During the DOS era of PC games, some games like Commander Keene experimented a bit in episode format. This was useful if you needed a smaller floppy disk storage space and a more compartmentalized game.
Episode games didn’t start to become more common until the mid-2000s, especially with the advent of companies like Telltale Games, but even games that were technically a single, complete experience began to use episode formats.
Episode games have two major advantages. For games that are actually divided into episodes, it allows for longer, staggered development times.
For both games that are already complete and games, keeping users engaged in the story is a clever story trick to maintaining the TV style each week. The format has become so popular that both games, big and small, use it. Some have used other games as stylistic choices and to keep us in a glorious, painful suspenseful.
Of all the games I’ve tried out, these are outstanding.
10
Alan Wake
Alan Wake is intended as a game to be the observation and dismantling of a kind of metatechstes of serialized horror mastery storytelling. It’s like watching consecutive episodes of Twilight Zone or Twin Peak, even nodding directly to the former in the form of Night Springs, an universe series.
As part of that Metatextual process, Alan Wake’s story is split into six episodes, each picking up from where the previous episode was left off, and initially adding a fun “previous” reel. It was helpful if you took a break between episodes, but playing the game normally is a bit extra.
Alan Wake was a single, complete game, but the story format of the episode worked well with the overall theme. It felt almost to me as if the game were self-aware of the nature of its own episodes, and intentionally placed the events in a structure that fits each week’s television broadcast.
9
Asura’s rage
It’s like watching Shonen Anime
If you grew up watching Shonen anime like Dragon Ball Z, you’ll be experiencing a long battle sequence that is running over the course of multiple episodes. In such cases, you are the perfect target audience of 22 episodes of Asura’s rage and furious punching.
Asura’s Wrath was built from scratch to become an “interactive anime.” Each episode of the story begins and ends with a little plot and setup. Of course, the gameplay is also very cinematic, with a wide range of simple sequences and quick-time events making the whole thing a more “watch” experience than “playing.”
The design is strange, Asura’s rage is very enjoyable. I’ve always known that this episode helps me integrate the action, so I’m getting another crazy action set piece. It was charming enough to guarantee a pack of DLC so that you can access the true ending via episode 19-22.
8
Deltarene
I’ll wait as long as it takes
Let’s draw a little picture. It’s a modest day in October 2018. Suddenly the internet starts making a fuss over Undertail News. “I’ve heard nothing,” I thought, “What is that?”
I checked the Toby Fox website and found an unmarked link to the mystical download. I was hoping for some stupid pranks, but what I got was the first episode of Deltarune, an all-new game.
To say that Deltarune’s existence is completely unprecedented would be an understatement, but obviously, it actually began development three years before Undertale took place.
Despite the Shadowdrop, it quickly became an online sensation, and thrills remained when Episode 2 fell three years later. It was full of familiar undertail traps that we came to love, but the story and characters had a new and clear vibe in itself.
At the time of writing, only the first two episodes are available to play, but three and four are dropped in a short period of time, and episodes can last 5-7. Of course, it doesn’t matter how long it takes. Once again, Toby Fox has the internet with his mercy.
7
Faith: The Impurity Trinity
More Mortis, more problems
Some episode games, especially the indie side of things, may not have been intended to be episodes, but they simply ended that way.
For example, I don’t know if faith was always thought to be a single three episodes intact or three separate games, but I don’t think it’s important to face a cohesive whole.
The original faith began quietly on itch.io in 2017, accumulating good coverage through word of mouth. Two years later, everything began to come together as an unholy Trinity, and the full version began in 2022.
This delay not only helped everyone continue to guess where this demonic story is heading, but the full release encouraged everyone to play it all again.
With all three episodes together, you get the full scope of the story, especially if you get into trouble breaking the secret boss in each episode. They say that some series only reach ideal state when all episodes are available, and I say that faith is a rather strong sign.
6
the walking dead
Undead Growth
Before 2010, Telltale Games focused primarily on more traditional point-and-click adventure games, relying widely on IPs saved from the ruins of Lucasarts.
However, in 2010, they began to focus a little more on new take on popular films and shows. But with the release of The Walking Dead in 2012, things really came to mind.
I wasn’t too concerned with the Walking Dead as a franchise prior to this, but as soon as the episode of Telleter began to fall, it was the only thing.
By blocking the elements of the puzzle and focusing more on the story, Telltale’s Walking Dead has become one of the most beloved game stories of the present day, proving the viability of the episodic form.
In addition to keeping us all enthusiastically suspense each month, the episodic format also helped us portray the passage of time, with the protagonists Lee and Clementine becoming visibly smarter with each subsequent episode. It was so popular that I ended up receiving three additional seasons in the same format.
