Overview
The Wolf Among Us is a five-episode episodic adventure game developed by Telltale, released starting October 2013. Set in 1986, nearly two decades before the events of the Fables comic series, it builds a world where creatures from myth and folklore have fled their homelands to settle in a hidden enclave in Manhattan called Fabletown. You play as Bigby Wolf, the Big Bad Wolf in human form, now serving as Fabletown's sheriff. When a brutal murder surfaces, it pulls Bigby into a conspiracy that runs far deeper than the streets he patrols.
Telltale built this game off the momentum of The Walking Dead winning 2012's Game of the Year, and the ambition shows. The noir atmosphere is thick throughout, with cel-shaded visuals that lean into the comic book source material without feeling like a direct adaptation. Every episode runs roughly 90 minutes to two hours, and all five are available now: Faith, Smoke and Mirrors, A Crooked Mile, In Sheep's Clothing, and Cry Wolf.
Gameplay and mechanics
At its core, The Wolf Among Us is a point-and-click adventure built around dialogue choices and quick-time events. The key mechanic that sets it apart from earlier Telltale games is timing. It is not only what you choose, but when you choose it that shapes outcomes. Hesitate too long and Bigby might miss his window. Act fast and the consequences ripple forward through later episodes.
Key gameplay elements include:
- Dialogue choices with timed responses
- QTE-driven action sequences
- Environmental investigation and item interaction
- Decisions that carry across all 5 episodes
- Two distinct playstyle options: aggressive or diplomatic Bigby
Bigby can be played as a barely restrained monster or a reluctant protector, and the game rewards both approaches with different reactions from Fabletown's residents. The choice-and-consequence system feels more reactive here than in The Walking Dead, partly because the characters around Bigby have longer memories.
World and setting
Fabletown is one of the more original settings in adventure gaming. The Homelands, the magical worlds of myth and legend, have been conquered by a shadowy tyrant called the Adversary. Refugees from those worlds, including Snow White, the Woodsman, Bluebeard, and dozens of others, now live in secret in Manhattan. Non-human Fables either buy a glamour spell to appear human or get shipped off to a rural community called The Farm.
The 1986 setting gives the game a gritty, pre-gentrification New York feel that suits the noir tone perfectly. Rain-slicked streets, dive bars, and cramped apartments make Fabletown feel lived-in and desperate. The writing treats these reimagined fairy tale figures with genuine weight, and the contrast between their legendary origins and their mundane, often ugly present lives is where the game finds most of its drama.
Impact and legacy
The Wolf Among Us holds a 4.78-star rating from over 21,000 PlayStation Store ratings, which is a strong signal for a game released in 2013. The Eisner Award-winning Fables source material gave Telltale a rich foundation, and the game works as an entry point even for players with no comic book background since the story takes place before the first issue.
For fans of narrative-driven games and noir adventure, this remains a high point in Telltale's catalog. The episodic format keeps the pacing tight, the mystery compelling across all five chapters, and Bigby Wolf is one of the more interesting protagonists in the genre. The full season is available on Windows, PlayStation, Xbox, Android, iOS, and macOS.