Telltale Game have really outdone themselves lately, with their remarkable work on The Walking Dead Series and their latest franchise, The Wolf Among Us. The first Episode of the latter hit the digital shelves last year, and unfortunately we had to wait a couple of months to see the continuation of this awesome saga. I have to admit that even though we had to wait longer than usual for episode 2, the wait was well worth it, and as I am writing this I’m getting Goosebumps just by remembering the great experience I had.
I have said it before and I’m going to say it again; this game’s visuals are absolutely stunning and breath-taking, and the more I play this game the more I fall in love with the Fables world. It is truly remarkable how well they managed to adapt a graphic novel into a game without loosing the artistic flare which is symbolic to the genre. The story and narrative of this game are astounding, with the key choices in the game really expressive of the user’s emotion vis-á-vis the story-line. The game is as immersive as the previous episode and the progression and surprises in your path simply get the users to long for more.
When comparing it to the first episode, I found myself enjoying Smoke and Mirrors more, mainly because you get to learn more about the Fable universe and also because you grow fonder of the lead characters, getting me to immerse myself even more in the story of the title. There is a stronger focus of the detective element in the title which is reminiscent of the early Broken Sword titles, which really gets you emotionally involved in the game and focused on the details. There is also a stronger focus on the character building factor, with the main decisions influencing the fable’s perspective of you and the relationship with those closer to Bigby.
I can’t really put a rating on this episode, cause as I explained before this review is purely my opinion on the progression of this series, and reviewing an incomplete series would not reflect my entire view on the game. I can safely say though that this series is shaping up to be an amazing experience with a very bright future, and in my eyes this game is stealing the limelight off the Walking Dead series.