccharine sweet for you, The Wolf Among Us is the perfect remedy. It takes a realistic approach to the relocated fairy tales trope, with many of the inhabitants of Fabletown dealing with problems like poverty, depression, and crime. Unlike Storybrooke, Fabletown is a place where fairy tales survive, not thrive, and Bigby and Snow experience it first hand when their detective work takes them into the darker corners of the neighborhood. There's definitely not much in the way of "happily ever after" in this town.

The Wolf Among Us Episode One is available for Free on IGN for the rest of May, so go. Go forth and play. It's worth it.