Haven't played 5 yet, tonight, but I absolutely loved 2 and probably little to no chance it will beat it. Will update once I beat it.

EDIT: Alright, Ep. 5 was pretty fantastic. I will still give the nod to 2 because I loved it, but I also haven't played it since early July so probably a little bit of bias at this point. If I rank the episodes it would be:

1. 2 and 5
2. 3
3. 1
4. 4

Great job Telltale, you pulled it off.

3 because it packed the most punch!

I'd probably rank them 3,5,2,4,1

5 was really good, but it seemed like it was in a hurry to get things wrapped up, and didn't really build tension as well as it might have by slowing things down a bit. The hotel conversation probably could have been worked into an almost unbearable situation, but it ends far too quickly

3 easily had the most impactful (if perhaps not out of nowhere) twist. It was *the* series twist.

Episode 1 has the trouble of being the episode that's meant to set up the plot, but it is by no means a slacker when it comes to tough decisions. Episode 2 is great, but its twist is terrible cliche and predictable. For some people, it's their favorite. For me, it's my least favorite. Episode 4 is just barely better, but it loses points for taking so long to establish the bridge between it and the final episode. Episode 5 was unfortunately painfully predictable (though I very much expected for us to be controlling Clementine rather than giving her orders to the very end). That didn't prevent it from being an emotional tearjerker, though, and it was very well-executed regardless, so it's definitely up there for as short as it is.

Three was when I realized that this game had taken the gloves off. Also, I think it had the strongest self-contained story by far.

Five was a great conclusion, but if I have one complaint it would be, as @MildMolasses said above, that it seemed a little rushed.

Overall though, GOTY for me without hesitation.

I think I liked two, thats probably because I was too stupid to see what was going on until it was at the table.

Episode 5 is the only episode where I subconsciously found myself covering my mouth in horror multiple times.

It may be because I just finished it, but Episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever experienced. 
All the episodes were great really, but 5 just broke me down in a way no movie or game has done before.  

4, because I got to tell Kenny to go fuck himself.

@MaFoLu said:

It may be because I just finished it, but Episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever experienced. All the episodes were great really, but 5 just broke me down in a way no movie or game has done before.

I'm in the same boat. Literally just completed Episode 5, and it may not have been the most shocking, but it definitely was the most heartwrenching. I would probably rate it 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, but I am not really sure. All in all, one the best games I've played not only this year, but in the last couple of years. Damn, it was incredible, can't wait for Season 2!

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

Episode 3 is probably my favorite. Carley's death is still the most visceral reaction I had to anything throughout the entire season. The suddenness, the shock and the anger all together was unlike any reaction I've ever had to any game. 

Episode 3 easily. To me it was the first part in the game where it became less about doing whatever it takes to survive, and more about dealing with humanity and personal well being. "The Scene" in the forest is the most memorable and impactful moment of the series to me.

Five. For Clem.

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

I cannot stress how foolish it is to let that guide you. I hate zombie movies. They are all terrible. I hate zombie games because they do not make good enemies. But this game is about human interaction and struggle. It is truly great story telling in a game, and the zombies serve more as a background theme, then the central focus. You are doing a great disservice to yourself by not playing it for that reason

@MaFoLu said:

It may be because I just finished it, but Episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever experienced. All the episodes were great really, but 5 just broke me down in a way no movie or game has done before.

This. I beat EP 5 last night and I was on the verge of FUCKING TEARS. The only reason I didn't cry is because it's impossible for my body to produce tears. Not seriously but you get it. But man, I don't even want to play any other game now because it depressed the shit out of me. :'(

@MaFoLu said:

It may be because I just finished it, but Episode 5 is one of the best things I've ever experienced. All the episodes were great really, but 5 just broke me down in a way no movie or game has done before.

Yup. I'm still in... shock? Yeah, that might very well be what I'd call it. I thought they were all great, though the first was probably the weakest overall. Episode 5 may very well be my favourite, but again it's currently just about the greatest anything ever so I'm not in a state to better critique them all in detail to decide.

@AndrewB said:

3 easily had the most impactful (if perhaps not out of nowhere) twist. It was *the* series twist.

