The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
A new protagonist leads a fractured group in the zombie apocalypse.
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is a 2016 episodic graphic adventure video game developed by Telltale Games, based on the comic book series of the same name. It is the sequel to The Walking Dead: Season Two and the third game in the series, notable for introducing a new protagonist, Javier Garcia, while shifting Clementine to a supporting role, and for receiving mixed reviews unlike its predecessors.
Quick Facts
- Title
- The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
- Developer
- Telltale Games
- Series
- The Walking Dead
- Engine
- Telltale Tool
- Platforms
- Android · iOS · Windows · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Nintendo Switch
- Released
- Nintendo SwitchWW · January 21, 2020
- Genre
- Graphic adventure / Interactive movie
- Modes
- Single-player
- Director
- Jason Latino · Rebekah Gamin Arcovitch · Chris Rebbert · Chris Rieser · Jason Pyke
- Producer
- Lisa Schulz
- Designer
- Matt Boland · Jean-Francois Guastalla · Matt Allmer · Chris Schroyer · Stephen McManus
- Programmer
- Randy Tudor · Grady Standard · David R. Chaverri
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game takes place in the same fictional world as the comic, where a zombie apocalypse has caused society to collapse. Due to time skips in season two and between seasons two and three, the timeline is caught up to where the comics are. The main characters are mostly original characters, with Clementine returning as a playable character but the main protagonist being Javier Garcia. The story follows Javi and Clementine working together to rescue their respective families from the New Frontier, a group Clementine used to be a member of.
Reader's Guide
The Walking Dead: A New Frontier employs the same narrative structure as past seasons, where player choice in one episode permanently impacts future story elements. Player choices recorded in save files from the first two seasons and the additional episode 400 Days carry over into A New Frontier. The game is a point-and-click adventure with two playable characters: Clementine and Javier. Players can examine scenery, collect objects, and initiate conversations via conversation trees with timed choices. Action scenes require quick time events, and failing them restarts the scene. The game makes extensive use of a flashback narrative structure. Unlike the first two seasons, it received mixed reviews, with praise for its new cast, updated engine, and new direction, but criticism for short episode lengths, treatment of season two's endings, and Clementine's shift to a supporting role. A fourth and final season, The Walking Dead: The Final Season, with Clementine as protagonist, was released episodically from August 2018 to March 2019.
Did You Know?
- The game was originally meant to come to PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but these versions were cancelled roughly three weeks before launch.
- Telltale provided a tool for players to quick-create a tailored backstory for Clementine with 42 possible variations.
- The game introduces Paul 'Jesus' Monroe, an ambassador from the Hilltop community appearing in the comic series.
- The first two episodes were released in December 2016, with the final episode released in May 2017.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Walking Dead: A New Frontier?
It is a five-episode graphic adventure title built by Telltale Games in 2016, serving as the third installment in the studio's Walking Dead game lineup and a direct follow-up to Season Two. The game adapts the comic book series of the same name and centers on Javier Garcia, who must keep a struggling group of survivors alive in the ongoing apocalypse.
Who is the main character in The Walking Dead: A New Frontier?
Javier Garcia steps into the lead role, guiding a fractured band of survivors through the zombie-ravaged world. Clementine, the face of the earlier seasons, is still in the story but is repositioned as a supporting figure rather than the one the player controls.
When did the episodes of The Walking Dead: A New Frontier come out?
The first two episodes hit digital shelves in December 2016, a physical season-pass disc edition followed in February 2017, and the fifth and final episode landed in May 2017. In total the season spans five episodes.
Why is The Walking Dead: A New Frontier important to the series?
It is the first Walking Dead game to hand the protagonist spotlight to a completely new character, deliberately moving Clementine out of the lead seat. It also stands apart from its two predecessors in critical reception, drawing mixed reviews rather than the near-universal praise those earlier seasons received.
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