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[Telltale and similar stuff] They Still Exist, Right?
cloudeagle
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I couldn't find the old thread thanks to the crappy search, so I guess it's time to start over.
Anyway, Telltale! What a, er, tale. They were one of the few companies that managed to make episodic gaming work and cranked out some great narrative-heavy experiences like new Sam and Max, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, and the surprisingly fantastic Tales from the Borderlands.
But then they cranked out too many games (seriously, I played their take on Guardians of the Galaxy and I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it) and imploded. Then some folks we've never heard of bought the smoking remains of the company and pledged to start anew. There was much skepticism, but at least they got most of their back catalog back up for sale.
And now this has happened:
Yes, we're getting a sequel to one of their top games (tied or very close to Tales of the Borderlands). Will it be any good? Will it follow the old Telltale formula that eventually ran the company into the ground, or will it do something new? Guess we'll find out tomorrow.
Anyway, Telltale! What a, er, tale. They were one of the few companies that managed to make episodic gaming work and cranked out some great narrative-heavy experiences like new Sam and Max, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, Wolf Among Us, The Walking Dead, and the surprisingly fantastic Tales from the Borderlands.
But then they cranked out too many games (seriously, I played their take on Guardians of the Galaxy and I couldn't tell you a damn thing about it) and imploded. Then some folks we've never heard of bought the smoking remains of the company and pledged to start anew. There was much skepticism, but at least they got most of their back catalog back up for sale.
And now this has happened:
Yes, we're getting a sequel to one of their top games (tied or very close to Tales of the Borderlands). Will it be any good? Will it follow the old Telltale formula that eventually ran the company into the ground, or will it do something new? Guess we'll find out tomorrow.
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cloudeagle on
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I'm a little wary, especially if Gearbox is doing this in-house. I'm still annoyed they turned Rhys from a quirky yet nuanced and earnest character in Tales to Wacky McJokeMachine in Borderlands 2-3.
Apparently it plays exactly like the old Tales from the Borderlands and doesn't evolve it one bit. Writing seems to be good, though I've read some reviews that say it falls apart in the fifth chapter.
I'm not sure Tales from the Borderlands needed to evolve. As long as it's funny and well written, I'm in.
I finished New Tales from the Borderlands. It's not great, but not terrible? Mostly it's underwhelming and amateurish compared to its predecessor.
It has genuinely laugh-out-loud humor, mostly enjoyable characters (LOU13 the robot in particular) and the game looks and plays how you would expect. But the writing is mediocre more often than not and suffers pacing issues and a shallow plot. It consistently commits the sin of "urgent" scenes where the main threat patiently waits around for an eternity for the characters to go through dialogue.
I don't think the story really "falls apart" at any point since it was never wholly together in the first place.
At full price, I find it hard to recommend.
Dreadful.
https://x.com/jjonahjonahson/status/1709979363608039784?s=20
Granted the whole damn industry seems to be going through some major turbulence as it adjusts to a post-pandemic world. But given how precarious new Telltale always seemed, I'm not sure we can count on them delivering all the stuff they promised.
3DS Friend Code: 2165-6448-8348 www.Twitch.TV/cooljammer00
Battle.Net: JohnDarc#1203 Origin/UPlay: CoolJammer00