Episode 1 has the trouble of being the episode that's meant to set up the plot, but it is by no means a slacker when it comes to tough decisions. Episode 2 is great, but its twist is terrible cliche and predictable. For some people, it's their favorite. For me, it's my least favorite. Episode 4 is just barely better, but it loses points for taking so long to establish the bridge between it and the final episode. Episode 5 was unfortunately painfully predictable (though I very much expected for us to be controlling Clementine rather than giving her orders to the very end). That didn't prevent it from being an emotional tearjerker, though, and it was very well-executed regardless, so it's definitely up there for as short as it is.

I thought that was really clever and had me so fucking terrified! My eyes were deadlocked on the screen trying to find just bloody anything to interact with. And you're right, ending was super predictable (called it from episode 3), but it doesn't detract from how well they pulled it all off.

The sit down with the 'Stranger' as well.. I just know that there's a lot to be said about that scene alone.

Episode 5 for me. That ending was the greatest part of the season and after what happens to Kenny how can it not be my favorite. Ignoring this game because Jeff hates zombies is a terrible choice to make if you ask me. GOTY.

@MildMolasses said:

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

I cannot stress how foolish it is to let that guide you. I hate zombie movies. They are all terrible. I hate zombie games because they do not make good enemies. But this game is about human interaction and struggle. It is truly great story telling in a game, and the zombies serve more as a background theme, then the central focus. You are doing a great disservice to yourself by not playing it for that reason

Zombie is also a boring and uninteresting background theme. I can also ignore this because everything that Gary Whitta loves I hate, or at least strongly dislike. I think he has terrible taste so I have no faith that I would enjoy anything creative that he produces. I was already ignoring the game because of that but zombies is a good enough secondary reason. It's the reason I'm ignoring The Last of Us as well.

With the number of game sales, free games from PS+ and indie bundles I have more games than time to play them all. It's no skin off my teeth to ignore all zombie games, fighting games and RTS games while still enjoying all my gaming time.

@MildMolasses said:

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

I cannot stress how foolish it is to let that guide you. I hate zombie movies. They are all terrible. I hate zombie games because they do not make good enemies. But this game is about human interaction and struggle. It is truly great story telling in a game, and the zombies serve more as a background theme, then the central focus. You are doing a great disservice to yourself by not playing it for that reason

Zombie is also a boring and uninteresting background theme. I can also ignore this because everything that Gary Whitta loves I hate, or at least strongly dislike. I think he has terrible taste so I have no faith that I would enjoy anything creative that he produces. I was already ignoring the game because of that but zombies is a good enough secondary reason. It's the reason I'm ignoring The Last of Us as well.

With the number of game sales, free games from PS+ and indie bundles I have more games than time to play them all. It's no skin off my teeth to ignore all zombie games, fighting games and RTS games while still enjoying all my gaming time.

It's a pretty close match between 2 and 5 but I had to go with 2 in the end because that was the one which made me realise that this game was really something special.

4 but I like slow burn stuff. Lost in translation and the 1970s Solaris are my favourite movies of all time.

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

Despite The Walking Dead having zombies, I wouldn't even call it a zombie game. It's about the relationships you make and the character progression.

I'd probably go 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, but I do love them all.

@StarvingGamer said:

Episode 5 is the only episode where I subconsciously found myself covering my mouth in horror multiple times.

Same with me at the beginning of episode 5

I went with episode 3 but it's so close to 2 at the same time. Both were really fantastic episodes. 5 was a great conclusion to the series in the story that it told but the gameplay is actually pretty minimal but with what's going on, I didn't really mind. I liked episode 4 but it felt very weirdly paced to me with these frantic moments and then oddly quiet. I actually enjoyed the quiet moments as they broke it up but I think that they did it maybe a little too much especially how the home seems like it's a fort in the middle of no where but then it gets completely overrun in episode 5. I thought Molly was an interesting character (mostly because she had her shit together) but I didn't really grasp why introduce her and scrap her within the same episode. I would actually place episode 1 as my 3rd favourite episode. I enjoyed the gameplay and puzzles within this one as they made sense and didn't bog the game down but the puzzles and stuff just seemed to get lazier as the series went on and that's when they felt more like they got in the way and by the end it's just like, "yea, I fucking get it."

