It was only natural that a video game would be developed based on Robert Kirkman’s zombie epic, the Walking Dead. Featuring in-depth characters, mature themes, and of course flesh-eating zombies; the Walking Dead is clearly taking Pop Culture by storm.

A New Day is the first in a five episode season which takes place in the comic book universe. You play as Lee Everett; a man convicted of a crime and later becomes intertwined into the life of a girl named Clementine. This twist of fate gives him a new chance at redemption, and that road will be a very hard one to travel indeed.

As Lee Everett is being transported to prison you are introduced to the conversation system, and an accident officially starts the zombie apocalypse off right for our new friend.

The Walking Dead has a similar control scheme to Heavy Rain and you are restricted to only moving your character around an environment until you are prompted into performing a specific action. The Analog sticks are used to look around for clues or interaction points, and any items and weapons you collect can only be used in specific moments.

Player choices and how they affect the story is what The Walking Dead is primary build around. The characters take note of what you say and do around them and their reactions are displayed on the top left corner of the screen. The Walking Dead game also adapts to your choices and you are giving a limited time to make them depending on their severity. As you can see, The Walking Dead is very simple to learn, but as the story progresses it becomes very difficult to walk away from.

The graphics are cell-shaded which is very fitting for its comic book roots. Every character on the screen conveys their emotions very clearly and the voice acting is top-notch. You will find yourself having to pay attention to your actions, but I never felt like the game was guiding me to make specific ones at all.

The action is well placed in the story, which can be a nice break from all the touchy-feely stuff you might have to endure. All zombie killing really comes down to is button mashing or a point and click affair, but that all adds to the suspense of being the potential meal for the undead.

Technically, the game will hiccup in-between scenes causing the lip synching to be off. This is a pretty minor problem because the game will correct itself, but if you have subtitles on the glitch will cause them to lag too. Nothing major or game-breaking, but if you are surprised that the scenes are playing out like a bad Kung-Fu flick, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Should you play The Walking Dead: A New Day?

Absolutely, especially if you are a fan of the Walking Dead comic books.

A New Day takes place while Rick is taking a nap in the hospital, and it also features Glen before he heads to Atlanta and the Herschel farm. The game follows the path of a new group of survivors, so reading every single issue of the comic is not needed.

The Walking Dead: A New Day is a very emotional and character driven experience. It is one of the best written games I have ever played, and you will find yourself caring about the characters no matter how tough of a gamer you may be. There are some tough choices to be made in A New Day, and The Walking Dead won’t apologize for forcing you to make them.

It wouldn’t be true to the comic book if it did.

The Walking Dead: A New Day
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games
Platforms: Mac, PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Released: April 25, 2012 (Mac, PC, PlayStation 3), April 27, 2012 (Xbox 360)