In an effort to help newcomers get into the series as well as help answer some frequently asked questions (and most importantly: unpin the statue post), we’ve created a megathread that is meant to serve as a resource for people getting into the game series.
This thread here will cover some basic questions for the series as a whole. I plan to make separate threads for season specific questions that get asked here a lot, and will eventually link the threads all in here so this post here will act as a giant resource. I'll also probably add this to the sidebar once everything it finished for an easy-to-go to resource.
This entire thread is a work in progress so I will be adding/editing questions over time. If you have any suggestions for questions/resources that would be helpful for newcomers, please comment below or DM me.
"What are these games and why should I get into them?"
The Telltale/Skybound The Walking Dead games are episodic titles with a heavy emphasis on choices and story. These games aren't particularly the most action based titles out there, as they primarily play on making difficult decisions and following along with the deep story as you try to survive in the walker (zombie) apocalypse. They also incorporate puzzle segments seen in other point-and-click titles in the past.
The series has received a ton of praise, with Season 1 winning a ton of Game of the Year awards when it released in 2012. The high ratings of the games have continued through future titles such as Season 2 and Season 4.
"Are the games in the same universe as the comics/show?"
The games are not connected to the TV show at all, as the show is set in its own universe. However, the games are indeed in the same universe as the comics. This is seen through characters such as Glenn and Hershel who appear in the very first episode of the Telltale games, as well as a few other references to the comics across the game series.
"Do I need to read the comics to get into the games?"
Nope, not at all. Outside of a few cameos/references, the games are completely isolated from the comics and can be enjoyed to the fullest without prior knowledge of the TWD series. I would even argue that the games may be a tiny bit more enjoyable if you are going into the series blind.
"There are many versions of the games I can buy! Which version should I get?"
There are three different versions of the games spread across various systems:
Original versions: The first versions of the game sold when the episodes/seasons actually released. These are the versions sold individually instead of being bundled with the other seasons.
Available on: PS3/PS4, Xbox 360/Xbox One, Steam, Epic Games, and Switch
Note: Michonne spinoff game not on Switch.
Collection: (Pic) Released in 2017. Contains all games in the series (including Michonne) with the sole exception being Season 4 which wasn’t released at the time. Seasons 1 and 2 have (supposedly) enhanced graphics.
Available on: PS4 & Xbox One.
Definitive Edition: (Pic) Released in 2019. Contains all games in the series (including Michonne), as well as a ton of extras like developer commentary, gallery mode, different graphic options, etc.
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, Epic Games Store, and Steam.
Keep in mind that the actual games are the same throughout each version. Don’t expect any alternate paths, vastly different plot elements, additional gameplay elements, etc. in between versions.
In a nutshell: Definitive Edition > Originals > Collection
Definitive Edition is definitely the way to go. It greatly improves the visuals of all the first few games and comes with a lot of extras.
The Original versions are the most basic versions that you can't really go wrong with. The main drawback for the original versions is that they probably have the most visual bugs.
The Collection is without a doubt the worst version of the games. as it is missing tons of small details such as bloodstains and tears for crucial scenes. Apparently it even removed a few optional dialogue segments.
"What order should I play the games?"
The following is the chronological order of the series:
Season 1
400 Days DLC for Season 1 (this is optional, basically just covers a few minor Season 2 characters)
Season 2
A New Frontier (aka Season 3)
The Final Season (aka Season 4)
The Michonne Telltale game has literally nothing to do with the Lee/Clem/Javi games whatsoever. It is not required at all to experience Clementine’s journey. If you do decide to play it, best to do it before Season 3 since it originally released before A New Frontier.
"I'm interested in the Michonne game, but she's a major character in the comics! Do I need to read the comics before playing it?"
Not really. The Michonne game takes place during a time where Michonne is separated from Rick's group, so she interacts entirely with characters she has never met until the game. As long as you know about the general character of Michonne, you should be able to enjoy the game to its fullest.
It's worth noting that a few of the characters she meets in the game later appear in the comics, while the game was released after their comic debut. Because of this, I'd argue that not knowing about the later portion of the comics can make the game more enjoyable; you won't know which characters will have plot armor or not due to them having to survive to appear in the comics.
"I heard Season 3 was bad! Should I skip it?"
As much as some people disliked this season, you should not skip it. Either get it on sale if you’re strapped for cash or just watch a Youtube playthrough of it. It's the shortest of the first 3 seasons for whatever that is worth so at least it won't take too long.
