There have been many Walking Dead video games, but none have lived up to the excellence that is TWD season 9.
Six years passed between 9×05 and 9×06, and the fandom wants answers. A video game may be the best means of exploring all of that lost time, as actor commitments and large scale set productions are nowhere near as difficult to manage as they are in a television show.
With such a large ensemble cast, a new Walking Dead video game could satiate fans’ thirst for more Michonne, Daryl and Carol, all without taking away from the present-day plot of season 10.
There have been a few Walking Dead video games before, with Telltale’s series standing out as one of — if not the best spinoff of the property. A new, grander TWD game can build off of the momentum of the recently released Telltale finale, and create a new immersive experience for fans.
With six whole years to explore and plenty of character development, here are the components that would make a new Walking Dead video game a must-play.
Teaching Judith, introducing RJ
Judith is quite the, ahem, asskicker, come her preteen reveal at the end of 9×05. She’s a sharpshooter with a sharp tongue, and even Negan won’t mess with her. She has the blood of Shane running through her veins, along with Michonne and Rick’s keen survival instincts, which have honed Little Asskicker into one of the most powerful young characters on the show. Imagine how cool it would be to shoot down foes as Judith!
Seeing this jump to preteen Judith was quite the shock, seeing as she was just learning her ABCs in 9×04. At what point did Michonne decide it was time to start teaching Judith how to shoot a gun? What was her education like? We saw Carol teaching youngin’s at the prison, but she has been at the Kingdom for some time now. Let’s just hope there aren’t any math minigames with Negan.
Michonne’s young child RJ was another big season 9 shocker. Seeing Michonne take down walkers and strengthen political ties while pregnant would be dynamic plot elements. Maggie had a bit of this plot (when she infamously didn’t show through all of the pregnancy we were able to see). It would be interesting to play through how Michonne handles pregnancy and survival as a comparison to how Maggie did.
Carol vs. The Saviors
One of the tension-filled conflicts before the time jump was Rick’s group, the Kingdom, Hilltop and Oceanside versus the Saviors. While all five groups were working together to build the bridge, underlying hatred ruined the harmony Rick was attempting to form.
At a moment of high tension, we see Carol leading the defense against the Saviours, except this time, Rick isn’t there to stop the fight from happening. We then cut away from the action, only to see the camp both desolate and destroyed when an injured Rick stumbles back to it.
How did all of our heroes make it out of the battle unscathed? We know Carol is an absolute killing machine when need be, but some of those Saviors reaaalllly didn’t like their “Boss Lady.” Playing through this experience would be a great way of opening up a Walking Dead game, as it would both set the stakes high and set us up to see more of the events the show skimmed over.
Maggie’s departure, Jesus’ rise
Jesus’ season 9 death did not do the character justice whatsoever. We barely got to see him in action, and for a ninja with killer fists and parkour skills, that’s a shame. He did get to show off some of his battle moves in the graveyard battle, but he was quickly slashed through the chest before we could see him deal the finishing blows to the Whisperers.
Jesus trained Aaron, which is a situation ripe for combat fodder, and shipping fodder. Their relationship was only hinted at in the show, but it was obvious there was more going on there. We need to see more of how their relationship developed, and how it formed Aaron as the man we know him to be after the time jump.
Post time jump, Maggie’s absence is one of the biggest elephants in the room. Her premature departure from the show might have seemed odd to any viewers who weren’t privy to Lauren Cohan’s negotiation woes, but even those in-the-know were shocked her character was written off so simply. Jesus had always been her right hand man, but it’s important we see the moments leading up to her departure to show us why and how the character would have left with Georgie. While playing as Jesus, stealth elements could be a fun way to learn about Maggie’s secret plans to leave with Georgie.
Story’s loose ends
Eugene’s continued ammo production and badassery training are two elements the series skipped over. As the survivors all have ammo in present-day, we’d have to assume Eugene streamlined his bullet making sweatshop outside of the Sanctuary. Making bullets could be a fun minigame, if it’s handled correctly, but it may serve better as a resource gathering fetch quest.
Michonne’s grief was not explored at all. We saw her cry as the bridge exploded, but we were left blind after that. Siddiq and Rosita are an interesting pairing, but Father Gabriel and Rosita are even more interesting. How did Siddiq become so much a part of the group that Rosita would give him the time of day? What about Gabriel interested Rosita?
Carol adopting Henry and assuming the role as queen (ish) would make for some more cool combat training moments. Playing as Henry would be fun, as we’d be able to see the melding of Morgan and Carol’s fighting styles in the young warrior.
With stealth, hack and slash, over the shoulder shooter, and perhaps even story choice elements, this ensemble game could be the one Walking Dead fans have been dreaming of.
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