You’d be surprised at the wide range of emotions that can be evoked from each mini-story. It is due to their expert execution and extremely focused narratives, which contain all of the split-second decision making that made the main game so great. By the time each story finishes up, with their intertwining tales, you’re fast-forwarded down the road to an epilogue showing everyone together facing one more decision before the DLC comes to a close. The ending will, supposedly, lead right into Season 2 where your new choices will alter certain events, outcomes or character dispositions. And we must say, despite the fact that 400 Days was meant to help ease the pain while we wait for the next season, it made the downtime that much more unbearable.
The Price is Right
When I first heard that The Walking Dead: 400 Days would cost $5 for what amounts to a shorter-than-usual episode, I was a bit skeptical. My skepticism was laid to rest shortly after diving into the add-on content. I was reminded of the common phrase “quality over quantity.” The amount of intensity and character development packed into this episode is noteworthy. Maybe this is why it feels like the game is even shorter than it really is. It draws you in, you begin to like the characters and then, bam, it’s over. You’re left craving more. And it isn’t one of those forced interests brought on by some cliffhangers. This is a series that I, and many others, are heavily invested in and it has a way of refusing to let go of you long after you, reluctantly, put down the controller. This is one experience well worth its price tag, and that is something that can be said about too many games out there.
NOT
More Glitches
The Walking Dead was praised for all it did right, but one aspect it constantly lost points in was technical issues. 400 Days suffers from some of the same problems, with reports of game-breaking glitches and progress-eliminating bugs cropping up. This may be more prominent on those using the disc-based download for the DLC — there are two download options for 400 Days: disc or digital version depending on which copy of The Walking Dead you have — since the retail copies were plagued with more intense graphical and technical issues. That’s not to day the digital download version is perfect, though. Lengthy loading sequences and noticeable hiccups were present during my time with the episode. Given the overall quality of the episode, these may be easy to overlook for some.
Verdict
The Walking Dead: 400 Days is an immersive and powerful tale of five survivors. It’s exactly the quality you’ve come to expect from Telltale Games. Even though you’ll only spend around an hour and a half with the game, the characters are still able to grab hold of you during this small window. Each story will make you think and test your ability to make decisions under stressful circumstances, and that’s an accomplishment given the small amount of playtime with each new survivor. This DLC is easy to recommend at $5, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. 400 Days is a journey worth taking, even if it does contain some semi-annoying glitches. Telltale has become a master storyteller and we can hardly wait to see how our decisions will impact Season 2.
[Editor’s Note: The Walking Dead: 400 Days was reviewed on the PlayStation 3 platform. The DLC was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]