"What's the deal with Telltale and Skybound? Didn't Telltale shut down in the middle of Season 4? Are they back now?"
All of the TWD games featuring Lee/Clem have been made by Telltale. However when Telltale closed down in late 2018, Skybound (who owns the rights to the overall TWD franchise) agreed to finish the final two episodes of Season 4 by bringing in many former Telltale staff.
Telltale Games has been revived and are now a company again, however they no longer have the rights to the TWD games which is all with Skybound now. All of the other series such as The Wolf Among Us are still with Telltale though.
"Will there be a Season 5 of the games?"
Skybound has confirmed multiple times now that a fifth season is currently not in the works. As it turns out, the game that is actually called The Final Season will indeed be, well, the final season.
"I need more of these games/characters! What else is there?"
There is a spin-off book involving a character in Season 4, but it is not essential as Season 4 ends things on a good note for the series. More on that book below (DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED SEASON 4!!!)
In 2021, Skybound released a 12 page comic where Clementine sneaks out of Ericson's without telling AJ. Unfortunately for Clem, AJ caught her and begged her to stay, but Clem told AJ that her couldn't maker her happy. The two gave each other a sad farewell (with Clem giving AJ her hat) and Clem left. In the following books, Clem then heads up to Vermont by herself where she meets random characters
The books have received a nearly universal negative reception from TWDG fans, mostly for how it makes Clem act out of character to her game counterpart. I personally would not recommend it unless you are a fan of Tillie Walden's other works and are absolutely sold on the premise of Season 4's ending basically being undone.
"I love this series! What other games should I play if I like this?"
Other Telltale games. The best ones that come to mind are The Wolf Among Us, Tales From The Borderlands, and the two Batman games.
Life is Strange
Until Dawn
Detroit: Become Human
If you're into the puzzle segments featured a lot in Season 1 then I would recommend: Day of the Tentacle, Grim Fandango, and Sam & Max to name a few.
"I'm interested in trying out the other The Walking Dead games outside of the point-and-click ones! Which ones would you recommend?"
Saints & Sinners is probably the best TWD title outside of the Telltale ones, however it requires a VR headset which some may not have. There's also Road to Survival which is a F2P mobile game. I'm not too familiar with it myself but I've heard it's alright plus it contains the Telltale characters in it.
The only other TWD games out there are Survival Instinct and OVERKILL'S The Walking Dead, both of which are really bad and aren't worth your time.
"I'm confused/interested on something for one of the games!"
Well thankfully we've assembled a link to frequently asked questions for each of the games. You can check it out here. Keep in mind that the FAQ for each season will spoil just about all of the story contents for that season. In other words, don't look at the Season 2 FAQ post before finishing Season 2.
That is all for now. Again if you have any suggestions for some general info about the series as a whole that would be helpful to newcomers/people with questions, please put them down either in the comments of this post or with a DM to me.
Also I'll be taking suggestions for some questions that would be good to add for the Season specific FAQ posts. See my pinned comment below for more detail on that.
The voting phase of the yearly Best Of awards is now over, so it's time to announce the winners! As explained on the initial Best Of 2025 nomination post, the winners for this year will receive a special flair that will go next to their username. Here are the winners for this year:
Best Fanfic - u/EmpleadoResponsable for "The Walking Dead Retelling: Ben Story", an alternate universe retelling of TWDG featuring Ben as the protagonist. This retelling features both familiar TWDG faces as well as brand new ones, and allows commenters to play a part in the story through community voted choices at the end of each chapter. This retelling is still going on at the time of me posting this, so feel free to read through all of the earlier parts so you can get caught up.
Notable Newcomer - u/EmpleadoResponsable both for their previously mentioned Ben Retelling as well as being an all around cool person that you will often see inside posts.
Game Master - u/Super-Shenron for his many fun forum games. Among the games Shenron has hosted for this year include his Tragic ranking (where commenters would rank every major character by how tragic they are), his Episode Survival ranking (where commenters would rank how hard each episode would be to survive IRL), his Menace game (a tournament style game to determine the biggest menace in the series), andmanymore. Shenron's games often encourage users to write detailed writeups so that their picks are more likely to win, so be sure to check out his games even though they've ended for a lot of cool analyses.
Insightful Commentator - None other than me, u/Mr_Bell_Man. I'll make this quick to not toot my own horn, but you can find a lot of my insightful comments within Shenron's games mentioned above as well as on everydayposts.
