The first season of Telltale Games’ episodic The Walking Dead series had an immediate impact on the gaming world upon release in 2012.

It wasn’t the company’s first flirtation with episodic adventure storytelling—merely the perfection of a formula they refined over the course of the Sam & Max games and with other licensed properties like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.

The Walking Dead was different though. Set in the zombie apocalypse of the popular comic series, the first season of The Walking Dead introduced players to Lee Everett and Clementine, a man convicted for murder and the young girl he vowed to protect. In doing so, Telltale crafted a challenging morality story, an experience that demanded attention.

It revolutionized a genre and inspired many imitators, all looking to capture what made Clementine’s story so special. The Walking Dead placed you into the shoes of a terrified young girl, adapting to a changing world where danger and death lurked everywhere. Worst of all, the hope of something better—of finding parents, finding safety—served only to torture, enhancing the cruelty on display after society crumbled.

And there you were, trapped in the middle of it and forced to make choices that shaped the direction of the story, including whether your companions lived or died. It was intense, intimate, and special.

While The Walking Dead's first season told a complete story that cemented its place in gaming history, it didn't end there. Telltale went on to make additional seasons, following Clementine as apocalyptic upheaval became a daily reality, and as a scared girl became a capable woman, coming of age amidst the unthinkable. Forced to learn who to trust, who to fear, and how to survive.

For those that stuck with the series beyond this first season, the episodes that followed offered an expansive character study that grew with its players and with advances in the talent of its development team and technology.

In the end, The Walking Dead tracked the complete story of Telltale Games itself, a company that pioneered and mastered a genre that became synonymous with its name through to the very end—and long after. The release of The Walking Dead’s final season marked the moment the studio entered administration, the final creation of the original Telltale Games.

Revisiting The Walking Dead in 2023 gives longtime fans and newcomers alike a chance to experience this incredible story for themselves, and to look back on a title that set the standard for high-quality game storytelling in years to follow. While it’s easy to recommend The Telltale Definitive Series collection of these games for their historical significance alone, that’s far from the only reason to give The Walking Dead a chance.

The story of Clementine is one of resilience, a loss of innocence, and humanity. It’s a story that will make you cry—and a story that will make you hope. The Walking Dead still deserves to be experienced, start to finish.

You can pick up The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series on the Epic Games Store.