The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve (PlayStation 4) Review

By Drew Hurley 02.05.2016

Review for The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve on PlayStation 4

Michonne's tale from Telltale has been quite substandard when compared to its peers, but perhaps that's because the now iconic Telltale The Walking Dead series had set the bar so very high. With a mediocre first episode followed by a second that began to make amends, will this final episode, What We Deserve, deliver a package that can stand alongside Telltale's best, or will this be the most forgettable to date?

The previous episode left leeway for very different setups to the beginning of this finale, whether Michonne has Pete with her or whether he's captured along with the rest of the crew by Norma, along with after capturing Randall choosing whether to keep him alive or to kill him. Considering Norma will only trade the lives of the others for Randall, killing him makes things a little difficult…

The episode feels a lot shorter than the others and mostly consists of Michonne exploring the family home and speaking with what's left of their family in preparation for the arrival of Norma and her people, and then the inevitable showdown. The stress of the situation and the state of Michonne's mind means that any interactions in the environment tip Michonne over the edge and again her trauma and psychological issues are brought to the fore. The complete picture of her past is put together and, by the end of the story, Michonne is forced to choose between the new people she's met and the phantoms of her daughters. It's a strange choice to give, and not much of a choice at all, but at least it goes some way to resolving Michonne's story as she gains closure.

Screenshot for The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve on PlayStation 4

The grey areas of humanity and morality come right to the forefront in this episode. Norma and Randall may have been terrible people but they were in charge of a colony full of regular people that did nothing wrong and, regardless of the reasons for it, the actions of Michonne's group destroyed that community and left people in danger and without a home.

What makes this episode really shine is the writing. The interactions between Michonne and the young children in the family, especially, are heart-wrenchingly well written and well performed, delivering some real gut punches.

As with all Telltale titles, there's a question over just how much the choices made throughout the story will actually impact upon the ending. In this case, sadly, it's not much. There is some variation but the main elements of the ending are fairly set in stone. There's enough variation to make replays worthwhile, if only for the catharsis of being able to give some of the characters what's coming to them, but ultimately it feels like the choices made have little significance.

Screenshot for The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve on PlayStation 4

Cubed3 Rating

6/10
Rated 6 out of 10

Good

Whilst this ending somewhat redeems some of the flaws of the previous episodes, The Walking Dead: Michonne - Episode 3: What We Deserve is not without issues. The short nature of the episode and the lack of playable sections, along with the limited impact the choices have on the ending, really drag it down. This is still definitely worth experiencing for fans of Telltale titles or The Walking Dead in general but, considering the pedigree and promise of the premise, this ultimately is a disappointment.

Developer

Skybound

Publisher

Telltale

Genre

Adventure

Players

1

C3 Score

Rated $score out of 10  6/10

Reader Score

Rated $score out of 10  0 (0 Votes)

European release date Out now   North America release date Out now   Japan release date None   Australian release date Out now   

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