5 Telltale Games We Want To See

Telltale Marvel

Telltale Games have a big few months ahead of them, with the finale of The Walking Dead series coming close to the end of the year and the equally promising sequel to The Wolf Among Us confirmed for next year. My tear ducts are ready to fight back the inevitable feels and my trophy cabinet is primed for a couple new Platinum beauties.

We’ve taken a stab at predicting some of upcoming projects of one of gaming’s biggest innovators in the past, asking really nicely for The Last of Us, Lost and Harry Potter to get the Telltale treatment. Unfortunately, they’ve yet to follow up on some of our suggestions, so we thought we’d twist the metaphorical arm a little more and surmise five more potential franchises for the dev team to sink their claws into.

 

1. Star Trek

When thinking of the greatest episodic TV shows of all time, you’ve got to cast your minds to Star Trek. Whether you’re deep into the Trekkie culture or are merely aware that John-Luc Picard is the superior captain of the Enterprise, Star Trek could be an exciting setting for a Telltale journey to take place in. Being aboard one of the Federation’s flagships brings a mass of opportunities to explore and indulge in Roddenberry’s whimsical universe, with limitless potential for creative storytelling and intriguing character-based drama.

Star Trek has a litany of different alien species, all with specific personality traits that would be fun to interact and forge relationships with. There is so much of a rich history in Trek that could be exploited across many Telltale seasons, where you take your Federation cadet from First Contact, all the way through the Klingon War and then beyond, meeting all sorts of characters in the process.

Star Trek has always stood out to be a perfect opportunity for Telltale. You’ll remember the characters, the moments you create with them and the overall story that’s told. I’d love to hand-pick the crew for the new Enterprise and take them to all these landmarks seen throughout the TV shows, while getting a cheeky Platinum in the meantime.

 

2. The Avengers: Civil War

Civil War

Telltale and Marvel are already involved in a healthy relationship with one another, giving birth to the magnificent Guardians of the Galaxy series that released last year. Of course, there’s so much more Marvel for Telltale to sink their claws into, and with us in the middle of a renewed superhero boom, why not take a stab at The Avengers?

Perhaps this will be the end-goal for Telltale, while they slowly introduce gamers to each of the popular factions of superheroes over the years. Either way, being able to see that rich Telltale banter between Captain America, Thor and Iron Man would be incredible.

In terms of a narrative, Civil War stands out as one of the most well-known Marvel story-arcs and a perfect pick for Telltale. A Civil War demands that you pick a side based on your beliefs, and in this case, choosing between Pro and Anti Registration, putting aside your fanboy-ness for Tony Stark and putting some shield to faces with Cap.

Whether you take command of a new superhero, or choose from one of the Avengers, would be an interesting route for Telltale to go down. This would be huge for Marvel fans and gamers alike.

 

3. Stephen King’s It

Pennywise Clown 2017 IT
Source: moviezine.com

So here’s one that I doubt would be made any time soon, but one that to me has a lot of potential. Telltale have yet to explore the horror genre, leaving their distant RPG counterpart Supermassive Games to hold the fort down with Until Dawn and The Inpatient. However, Stephen King’s novels are, at their heart, stories of friendship and character – It and Stand By Me being your homework if you’ve yet to take a look into his weird mind.

It has of course seen recent success in cinemas, giving some life back to Pennywise -based shenanigans. Why not cash-in on this phase of popularity and let players explore Derry as one of ‘The Losers Club’ – making friends with your fellow classmates and facing your fears against the demonic Pennywise?

The beauty of Telltale has been the potential to expand the lore and study events and characters from a different point of view than what we see in the TV shows, Stephen King’s It suffers from not having much in the way of exploration. Unless of course, this is a new chapter of Derry’s history that has yet to be explored on paper. The concept of Pennywise is that he returns every 27 years to terrorise the township and eat some kiddies. Perhaps Telltale’s version can introduce us to new characters, years before or after Bill Denborough and co.?

I’d love to see Telltale attempt some form of dark, twisted horror at some point, taking the brooding aesthetic of Wolf Among Us and combining it with the threat of The Walking Dead. It could feel completely new, if anyone dared to give it a chance.

 

4. Yakuza

I’ve recently finished playing Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Looking back on my experience of Kamurocoho and the series as a whole, I believe it’s the ideal source material for a new Telltale series. For those that have never given Yakuza a go before, it’s a perfect mixture of rich storytelling and that silly Japanese humour which grants you the chance to turn a chicken into a real estate tycoon.

Kazuma Kiryu is the Dragon of Dojima presiding over the dank city of Kamurocho and maintaining peace (if you can call it that) between the warring Yakuza clans. The series has a fantastic range of lovable characters that would make great characters for a Telltale series. The colours, the action, the humour all lend itself to Telltale in a way that I believe few other video game titles can.

Yakuza is experiencing a Renaissance with the Kiwami HD overhauls and the continued story that’s still being fleshed out. There’s no better time for Sega to whip up some more Kiryu kontent with Telltale as the driving force.

 

5. WWE

Source: WWE

So of course I was going to resort to wrestling. Professional wrestling is the perfect amalgamation of athleticism and storytelling, typically referred to in the form of WWE: the soap opera of combat sports. 2K games are forever trying to find the perfect story mode in their annual attempts at a video game, yet can’t seem to crack what makes an interesting story that can take advantage of the vibrant troupe of characters that are found on weekly television.

You’d be quick to think that Telltale might not be able to pull off an episodic drama based on a weekly televised wrestling show, but I beg to differ. Each ‘superstar’ is given their own gimmick, with a background that traditionally translates itself as ‘they started at the bottom, now they here’. WWE is the big leagues of professional wrestling, every wrestler has a deep rooted desire to make it to their biggest show: WrestleMania. Where do you start that journey? In the NXT Performance Centre.

What I’m suggesting is that WWE reach out to Telltale, let them take over their career mode and actually make it an interesting character journey, where your newfound NXT recruit is fighting to become recognised in the ring and backstage. You forge relationships with fellow talent and trainers, make enemies along the way and build your fame as you progress through the ranks.

WWE has so many huge names that would make waves for Telltale Games if they were to be on board. Imagine if John Cena were to provide a few voice-overs? It’s a story that writes itself and one that could, again, be huge for the gaming world if done right.

I’m picturing the final episode now, you win the NXT title, you get ridiculously over with the crowd and then: *Vince didn’t notice that*.

Have any other franchises you’d like to see as a Telltale Game? Let us know in the comments below.

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