5
Wolves between us
A great introduction to the story f
After Telltale was a huge hit with The Walking Dead, Race officially found the next big IP, treating it as an episode’s adventure.
On another stroke of Fortune, its next big hit pops up just a year after a lesser-known source. This is Wolf between us based on the comics in the Fables series.
I had never heard of F-Speak before, but when I played the first episode of Wolf among us I quickly became engrossed in the concept of fairy tale characters hidden in modern-day New York City.
My curiosity was further stabbed by the game’s main character, Bigby Wolf, and the incredibly complicated and twisted mystery he thinks he envelops himself.
Everyone wanted to know where the story was heading, who was about to be killed next, and that it would be revealed as the real culprit. It was like being part of the fan community for the HBO series.
There was supposed to be a second season, but Telltere went down before it appeared. Thankfully, development has resumed since the Telltale revival, but at the time of writing there is no estimated release date yet.
4
Siren: The Blood Curse
Multi-percent, in one or more ways
Siren is one of Sony’s unused gaming IPs, starting with the PS2 Way in 2003. This is a cult classic horror series with gentle, inexplicable plots and erratically grising monsters, perfect for J-Horror enthusiasts.
The third, and so far, the final game of the Siren series, 2008’s Siren: Blood Curse, was the most ambitious of the series in both gameplay and storytelling.
Siren: The Blood Curse emphasizes a perspective that informs both the story and the gameplay. The story is divided into 12 episodes in chronological order, each providing a perspective on cast members as they move alongside other episodes.
Seeing events occur from all individual perspectives gradually becomes clearer in the broader meaning of the story.
When it comes to gameplay, the main gimmick of the Siren series is Sight Jacking. Here you can draw a first person gaze from a nearby monster and decide on the heading to avoid it.
I’m not sure if “point” was assumed to be a recurring theme between story and gameplay, but whether it was intentional or not, it was a rather clever design choice.
3
Life is strange
Butterfly effect
During the raking at Telltale Dead Dollars in the mid-2010s, other developers began to join the Episode Adventure Wagon.
One such developer was Square Enix, looking for a cult hit of refills after a mid-remember Me reception. As a result, life was strange. It’s a five-episode story adventure about the big impact of small actions.
The repetitive themes of life are odd, both in the whole story and in the instant gameplay. Normally you don’t think about such things, but suddenly, the hero’s Max’s ability to rewind and undo his actions makes him a much more Starker contrast.
I remember thinking some of the dialogue was a bit… unclear, but looking back, it was a rather cool little epitome of the growth experience.
The characters are all very young and impulsive, but as they are in college, they quickly confront the fact that they no longer have any consequences, and are better shown as the story progresses. It was enough to guarantee at least some sequels and spinoffs.
2
Sam & Max: The Devil’s Playhouse
The Bizarre Adventures of Freelance Police
As I said before, before the Walking Dead Rush, Telltail was mostly supported by a new take on classic adventure game IP. One of the most prominent brands to be revived from the ruins of Lucasarts is Sam & Max, receiving three episode seasons under Telltale’s banner.
The first two were pretty similar, but the third season of the Devil’s Playhouse was when they pulled out the stop.
In addition to the usual “Pick up, pick up and rubbing others” style, Devil’s Playhouse also featured a slate of psychic powers for Max, including looking at the future and reading mindset. This created a fun, four-dimensional spin in the equation when he tried to replicate the conditions seen in his vision.
More than that, Devil’s Playhouse has a much more emphasis on through-line stories than the previous season, with the release of the episodes making you crazy.
I remember one of the episodes missing the release date in “one day.” That’s why I was so noisy all day at school.
1
Monkey Island Story
Perfect for fans and newcomers
Speaking of Lucasarts IPS, the other major license rescued from Scrapheap was Monkey Island, one of the epic daddies in the point-and-click genre.
As I had already rolled in the episode adventure, I chose to split my new take on Monkey Island into a five-episode series co-known as Tales of Monkey Island.
Tales of Monkey Island took threepwood, the unfortunate pirate ghost brushes across multiple islands and underwater areas throughout its run, introducing new characters while taking home old favorites like Stan and Murray.
The puzzle wasn’t anything special, but the story was supported by imaginative, charming, impressive, expressive and eye-catching character models and locales. I especially enjoyed the performance of Dominic Armato’s Guybrush.
Tales of Monkey Island was actually Telltale, the most successful game, until the big film and television licensing boom began in the future. It was also the last Monkey Island game we’ve had in a long time until we returned to Monkey Island in 2022 for over a decade.
