Parent's Guide: The Wolf Among Us - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

The Wolf Among Us: Episode 1 - Faith, is the opening chapter of a series of downloadable, episodic point-and-click adventures. Set in a gritty, dark New York City, where characters from popular fairytales have been forced to seek refuge and lead double lives, you're cast into the role of Bigby Wolf, the town's Sheriff, as you investigate a murder in an adventure that couldn't be further removed from the fairytales it's based on.

With Snow White working as your assistant detective, it's up to you to explore the crime scenes to gather clues, before chatting to the various characters as you try to piece together what happened. With a branching plot, the choices you make in each of the conversations will have a direct effect on the outcome of the storyline over the full set of episodes, with your words affecting your relationship with each of the characters in the process. If you think Mr. Toad is being somewhat less than truthful with you, you can try and persuade him to tell the truth; trick him into revealing more than he wants to; or, you can choose to get physical - but he'll remember what you've done.

A game that places a lot of emphasis on morals in a city where there are none, the Wolf Among Us is certainly aimed at an adult audience, but there are only a few things players may struggle with. The first, and arguably biggest challenge is the quick time events, where the game gives you a few seconds to press (or hammer) the button that comes up on screen. One of the more complex ones asks you to move one circle (controlled by your analogue stick) over another one, and gives you only a few seconds in which to do it, which some players may struggle with. While it doesn't have reams upon reams of reading, the game does nevertheless require a reading ability, as while mostly fully voiced, the dialogue options you have to choose from are each short, non-voiced sentences, although they aren't too complex.

Aimed squarely at an adult audience, the Wolf Among Us is brutal, violent, and full of bad language. From the moment you start, almost every other word is the f word, with wh***, and s**t making regular supporting appearances. In the first chapter alone, someone gets an axe embedded in their skull, before another character starts pushing down on it, to drive it in further, complete with squishing sound effects. And that's before you have to inspect a decapitated head. The game deals with mature topics such as suicide, murder, and prostitution, while the trailer for the next episode at the end of the game features a topless woman. From these alone, it's safe to say The Wolf Among Us is not for children.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Xbox 360