Polygon called the 23-episode Telltale Walking Dead saga a perfect weekend binge this week, and the comments filled with the obvious follow-up: what comes next when you finish Clementine’s story. The Telltale formula (an episodic, choice-driven narrative with consequences, light puzzles, and quick-time action) had a brief golden age between 2012 and 2018, then survived in scattered descendants. Seven of those descendants are still very much worth your time on desktop, and most of them go on sale aggressively. We picked them for the strength of the choices, the writing, and how much the decisions actually carry across episodes instead of cosmetically fading.
What to look for in a Telltale-style game
Pick on these:
- Choice weight. The whole genre lives or dies on whether what you pick changes the story. Some games barely branch.
- Episode pacing. Two-hour chunks that end on a hook keep momentum; some games drag.
- Cast you care about. Telltale’s strength was characters whose deaths landed. Without that, choices are arithmetic.
- Replay value. Most people play once. The good ones reward a second run with a different lead choice.
- Performance on modest hardware. These are cinematic games, not GPU-burners; a 5-year-old laptop should run any of them.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Episodes | Length | Steam price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Walking Dead: The Final Season | The genre’s high-water mark | 4 | 8h | $19.99 |
| The Wolf Among Us | Noir fairy tale crime drama | 5 | 8h | $14.99 |
| Tales from the Borderlands | Comedy heist with great cast chemistry | 5 | 10h | $14.99 |
| Life is Strange Remastered | Time-rewind teen drama | 5 | 14h | $19.99 |
| Detroit: Become Human | Branching sci-fi with massive flowcharts | One game | 12h | $39.99 |
| Heavy Rain | Slow-burn serial killer thriller | One game | 10h | $19.99 |
| Game of Thrones Telltale | Episodic political tragedy in Westeros | 6 | 10h | $14.99 |
The games
1. The Walking Dead: The Final Season — Best Telltale game ever made
The Walking Dead: The Final Season finishes the Clementine arc Telltale started in 2012, and Skybound’s team picked it up after Telltale’s first closure to deliver it. The combat redesign actually lands (over-the-shoulder, real spatial awareness), the cast of Ericson kids each has a clear voice, and the ending earns the seven-year buildup. If you skipped this when it released because Telltale was in chaos, fix that this weekend.
Where it falls short: You really need to have played Seasons 1 and 2 first. Cold-starting from Season 4 means the emotional payoff is half-felt.
Pricing: $19.99 standalone; $39.99 for the Definitive Series with all four seasons remastered.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The genre peaks here. Buy the Definitive Series, block out a long weekend.
2. The Wolf Among Us — Best noir setting
The Wolf Among Us drops fairy tale characters into 1980s New York as a crime story where Bigby Wolf is the sheriff and Snow White runs the Mayor’s office. The art direction is the best Telltale ever produced. Choices push Bigby toward intimidation or restraint and the supporting cast remembers. The ending sets up a Season 2 that Telltale Games (under new ownership) has been working on for years.
Where it falls short: Five episodes leaves several mysteries hanging on purpose, banking on a sequel that has slipped repeatedly.
Pricing: $14.99.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Best two evenings you can spend in the genre after the main Walking Dead seasons.
3. Tales from the Borderlands — Best comedy in the genre
Tales from the Borderlands is the funniest game on the list and the one most people sleep on because the Borderlands name suggests shooters. It’s not. It’s a heist comedy with Rhys and Fiona narrating events at gunpoint, a soundtrack that rivals anything in the medium, and a cast (Loaderbot, Vaughn, Sasha) that earns its own spin-off energy. Choices change relationships meaningfully and the finale is one of the better endings in any episodic game.
Where it falls short: Light combat sections feel weak. The cliffhanger sequel (New Tales from the Borderlands) split fans.
Pricing: $14.99.
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The comfort food pick. Play it twice and bring a friend along for the second run.
