The Wolf Among Us 2 was recently announced by Telltale Games and it has been a long time coming. The original was released back in 2013 and it built up a hefty amount of fans since then. This title is actually a prequel to a bunch of comic books called “Fable” by Bill Willingham. The story centers in 1980s New York with a detective named Bigby Wolf who resides in a hidden division of the Big Apple called “Fabletown.” This area houses all of the fantastical cryptids which are nothing more than folklore among humankind. In this reality, mystical creatures live among the population as they quietly and secretly coexist with one another. However, in Fabletown, someone or something has been murdering the residents that dwell there. It’s up to Bigby Wolf to solve this mystery and put an end to this killing spree.
The plot of The Wolf Among Us 2 will pick up six months after the conclusion of the first game. This game will still be told in an episodic format and its timeline will still be taking place before the comics. This will be a completely original story that was conjured up without any preconceived plot points. TellTale Games will be teaming up with AdHoc Studio with this new title. The talent within AdHoc Studio mostly used to work with TellTale Games and they know what type of vibe to yearn for. TellTale Games’ closure back in 2018 definitely hindered development for this game and it’s a surprise to many that it was announced. What this new chapter will entail is still under wraps. It is confirmed, however, that much of the original talent will be returning for the sequel. Even though it has been several years since the first game, fans of this IP never took their eyes off this and never did the developers, apparently.
Trouble in Fabletown
The trailer for The Wolf Among Us 2 does indeed hit all the right marks on what makes this game so popular. It still has that fantastical noir feeling to it. The design is inked in overcasting shadows which swallow the seedy urban environment of Fabletown. Even though it has been a while since the first installment, it feels as if things never changed with Telltale Games. It does seem to have a richer palette and smoother framerate than its predecessor. Of course, technology has evolved considerably since 2013, which may explain the freshness the sequel has. The trailer dips into the moments of the first game’s conclusion. Wolf is tracking down a suspect and follows him into a junky motel. As he sneaks in, he is met with a ragtag group of characters who are clearly from the Wizard of Oz. Both Scarecrow and the Tin Man are having some sort of party and Bigby Wolf decides to crash it. Of course, mayhem ensues before the scene cuts to Wolf talking about this situation in a group therapy session.
It’s a nice little hook to draw people in, especially gamers who never really played the first game. Obviously, The Wolf Among Us 2 will continue the adventure-puzzler format that Telltale Games are known for. Decisions will cause a ripple effect which will ultimately change the course of the game. As mentioned before, talent from the previous game will be returning, including voice talent. Adam Harrington will reprise his role as Bigby Wolf and Erin Yvette will return as Snow White. Thusly, Jared Emerson-Johnson is coming back to compose the score. The core pillars on what made the first game such a sleeper hit are locked in and that alone is enough to garner excitement for fans of this title.
Rust and Fairy Dust
The Wolf Among Us is known to have an Earthy grit behind its cel-shaded animation. The sequel will be built using the Unreal Engine and the developers are taking advantage of the current hardware. Back when Telltale Games were developing their titles, they used to make the episodes on a case-by-case basis. With The Wolf Among Us 2, all the episodes will be constructed at the same time. Therefore, this installment is being developed as one big adventure that will simply have “cut-off points” between certain segments. This will most likely give this sequel a better flow and it will also alleviate the hassle of waiting for new episodes to drop. This is certainly a new technique to Telltale’s development cycle and hopefully, it’ll pay off in the long run. If it does, it will definitely be beneficial for future projects with Telltale.
There is still a lot of information that Telltale Games are keeping a lid on. This sequel has been in the works for some time and jumping back into this world is long overdue. It’s a good bet that there will be a plethora of fairy tale characters making their debut in this sequel, along with returning ones appearing. Wolf and Snow White coming back are a refreshing breathe of content in comparison to the other Telltale Games titles. Even though these developers make games that are well-received all over the world, there is something inherently special about The Wolf Among Us. With any luck, there could be more installments planned for this IP that will go far and beyond this second chapter.
Moonlight Mystery
It’s still going to be a while before The Wolf Among Us 2 will launch for general consumption. From what was shown in the trailer, things are looking rather promising. Telltale has had a rough ride the last several years and it is good to see that, although they were down, they weren’t out. Now it appears they will be roaring back with The Wolf Among Us sequel. Not to mention that they are also cranking out other IPs to catch up for some lost time. Such titles like The Expanse are also in the works. Looks like the future for Telltale Games is looking bright again and there is much to celebrate regarding this. With that said, expect The Wolf Among Us 2 to drop sometime in 2033 for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Mac.
