The Walking Dead: Michonne “Give No Shelter” review for PC, PS4, Xbox One

The second chapter of the Michonne focused 3-parter from Telltale Games picks up right where the first episode left off. Michonne, Sam, and Pete are in a precarious position, made even more dangerous by Sam and Michonne?s recent escape attempt, and Greg?s unfortunate demise. Now faced with the possibility of escape from Norma and her brother Randall, you?ll need to make a series of decisions that attempt to ensure the survival of everyone involved.

As far as middle chapters go, ?Give No Shelter? is decent, but doesn?t provide a whole lot of insight into Michonne?s pre-Rick existence. You?ll get one flashback sequence that unfortunately doesn?t seem to add much to the tale. More of this chapter?s focus is on current events, which introduces a few new characters. However, none of these new faces are exactly on par with the existing cast, and we?re not given enough time to care about any of them before they?re immediately put in harm?s way.

The only real standout moment is the end of the episode, where Michonne is faced with a decision that either allows her to deviate from the person she thinks she is, or allows her to dive a bit deeper into the violent haze that surrounds her persona. It?s a tough choice because one person certainly has something coming to them, but at the same time you get the feeling that it?s a step too far, and not entirely necessary considering the helplessness of that individual in the moment.

Still, that one moment doesn?t entirely redeem the hour or so it?ll take to play through the episode. This is, for me, one of the weaker episodes across the board for all of Telltale?s Walking Dead games. It felt rushed from a story perspective, with not enough time to linger on action or decisions. Character and world building was virtually non-existent. We get a moment or two of background info on Sam, but even that?s pretty fleeting. And the flashback sequence offered no additional insight that hadn?t been revealed from the previous ep.

Also, on PC, ?Give No Shelter? is a little rough around the edges. I encountered an issue where the game would constantly crash to desktop during the ?Previously on? intro. I tried a few tips from various forums, like turning off cloud saves and making sure I didn?t have a controller plugged in. The only thing that actually worked as uninstalling and reinstalling the game. Also, the game could get pretty choppy at times, with stuttering occurring early on that certainly broke up the flow of the narrative.

I?m definitely a little less enthused with The Walking Dead: Michonne having played this second chapter. Hopefully Telltale is able to wrap things up in a more meaningful way next episode, but as of now I?m a little less excited to dive in and see this thing through. I?ll still be playing it, of course, but my expectations are certainly tempered.