4. Life is Strange Remastered Collection — Best teen drama
Life is Strange Remastered Collection bundles the original and Before the Storm with updated visuals, expanded mocap, and improved performance. Max Caulfield can rewind time, which converts every dialogue choice into a problem-solving puzzle: do you accept the consequence or scrub it and try a different option. The Arcadia Bay setting and the Max-Chloe relationship still anchor the whole thing five episodes later, and Before the Storm’s pre-Max Chloe story works as a complement.
Where it falls short: Pacing dips in Episodes 3 and 4. The remaster’s facial animation has divided fans.
Pricing: $19.99 for the Remastered Collection; original versions cheaper on sale.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: The on-ramp for anyone whose interest in the genre starts with characters rather than plot.
5. Detroit: Become Human — Best branching flowchart
Detroit: Become Human runs three intertwined android stories in near-future Detroit and shows you the actual branching flowchart after every chapter. Few games make consequences this legible. Every major character can die early or live to the end; the city itself takes different shapes depending on your choices. Quantic Dream’s QTE-heavy combat divides opinion, but the writing and the production values carry the rest.
Where it falls short: Story leans heavy-handed on its civil rights metaphor. Some QTE chains punish controller-only setups.
Pricing: $39.99.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this if you want the most replay value from a single playthrough’s branching paths.
6. Heavy Rain — Best slow-burn thriller
Heavy Rain is the older Quantic Dream game and still the best of its three on PC. Four characters search for the Origami Killer in rainy Philadelphia, and any of them can die without ending the game. Pacing is much slower than the Telltale games (it earns the word “thriller”) and the controls are deliberately awkward in a way that fits the desperation. The “press triangle to grieve” memes oversold how silly the controls actually are.
Where it falls short: Acting quality varies wildly between leads. Pace can lose readers who want fast episodic chunks.
Pricing: $19.99 (often on sale for $5).
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this when you want a single tense night with adult themes and a real mystery payoff.
7. Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series — Best political tragedy
Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series is six episodes of House Forrester (a vassal house of the Starks) trying to survive the War of the Five Kings. It overlaps with Season 3 to Season 5 of the HBO show but introduces its own characters. Telltale’s most pessimistic game: most major choices push you toward bad outcomes and worse outcomes, which is on-brand for the source material.
Where it falls short: Was originally pulled from sale during Telltale’s collapse; some bundles and DLC still surface as glitchy on Steam. Plays without HBO cast crossover (likeness rights), which lands oddly.
Pricing: $14.99 (when available).
Platforms: Windows, macOS.
Download: Steam
Bottom line: Pick this if you finished the show, never got closure, and want a tragedy that knows it’s a tragedy.
How to pick the right one
- If you want the genre’s high point: The Walking Dead: The Final Season (after Seasons 1-3).
- If you want a short noir story this weekend: The Wolf Among Us.
- If you want to laugh: Tales from the Borderlands.
- If you want characters more than plot: Life is Strange Remastered.
- If you want maximum branching from one game: Detroit: Become Human.
- If you want a real slow-burn thriller: Heavy Rain.
- If Westeros withdrawal still hits: Game of Thrones - A Telltale Games Series.
FAQ
Are there any new Telltale-style games coming in 2026?
The revived Telltale Games (under LCG Entertainment) has been developing The Wolf Among Us 2 with regular updates but no firm release window. Dontnod and Don’t Nod’s spinoff studios continue to ship narrative games in the Life is Strange family. The genre is small but hasn’t died.
Which Telltale game should I play first?
The Walking Dead Season 1. It’s how the studio invented the modern form of the genre and almost everything on this list reads better after you’ve played it. If Walking Dead doesn’t suit you, try The Wolf Among Us next.
Are the original Telltale Walking Dead seasons still on Steam?
Yes, as the Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series bundle. Skybound bought the rights when Telltale closed and the bundle remasters all four seasons with consistent visuals.
Do these games work on Steam Deck?
Most do. The Walking Dead Definitive Series, The Wolf Among Us, Tales from the Borderlands, and Life is Strange Remastered are Verified or Playable. Detroit and Heavy Rain need controller settings tweaks.
Are there free narrative games like Telltale?
Not really. The genre is small enough that almost everything in it is sold rather than free. Sale prices on Steam regularly hit 70-90% off, which is the next-best thing.
