They say that in order to get to know someone you have to walk a mile in their shoes. Well, after you play The Wolf Among Us: A Crooked Mile, you’ll feel you know Bigby Wolf pretty well. The third episode in the season takes you all across Fabletown in a race against time to catch a killer, and by the time it’s over you’re left with more questions than answers. It serves as the perfect mid-season finale that leaves your jaw on the floor in anticipation for the next episode to come out so you can inch closer to the truth.This episode is also the one that will define the version of Bigby you are playing. It tests your nerves, patience and, above all, morals like no episode before.
Since The Wolf Among Us is a story-driven game, Discussing the plot of A Crooked Mile will inevitably lead to spoilers for this episode and the two before it, so I’ll keep it short. Episode three takes everything you think you know so far, and throws it out the window. You’ll question everything and everyone, even those you thought you knew. The facts don’t seem so straight-forward anymore, and the introduction of several new characters just makes things worse – in the best possible way. There’s so much story development in just a few short hours, with so much new information, that literally everything changes.
Despite everything that’s going on, A Crooked Mile features almost no action sequences. It is purely dedicated to letting you try and figure out things for yourself by investigating, talking and making all the wrong decisions for the right reasons. After the previous episode, the time for good-old-fashioned meticulous police work is over, and the hunt for the killer is on. The pressure of tracking down the killer before he manages to escape is felt the minute the episode starts, and will affect every single decision Bigby makes from that point onward. This makes A Crooked Mile the most intense episode yet, even with the lack of any real action.
That is, up until the end. The ending chapter is on par with the best mid-season finales television has to offer. It comes out of nowhere and is probably the best action sequence we’ve seen so far this season. Not because of actual action (though that’s awesome too), but because its intense nature and its inescapable consequences soon to follow in episode four.
And there will be consequences to everything you do this episode, and they will probably be horrible. It seems like no matter what you do, things just keep getting worse for Bigby and the other fables in Fabletown. You are forced to make some tough choices, like trusting someone you despise or dropping a lead in favor of a different one. A Crooked Mile is the first time you actually feel you missed out something by choosing to go a certain path – and you do. For every big choice there are entire conversations and new characters you won’t get to meet and experience. Playing the episode again, to see all there is to see, is almost a must.
You wouldn’t want to miss a thing anyway, as the visual aspect of the game is still spectacular as ever. The neon art style still fits perfectly with the overall vibe, and important moments are highlighted by impeccable visual design. You’d think that by now the whole fairytale angle would get old, but it keeps surprising you on many different levels, from character design to the great dialog they provide. New faces are fresh, and it’s always fun and interesting to see more of the world of Fables. Overall, episode three of The Wolf Among Us looks and sounds better than ever.
The Wolf Among Us: A Crooked Mile drives the story forward in the most unexpected ways and offers an intense experience filled with intrigue and mystery. It is also the episode that finally shapes Bigby into a rounded, deep character that’s more than just a big bad wolf or a misunderstood lawman, and defines the Bigby you’ll be playing for the rest of the season. A Crooked Mile is the best episode of The Wolf Among Us yet, and serves as a crooked milestone on the way to a great first season.
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