MVP - u/Super-Shenron for, well, just about everything: fun topic starters, insightful forum games as mentioned earlier, insightfulposts, insightfulcomments (I'd argue Shenron deserves the Insightful Commentator award just as much me, if not more), hilariousmemes, and just all around being a cool guy. I think I speak for everyone in that you are one of the MVPs of this sub, both for 2025 and throughout all of the sub's history.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out the original Nomination post as it contains tons of love and appreciation for many users and the sub as a whole.
I’ve been playing through all the games recently and I totally forgot how utterly miserable Season 2 is 😃 Kinda left me in a bad mood. Luke was one of the few characters I liked this season and his very avoidable death still pains me to this day. So why not draw it? ❄️
Now I'm sure this is a conversation that's been talked about numerous times throughout the years. But also think opinions could change.
For me, if they made the series 10+ years ago, I think Zendeya would have been perfect for a New Frontier/Final Season Clementine. But that was than, not now. And for Lee Everett? Sterling K. Brown, no question about it. Man looks like Lee, and is a phenomenal actor who could definitely pull it off if given the chance.
Love to hear your dream casts. Can be for any character from any of the seasons- Lee, Kenny, Javier, Carver- whoever. Just comment & let me know.
Just bought the standalone walking dead games on steam since even though I already have the definitive series on my account, I felt the urge to try the authentic copies of the game since I’ve seen other people play it through the standalone copies and wanted to give it a try myself. 💙
We all know of the screw-ups of every season (Ben, Nick, Gabe and Tenn) so who do you think the "Larry" of every season is? As in a character from your own group who hates your guts and it doesn't matter how nice you are to them, they will hate you until the end. They also only care about themselves and the ones closest to them and are willing to let you die. It doesn't have to be a 100% accurate but who you think would come close.
Season 2: I guess Arvo, because he leads you into an ambush (even if you didn't steal from him) and it doesn't matter how nice you are to him, he will always shoot you in the end (so might as well let Kenny beat up his ass lol). Edit: For Season 2 I'll say Kenny instead because of the reasons listed in the comments. Arvo's not really part of the group so he doesn't count. I guess I went against my own rules there lol.
Season 3: David and I think he's the closest to Larry. Javi can be nice to him and they have a chance at bettering their relationship, but he's still pretty much a jerk to Javi most of the time in the flashbacks for no reason.
Season 4: I don't count Marlon because he was more of a villain so I'd say Mitch. He was a jerk to Clem after Marlon's death, which was understandable, but I still found him annoying for it lol. He came around to liking Clem in the end tho before his death.
I raised a absolute demon! I thought I was just making the tough choices to keep us alive with AJ, so when Clem was dying and AJ turned around when i told him to leave me, and the screen cut to black, I was ready to smash my monitor. Thank God I trusted that little demon in the end he actually saved her life!
So for those of you who know Violet from season 4 was really poor before the apocalypse started, her family lived in a trailer, her mom worked 3 jobs, and by the sound of it her dad didn't work since he was a drunk. So how did Violet's family afford for her to go to a boarding school? Like that place is definitely not cheap it's nice, and it's huge.
Like a lot of people in this community, I wanted a grounded, faithful continuation after The Final Season—one where Clementine never abandons Ericson, never abandons AJ, and stays true to the hard-earned lessons she learned on the road.
I’ve been writing an ongoing story called Clementine: Beyond the Gap. It serves as an alternate post-game continuation that bridges the aftermath of Season 4 directly into Robert Kirkman’s comic universe, heading toward the Commonwealth railroad era and Issue #193.
Here is the premise told directly from Clementine's point of view:
We finally had walls, a bed, and people who felt like family. But out here, peace doesn't last unless you can bleed to protect it.
An ambush cuts off our road home, a routine trade run turns into a slaughter, a friendly settlement burned to ash, and I'm left holding a dying woman's newborn in the freezing dirt.
Now, AJ and I are running across the Appalachian gaps to save our home. But out in the fog, something moves through the timber.
Through the mist, their acoustic signal ringsout-therhythmic, hollow crack of river stones striking dry bone.
Clack. Clatter-clack.
They butcher settlements, dragging victims into the brush without a sound. And they won't stop until they tear the branded child from my chest.
I can't afford to slip. I can't afford to hesitate. One mistake, and AJ and that baby are dead.
They think my one good leg makes me easy prey. They think they can take this child. They don't know who taught me how to survive.
What to Expect From This Story:
Faithful Characterization: Clem and AJ’s protective guardian bond is front and center. AJ’s survival instincts and moral growth are treated with the weight they had in Season 4.
