Short Summary is an original series in which I write brief reviews of movies, TV shows, video games, books, and more. Spoiler alert, just in case!

In his fable, he was the Big Bad Wolf. In the real world, he’s Bigby Wolf, the gruff, hard-boiled sheriff of Fabletown.

The Wolf Among Us is an episodic, interactive video game and one of the first big hits developed by Telltale Games (RIP!). It acts as a prequel to the comic book series Fables. Characters from folklore, anyone from Snow White to Grendel, live in modern-day Manhattan in a borough they call Fabletown after fleeing their mythical lands. They live in Fabletown among normal people, who they deem “mundies” due to their mundane existence.

But the fables have to hide in plain sight, including non-human ones like Mr. Toad and the Three Little Pigs. Those fables must purchase glamour, a kind of enchantment only witches can make that allows non-human fables to appear human. If they can’t afford to buy glamour, they are sent away to live on “The Farm”, which, as you’re told multiple times throughout the game, isn’t the greatest place to go.

You play as Bigby and, for those of you who aren’t familiar with how Telltale titles work, you can make choices throughout the game that “affect” the story, and no two playthroughs are the same. I put affect in quotes because the overall plot is already set in stone; every player reaches definitive moments in the game just like everyone else. However, certain scenes play out differently, depending on which dialogue choices you select. You can play Bigby as silent and aloof or, uh, more aggressive and violent. Me personally, I give Bigby a soft spot for the ladies… and no patience for anyone else!

I LOVE The Wolf Among Us. I’ve only played two other Telltale games–them being Game of Thrones and Batman–yet I’m not alone in thinking that Telltale peaked with this game. Thanks to the source material it’s based on, The Wolf Among Us has a very novel premise: what would it be like if mythical characters and creatures lived in our world? Can they leave their old worlds behind and have a fresh start here? Can they survive without wanting to kill each other?

Take Bigby, the main character. He was once the Big Bad Wolf. We’re told that he ate a lot of people back in his day. So now, in Fabletown, he’s attempting to atone for his past violence by being sheriff and protecting people instead of killing them. But he can’t escape his infamy. He’s still feared and hated by many of the fables, and he’s not even fully accepted by the other fables he works with or is “friends” with. Bigby is, quite literally, a lone wolf character. He does things on his own and lives by himself. He’s the sole sheriff of Fabletown; there isn’t a police department or any other type of law enforcement. I really enjoy characters that operate right down the middle like that, especially the loners.

A couple of big things about Telltale games can bother a number of players. One is the illusion of choice I mentioned earlier. Does the game actually change based on how you play or not? Players could question what the point even is to Telltale games. Two is the game mechanics. To be frank, there isn’t a whole lot of action in these games. For The Wolf Among Us, you mostly make Bigby walk around, and when you do get into fights, they all basically play out as quick-time events, which severely limits your control of the character. And quick-time events have sort of gained notoriety in the gaming community in a lot of negative ways.

At the end of the day, though, The Wolf Among Us is a wonderful mix of fantasy, mystery, and thriller that I loved playing the first time around. Crimes and motivations unravel as you learn more about these folk legends and their new roles in mundie society, and I can’t get over just how well executed this game is for such a strange and unique idea. I’m hoping to do my second playthrough much differently and see how things change!