For the past few months, TellTale Games’ Walking Dead game has been setting the bar really high with storytelling and choice-based gameplay. All of the decisions and intense moments involving Lee Everett, Clementine, and company for its last four episodes has led up to this fifth episode and season finale, titled No Time Left. There is the old saying that only a handful of games can make you cry and The Walking Dead is now one of them. Season finales for television shows sometimes do not live up to their expectations and hype, but that is not the case with this episode. No Time Left is an example of how to deliver an emotional and satisfying season finale right.
Clementine has been kidnapped and Lee will do whatever it takes to rescue her from this mysterious person whether you have some of the other survivors of your group join you or not. Right off the bat, players are faced with a really tough choice if you knew happened to Lee at the end of Episode 4: Around Every Corner. There are also moments early on where the group has to survive against all odds with Walkers everywhere at Savannah. The pacing was done beautifully again in No Time Left and the last half has arguably one of my favorite gaming moments of the year as if the whole series was filled already with those. This season finale simply provides some of the most intense and emotional gaming experiences ever in a videogame. To be honest, I saw the ending coming, but how it was beautifully done is something gamers and fans of the series should not miss.
There isn’t much puzzles in Episode 5: No Time Left, but it is the most action packed episode yet of the season. TellTale has been steadily ramping up the action scenes for the last couple of episodes, but defending the house against Walkers and Lee cutting through hordes of them at the city streets alone are very satisfying. The technical hiccups from the past four episodes are still there, but I didn’t have as much as a problem with them in this fifth episode and good thing I did not run into the save corruption issue like I did with Around Every Corner.
The Walking Dead Episode 5: No Time Left has definitely lived up to its expectations of a season finale and tease things up for the next season after you watch the credits roll. Lee and Clementine should be considered as one of the best duos in videogames. It is hard to not love these characters when they were introduced to each other in the first episode and see them progress as better people throughout this season. I’ve never been so emotionally attached to a duo like them and it is nice to see their relationship evolve from survivors in the zombie apocalypse to a real father-daughter relationship. No Time Left provides some of the best moments of the year in the world of gaming that even puts the AMC television show to shame. With this shorter yet amazing fifth episode, TellTale’s Walking Dead game has cemented itself not as a game of the year contender, but one of the best games.this console generation. Fans of the series and games in general should be not miss out on this emotional and superb experience.
