The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is an episodic adventure video game based on The Walking Dead comic book series developed by Telltale Games. It is Telltale's third season of its The Walking Dead series, with the first two episodes released on December 20, 2016, and a retail season pass disc edition released on February 7, 2017. The game employs the same narrative structure as the past seasons, where player choice in one episode will have a permanent impact on future story elements. The player choices recorded in save files from the first two seasons and the additional episode "400 Days" carry over into the third season. Clementine (voiced by Melissa Hutchison), who was the player's companion during the first season and the player-character in season two returns as a player-character along with another player-character, Javier "Javi" Garcia (voiced by Jeff Schine).
The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, with the zombie apocalypse having occurred. The main characters of the game are original characters; however, due to time skips in season two and between seasons two and three, the timeline is caught up to where the comics are.
A fourth and final season, titled The Walking Dead: The Final Season, was released in August 2018.
Gameplay
Similar to the previous seasons, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is a point-and-click adventure game. In contrast to previous seasons, there will be two playable characters: Clementine, the heroine from the previous games; and Javier, a new character introduced this season. Players can direct the current character under their control around the environment, examine and interact with various scenery elements and collect and use objects to advance the story. The player can also initiate conversations with non-player characters via conversation trees. Certain replies from other characters may offer the player multiple choices to select from, including the option to stay silent, with a limited amount of time to make the selection; if the player does not select an option, the conversation will continue as if they had stayed quiet. Such choices can affect how the other characters will later react to the player-character which can influence later events in the story. Other scenes are more action-oriented, requiring the player to complete quick time events to prevent the player-character or their allies from getting killed. If the player fails these events, the game will restart at the start of such scenes. Such action scenes may also require the player to make a key decision within a limited time frame, such as which of two characters to save from attacking walkers.
The player's choices and actions will impact story elements in later episodes; for example, a character that the player does not choose to be saved will not appear in later scenes. A New Frontier will incorporate player choices made in previous games in the series through existing save files; Telltale states they will offer multiple options for how players can bring in previous saves into the game, including for players that have switched their choice of platform prior to A New Frontier. A New Frontier will not be released on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, but players that have saves from Season Two on these platforms will be able to download a patch on those consoles as to upload their saved game to Telltale's servers, and then access that from their new choice of platform. Telltale will also provide a separate tool for players to "quick-create a tailored backstory" for Clementine to this point, with a possible 42 different variations, and create a save file from which to start the new season with. Players may also opt to use the default backstory that Telltale has created as the basis for the game.
Synopsis
Setting
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier follows on the first game, and coincides with events of the comic, in which a zombie apocalypse has occurred, turning humans that are bitten or die into zombies, or "walkers"; the only way to stop this conversion is to damage the brain. The game is primarily set four years after the apocalypse began.
The protagonist of A New Frontier is Javier "Javi" Garcia (Jeff Schine), a former professional baseball player. His group consists of Kate (Shelley Shenoy), the second wife of his brother David (Alex Hernandez), and David's children Gabe (Raymond Ochoa) and Mariana (Vale de la Maza). He later meets Clementine (Melissa Hutchison), a young teenager surviving on her own, and a major protagonist from the previous two seasons. She continues to look after the baby from last season, Alvin Jr. Possibly also returning from the previous seasons are either Kenny (Gavin Hammon) or Jane (Christine Lakin), depending on the player's decisions from the previous season. Javi's group meets new characters from the idyllic town of Prescott, including their leader Tripp and town doctor Eleanor (Kelly Crowder). The first episode's trailer includes the group meeting Paul "Jesus" Monroe (Brandon Keener), the ambassador of the Hilltop community from the comic series. The trailer also describes "The New Frontier" as another group of survivors that have become twisted due to past events.
Plot
Javi is living with his parents and extended family in Baltimore at the onset of the walker epidemic. This includes his brother David, David's second wife Kate, and David's children Gabe and Mariana. When Javi and David's father dies of cancer, he turns and bites their mother. When David takes her to the hospital but does not return, Javi and Kate eventually move on and set off on the road with Gabe and Mariana. Four years later, while scavenging for supplies at a junkyard, the four have a run-in with a group composed of Max, Badger, and Lonnie, who claim the junkyard to be theirs. Javi is separated but is rescued by Clementine, who offers help in exchange for their family truck. Clementine takes Javi to Prescott—a fortified community within an old airfield—where he is introduced to Tripp, Conrad, Francine, and Eleanor. Tripp and Eleanor agree to help rescue Javi's family.
In the rescue attempt, Mariana is killed by Badger and Kate is critically wounded by his men. Clementine identifies one of the attackers as a member of The New Frontier—a large group of survivors she had once met—claiming they were once good people but have since turned corrupt. The group return to Prescott to heal Kate when Max and Badger appear at the gates—having taken Francine hostage—and demand Javi turn himself over. Regardless of Javi's response, Badger kills Francine and unleashes a horde of walkers into Prescott. Only Javi, Clementine, Tripp, Conrad, Eleanor, Kate, and Gabe survive. After regrouping, Clementine suggests they go to Richmond, Virginia, where a sizable survivor camp can be found. A walker horde separates the group: Eleanor stays with Kate while the others meet Paul "Jesus" Monroe, who takes them through a tunnel shortcut. After Jesus reveals that the New Frontier controls Richmond, Clementine warns Javi that she used to be a member of the New Frontier and will leave before reaching Richmond. Conrad listens to their conversation and suggests turning Clementine over to the New Frontier instead so that the group can enter Richmond safely and holds Gabe hostage to force Javi into agreeing. Javi either accepts the plan or kills Conrad.
