I wasn’t planning on writing anything today but having been totally caught up with a game that I finished this morning, I felt like it was worth a mention.

The Wolf Among Us is a masterpiece.

I’d seen on TrueTrophies a couple of people I follow play this some time back but never really looked into it having seen or heard nothing about it anywhere else. I then saw that it had been released as a full collection (it’s an episodic affair) but didn’t feel I wanted to part with the money enough to buy it given other games I was more interested in.Finally, when I saw on PSN it was less than £11, I bit the bullet. And I’m hugely glad I did.

In a world based in nursery rhymes and fairy tales, you play Bigby Wolf, the sheriff of Fabletown. When you discover a murder has taken place, you’re drawn into a tale of corruption, lies and exploitation.

The action takes the form of point and click decision based story telling, interspersed with quick time events where you need to either press a button at the right time, or move the analogue sticks in a direction, sometimes coupled with a button press. It all works brilliantly to maintain the pace and suspense of the story without the feeling of becoming distracted. It sucks you in and before you know it, hours have passed.

The characterisation is excellent, taking well known fairy tales or nursery rhymes and turning some of them on their heads without going so far as to make it ridiculous. Frequently I found myself smiling or laughing at how threads were tied together or how subtle additions to surroundings or conversations added to the tale being referenced (the butchers is on the same street as the bakers and the candlestick makers, that kind of thing).

From what I’ve read elsewhere, this is a prequel to a series of graphic novels called ‘Fables’ by Bill Willingham. I’ve not seen these, I wasn’t aware of them at all, but I’ll certainly be checking them out now. And if you’re interested in collecting trophies / achievements, you’ll be able to 100% this without too much trouble. Most trophies / achievements are collected by completing the chapters and episodes, but a few require you to play a section a second time. I’ll be collecting the platinum trophy in a short while.

Seriously, if you’ve a few quid to spare, and a few hours to burn getting drawn into a fantastically constructed story, do yourself a favour and pick this up. You’ll not find it the most action packed affair, but its still one of the most impressive video games I’ve ever played.