Organization: Telltale Games

Telltale's highly anticipated The Walking Dead: Season Two is finally here with its brisk and brutal first episode, All That Remains. While the main story picks up 16 months after the end of Season One, the game wastes no time in reminding us of its inner darkness, with unnerving decisions around every bend, the occasional walker or two to keep you on your toes, and of course, the dangerous and distrustful individuals in Clementine's path who serve to remind us that Telltale isn't holding anything back. If only the episode as a whole wasn't so short and actually let us take control for more than a few minutes!As the episode's title would suggest, there is a reoccurring theme of aloneness that permeates the entirety of All That Remains. After the events of Season One and the heartbreaking first few minutes of this new installment, Clementine has all but been left to fend for herself, with a large chunk of the episode being devoid of any other human interaction. The few poignant remnants of Lee's memory that are expertly woven into the surroundings pack a serious emotional punch, and the overall direction that Telltale chose to give to their little heroine (not the least of which making her the playable character) is nothing short of genius."But despite the more low-key direction of this opening episode, there's no doubt about it that All That Remains is easily one of the most brutal experiences that Telltale has ever crafted, and probably features a few of the darkest and most unsettling moments that we've seen in a Walking Dead game so far. I was constantly shocked and stunned by some of the violent twists that occurred within the opening first hour, and one event in particular that involved an abandoned dog literally had me begging for the encounter to end: and then so of course, Telltale designed the game to prolong it even further in a way more excruciating fashion.