14 DAY TRIAL // 
Telltale Games' The Wolf Among Us series has delivered a different sort of adventure experience than its other big project, The Walking Dead, playing out more as a cop thriller than a zombie drama.
After three great episodes, the fourth part, called In Sheep's Clothing, has just been released and promises to finally start bringing together the many different plot threads that started in the past chapters.
Promising more new fables as well as some intense confrontations for protagonist Bigby Wolf, In Sheep's Clothing definitely looks like it's going to up the action and the story further.
Does it deliver on these bold claims or should the wolf stick to hiding among the sheep? Let's find out.
Bear in mind that I'll post spoilers about the past chapters of The Wolf Among Us, particularly the previous one, A Crooked Mile, so don't read on if you want to avoid having the action spoiled.
Episode 3 was a grim one for protagonist Bigby Wolf. The big bad wolf, while certainly imposing and powerful, was no match for Bloody Mary, her two goons – Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum – as well as her revolver with silver bullets, which knocked him out altogether.
The new chapter begins, once again, with Dr. Swineheart sowing Bigby back up at his apartment, and with a desperate Snow White and Colin, one of the pigs that managed to survive the wolf's attacks in the famous fable.
The last confrontation has made it clear to Snow that things need to fundamentally change and players will have to choose if they want to aid her in this new stance or go their own route and make up things as they go along.
Fortunately, pieces from the last episodes finally start coming together and the behavior of different fables, like Beauty and the Beast, are explained in some pretty good ways, emphasizing just how rough life in the "mundy" world is for the former fairy tale characters, many without stable jobs like Bigby or Snow White.
A much bigger focus is once again cast on the Crooked Man, as after his rather mysterious mention in the last chapter, we get to meet even more of his minions, as well as see just how deep his tendrils are embedded into Fabletown, the community established by the exiled fairy tale characters.
Without spoiling too much, it turns out that the mysterious character practically influences a huge part of the community, from running pawn shops to selling black market magic, not to mention the call girls from the Pudding 'n Pie night club, while using his goons, led by Bloody Mary, to eliminate those that stand in his way.
Bigby will have to make some pretty important choices this time around, once again having to decide what places to visit first and how to react to confrontations, either physical or just conversational ones. He also needs to decide how to react to the pawns caught up in the Crooked Man's game, as he can be either brutal or sympathetic.
Speaking of the brawls, while once again quick time events are present, they are much more bloody and intense than in previous chapters, as Bigby will go up against new foes even in his weakened state after the run in with Bloody Mary.
Fabletown politics also play a role in the episode although mostly in the background, while Bigby and the player are engaged in other dialogs.
Once again the actual gameplay isn't present all that much, as mostly you're asked to engage in conversations, steer them towards what you're trying to figure out, and hope that you don't end up offending anyone or making promises you know you won't be able to keep.
For now things aren't coming back to bite Bigby but the next installment, which is the fifth and final episode of at least this first season, is certainly going to see some intense confrontations and conclusions.
In terms of visuals, the game retains the stylized design seen in previous chapters and, this time around, there are way fewer animation errors or glitches. There are also fewer slowdowns, which definitely helps keep you engaged in the whole experience.
The soundtrack also sticks to the general tone of the past episodes and doesn't really stand out on many occasions. Voice acting, of course, is top-notch, although some of the new characters don't get that much screentime.
The Good
- Story starts closing in
- Interesting new characters
- Intense brawls
The Bad
- Not that many big choices
- Not that much gameplay
Conclusion
