The Wolf Among Us Remastered's story holds up, even as its extras underwhelm

With a sequel coming soon, there's never been a better time to dive back into Telltale's story set in the world of DC Vertigo's Fables.

For all the time that Telltale Games has been around, the company arguably reached its zenith in the early 2010s. Many will associate that peak with The Walking Dead, but others will remember that the studio outdid itself with its next outing: The Wolf Among Us, based on the comic book world of DC Vertigo's Fables. The Wolf Among Us' high quality is a big reason why there's been so much anticipation for its sequel, which has been in and out of development limbo for nearly a decade. So much time has passed, in fact, that some people need to be reminded of just how good that original game was. Thus comes The Wolf Among Us Remastered, which is Telltale's update to its original masterpiece. Playing it again 12 years later, I can declare that the story still holds up and it goes a long way toward making up for some subpar extras.

It's been a while, but for those who have never played the original game or don't remember it, The Wolf Among Us is set in a remote section of New York inhabited by fairy tale characters exiled from their homeland. They do their best to blend in with the mundy (human) world and the key figure who helps keep them on that path is Sheriff Bigby Wolf, the former Big Bad Wolf. Following a night brawling with the Woodsman, Bigby finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery, where he must learn about the victim, her circle of contacts, what led to her sudden demise, and who ultimately wanted her dead and why.

Bigby as the town's detective fits beautifully with the Telltale formula, allowing players to approach characters and interrogations as they see fit. They can be a no-nonsense hardass, they can play "good cop" to try and get on people's good sides, or they can be a stoic enigma by going the silent route. Between talking to various characters, Bigby can examine crime scenes, search for clues, and ultimately attempt to put everything he finds together. Without spoiling the mystery's outcome, part of what makes The Wolf Among Us one of Telltale's best works is how meaningful early interactions can be. Eventually, an encounter-gone-awry can come back to haunt the player during the story's climax, showing that there can be skill involved when it comes to simply talking to somebody.

The other memorable aspect of the story is that there will be several instances where Bigby has to choose where to take his investigation. Selecting destinations can have their own set of consequences, as action may unfold somewhere else while Bigby's occupied. It lends to the idea that Fabletown is a living world and also offers some incentive to go back and replay certain sections to catch any story that might have been missed the first time.

Of course, as much as I wanted to wear rose-colored sunglasses for this stroll down memory lane, I did encounter one element that didn't age so well. The quick-time events are brutal, often giving players mere seconds to react. They come quickly, they're not always intuitive, and they sometimes have a lot of moving parts, like having to maneuver a cursor around before hitting a random button. In the time since The Wolf Among Us came out, game developers have gotten a lot more forgiving about QTEs in such a way that Remastered presenting them as they were comes across as somewhat primitive.

Beyond the engaging murder mystery, keen character dialogue, and excellent voiceover performances, The Wolf Among Us is also remembered for its gritty, yet colorful visual style. The Wolf Among Us Remastered improves those visuals greatly. The level of detail is even more staggering today than it was in 2014, not only giving this remaster an updated gorgeous sense of flair, but also giving me hope for the eventual sequel. With that in mind, this is where Remastered's additions begin to underwhelm. I was personally excited for Noir Mode, a new feature that allows players to experience Telltale's story in black-and-white. I've seen Noir Mode used to great effect in games like Keeper, but The Wolf Among Us Remastered's usage of black-and-white unfortunately feels bland. All I came to notice was the absence of the game's brilliant usage of color. Worse than that, it felt like a distraction when I was trying to seek out clues in the game's investigative sections.

The other major addition to Remastered is Deleted Scenes, like something out of a Blu-Ray. This could have been one of the game's coolest features, because each of the Deleted Scenes are fully playable. That means new dialogue choices, new sections to explore, and new characters to meet. Unfortunately, the animation quality in these scenes is shockingly poor. For example, character movements are either stilted or downright unfinished while some sound effects are simply missing. I understand that this is the nature of the beast with deleted scenes, especially in animated features, but if Telltale's going to go the extra mile and make these playable, then the quality should be higher than what's here.

Even with some extras that don't quite hit the mark, The Wolf Among Us Remastered is still worth checking out. Long before Nick Herman directed Shacknews 2025 Game of the Year Dispatch, he directed Telltale's The Wolf Among Us. It's a story that still holds up as a suspenseful mystery, a brilliant piece of character work, and a fascinating adaptation of a license that hasn't had very many of them. With The Wolf Among Us 2 still lined up for next year, now's a great time to look back at how it all started.

These impressions are based on a PlayStation 5 key provided by the publisher. The Wolf Among Us Remastered will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on Thursday, October 29 for $24.99 USD. The game is rated M.

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