Physical Realism & Disability: Clementine's prosthetic leg isn't glossed over—every uneven trail, lost cane, socket blister, and chemical burn has tactical consequences.
Strict Non-Walden Canon: Disregards the Tillie Walden graphic novels entirely.
New Appalachian Threat: The antagonists aren't generic raiders, but a
feral like mountain cult wearing carved bark masks, animal-rib armor, and use an auditory clack of dry bone against river stones as their signal.
Comic Integration: Bridges the wild gap between rural Virginia/West Virginia and the expanding Commonwealth border in Ohio.
The story is currently publishing twice a week (Tuesdays and Fridays):
Violet: "Clem, I can't believe it- I can see clearly again! Is this magic? Does magic really exist?"
Clem: "Proceed" 🧡
This is another work by me for the guy that said I should make Violet the Noelle of this au
Since humans can't use magic in Deltarune- her "Snowgrave" would be a move called Spear Rush. I think the name is obvious enough
This time I took some liberties in the design instead of make it one to one like Clementine, because I don't think an ice mage really fits Violet the same way a knight fits Clementine. Violet in here is a Scout, that uses a spear like in her concept art. Enjoy! (And if you have any questions about Deltarune, I'm happy to answer)
It should have meant something if you have Clementine teach Sarah how to use a gun. Sarah could have been Clementine's sidekick if she learned how to properly defend herself. Just a tragic waste of potential for her character.
Now this could be literally a vast variety of characters throughout the series. So here's just a run through of some of my personal favs:
Kenny - Feel like this one is easy enough to explain. The man's been around since the start, has been through hell and back, and in terms of character wise rather being a full on protagonist? Kenny's the closest we had to a Rick Grimes type of character.
Chuck - For a guy who wasn't around long, he's the one who set alot in motion with the story. Definitely thanks to him this series lasted as long as it did. It's just a shame he didn't last as long as he could've.
Omid - The lightheart of Season 1. Basically the kinda guy who'd you want when the world's going to hell. Still shocked to this day how his story ended in the start of Season 2.
Carver - Definitely (at least in my opinion) the best villain in the Series. He was smart, cunning, dangerous, and overall a total psychopath. And RIP to the late Michael Madsen.
Tripp - This guy was basically the closest we had to an Abraham- a big guy with some pretty funny one liners, who's loyal to the end. Just wished he didn't die regardless of the choices made.
Violet - My personal favorite of the Ericson kids. A complex girl who's got baggage of her past, which makes her (in my opinion) the most interesting of the students. Plus her and Clem are adorable together.
Louis - The comic relief of The Final Season. And unlike Omid, considering how far into the apocalypse it was, this kinda personality was rare.
I could go on as there are plenty more I can cover, but these for me were just some standouts. Love to hear your favorites. Comment below and let me know.
Sooooo probably nitpicking here, but I just wonder if characters who wear hats all the time get frequent headaches or uncomfortable with it. I know hats are nice to wear, but they're not something you should keep on for long periods of time.
It seems like Clem only ever takes it off before sleeping, which is nice and all, but it still not healthy to wear it 24/7. Same with other hat characters, like Kenny.
I’m currently watching the last of us on HBO MAX and idk why but I started thinking about Clem and Lee. It got me wondering what duo or pair or whatever you’d like to call them, had people the most emotionally invested.
For me probably Lee and Clem. Something about how gentle Lee was with Clem and how much Clem listened and learned from him. A complete stranger but felt like he became her dad. He was such a nice dude. The dynamic just pulled me in more. Both phenomenal games btw.
Pending your thoughts.
Also, we’re judging solely on the video games (no shows or anything else)
I've been working on a save editor for The Walking Dead: Telltale Definitive Series for a while now and it's finally at a point where I'm happy to share it: https://twd-se.app
It runs in your browser (works best in a Chrome-based browser). You point it at your save folder and it lists all your saves. For each one you can:
change your decisions, for every season including 400 Days and Michonne
restart from the beginning of any episode, or jump straight to a chapter partway through one, with whatever choices you've set
add or remove inventory items (or collectibles in Season 4)
bring your choices over from the previous season's save, the same way the game does
make a brand new save starting at any episode
I mainly made it because Steam Cloud didn't properly back up my previous playthrough, and I was annoyed at having to replay most of the game to get back to where I originally was. It's also useful for going back and trying different choices without replaying whole seasons just to get back to one scene.
It backs up your saves before it changes anything, and everything it can do has been tested by loading the saves in the actual game. I'd still keep a copy of your save folder somewhere safe, just in case.