Adventure games, which are driven by exploration and puzzles, were a very popular genre in the 1980s and '90s but fell out of favor by the early 2000s. When Telltale Games' The Walking Dead was released in 2012, however, it showed that games in this mode were not only still viable, but potential hits.
Even a decade later, fans love the original game, as well as, to differing degrees, the sequels, and spin-offs to it. For those who wish to play games that in some way emulate the great parts of The Walking Dead, there are plenty to choose from.
Days Gone (2019)
The success of The Walking Dead franchise as a whole served to inspire a whole wave of zombie media, and video games were no exception to this. Bend Studio's 2019 game Days Gone is part of the trend wave, having been inspired by the TV series, down to its title from the Walking Dead pilot, "Days Gone Bye".
The game met with mixed critical success, although plenty of fans are clamoring for Days Gone 2 despite it being confirmed to have been rejected by publisher Sony. For fans of the zombie genre, it's worth a playthrough.
God of War (2018)
Parenthood seems to have become a recurring theme in games over the past decade, seen in such games as The Walking Dead and God of War is one of the most incredible examples of this theme explored in gaming.
Following series protagonist Kratos as he and his son, Atreus, embark on a journey of mourning, God of War is an emotional rollercoaster tucked inside an action-blockbuster game. It's one of the best games of all time, and fans of Lee & Clementine's relationship will find a lot of similarities with that between Kratos and Atreus.
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (2013)
Another game dealing with a quest defined by grief, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons sees the titular brothers seek out a cure for their ill father after their mother has already ed away. It's not a comedy game, that's for sure, but it's touching in its heartbreak, and stays with the player long after it's over.
The game also has each brother controlled by a thumbstick, making their emotional connection literal in that, like the thumbsticks, they're ed but distinct. Brothers is one of the best examples that prove video games can be art.
Life Is Strange (2015)
The original Life Is Strange video game was released in 2015 across five episodes, mirroring a format that Telltale Games had pioneered well before it was used with The Walking Dead. The story follows Max, a high school student who discovers she has time travel abilities.
Also, like The Walking Dead, Life Is Strange features a narrative that shifts based on the choices players make. At times it also relies on players having to a previous bit of information to get the story to go where they want. For narrative-focused players, it's a great choice.
Detroit: Become Human (2018)
Detroit: Become Human did, and the game remains popular even four years after release.
Taking place in 2038, when androids have become the smart devices of that generation, Detroit explores questions about the intersection between humanity and artificial intelligence. Also like previous games from the studio, it features a branching narrative that responds in an impressive variety of ways to player choices.
Until Dawn (2015)
Influenced by Heavy Rain and originally slated to release for the PlayStation 3-based Move controller, Supermassive Games's Until Dawn was delayed for several years until finally getting released in 2015. The survival-horror game follows several young adults in a remote cabin, where, unknown to them at first, they'll have to survive several threats until dawn.
Like The Walking Dead, the game is light on mechanics, focusing more on player choice and quick-time events. It's a great watch for fans of the horror genre, where, as one YouTuber puts it, the player essentially acts as the director of a horror movie.
Late Shift (2017)
If players want what truly does amount to an interactive movie, in the vein of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, there's the 2017 full-motion video game Late Shift, a crime thriller. The point-of-view character is Matt Thompson, a parking garage attendant in London who gets roped into a world of robbery and heists.
Like Bandersnatch, the appeal behind Late Shift is that even those who have never played video games before, or who aren't really into video games, can enjoy it as a movie-like experience, with the only mechanic being the choices of which path to take. For The Walking Dead gamers, Late Shift's story likewise takes center stage here and proves intriguing.
Her Story (2015)
Another game that centers around live-action footage, albeit in a completely different way, is 2015's Her Story. In this game, players are presented with a database of clips from a series of interviews with a murder suspect. The catch is that clips only appear with a searched keyword, and only five results are available for each search term.
The goal of Her Story is to gather information from clips to then search for, which then unlocks other clips, and so on until players gain an understanding of the events that transpired which led to these interviews. It's a fascinating detective game, unlike anything that had come before it. Be prepared to be challenged, but in a good way.
The Beginner's Guide (2015)
After his work on 2013 hit The Stanley Parable, game creator Davey Wreden decided to make another game about exploration, but one with a completely different tone and focus. The result is The Beginner's Guide, one of the most emotional indie games of all time.
What starts as a journey through a series of mini-games made by a developer named Coda (with players guided by Wreden's narration) becomes a fascinating exploration of the relationship between a creator and their audience, as well as the role that the creator's art plays for both groups. It's worth a playthrough for anyone who relates to those ideas.
The Last of Us (2013)
No comparison with The Walking Dead is more apt than with whose quest is to escort a young girl as zombie-like creatures and other humans threaten them.
Both games entered production around the same time, so one isn't a copy of the other. There are also plenty that set both games apart, including how much more mechanics-focused The Last of Us is. For fans of The Walking Dead, however, few games are as perfect a fit as this one.