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

It's probably in the aisle marked, "Idiotic Generalizations." Straight behind you the way you came.

ON TOPIC: Three. Five is right there, but there was a bit less drama and everything that happened erred less on the side of surprise and more on the side of gravity. Which is totally okay, but the fact that Three balanced those two dynamics so well means it gets the extra boost.

Four was the weakest, with one and two being somewhere in the middle in some order. This is very likely the Game of the Year.

3.

Shit got real in episode 3. You knew to expect it after that.

2,5,4,3,1

Episode 3 was half broken for me whole scenes played out with the characters in full on Game Room arms out poses and the game locked up a few times. That said the Carley and Lilly sequences were still great.

@Yummylee said:

I thought that was really clever and had me so fucking terrified! My eyes were deadlocked on the screen trying to find just bloody anything to interact with. And you're right, ending was super predictable (called it from episode 3), but it doesn't detract from how well they pulled it all off.

The sit down with the 'Stranger' as well.. I just know that there's a lot to be said about that scene alone.

Yeah, I think it had a lot of impact. Like I said, you're Lee to the very end. I still spent that entire scene asking "so when do I have to shoot Lee?" just because I was sure they were going to finish by switching main characters. The only problem I had with that scene is that I was trying to create a self-reliant Clementine, and yeah, she'd taken the shot earlier and become a hardened little girl, but I didn't like Lee giving her exacting orders until he couldn't anymore. Buuuut~ that wasn't the only piece to that scene. It was sweet and horribly depressing and I wish I could have conjured up more than "stay away from cities" as part of my final words (but it seemed better to give her some actual survival advice in such a dire situation rather than joke about the hair).

I actually have my bones to pick with the "Stranger" scene (oh god, we need to find a different way of referencing that), but maybe I should take that to an Episode 5 discussion thread.

I feel bad for those of you who can't get off your high horse about zombie games long enough to try this one. A well-executed project based on a currently overused concept is still a well-executed project. Game of the Year material.

@mosespippy said:

@MildMolasses said:

@mosespippy said:

Where is the "It's a zombie game so I ignore it by default" option?

I cannot stress how foolish it is to let that guide you. I hate zombie movies. They are all terrible. I hate zombie games because they do not make good enemies. But this game is about human interaction and struggle. It is truly great story telling in a game, and the zombies serve more as a background theme, then the central focus. You are doing a great disservice to yourself by not playing it for that reason

Zombie is also a boring and uninteresting background theme. I can also ignore this because everything that Gary Whitta loves I hate, or at least strongly dislike. I think he has terrible taste so I have no faith that I would enjoy anything creative that he produces. I was already ignoring the game because of that but zombies is a good enough secondary reason. It's the reason I'm ignoring The Last of Us as well.

With the number of game sales, free games from PS+ and indie bundles I have more games than time to play them all. It's no skin off my teeth to ignore all zombie games, fighting games and RTS games while still enjoying all my gaming time.

That's fair enough, but the end result is you're missing a great story which is not really about zombies. However boring a background theme is, it's still just a background theme. I don't play any zombie games and I think the Whitta-penned episode of TWD (episode 4) is probably the weakest - in fact it disappointed me and lowered my expectations for the finale, which left me all the more bowled over by how much the game returned to form in episode 5. As a whole this game is still up there challenging XCOM for my GOTY.

5th probably.

i really, really liked episode two. episode three had one of the most shocking events of the entire series, the twist at the end of episode four was soul crushing and some of the events towards the end of episode five (the meeting with the stranger was one of my favorite scenes in the entire series) were amazing.

..oh hell, i like them all too much to decide.

2 was a great stand alone episode had it's narrative and ark and twists all in the episode, felt like the longest one too.

It's probably a tie between 3 and 5, maybe with 3 eeking out ahead.

Too hard for me to choose. I felt like they all built on each other and just got better and better as they went. 3 and 5 definitely stand out for the emotional punches they have.

One thing about 3 is... if you save Doug instead of Carly, The Scene is way different. It doesn't hit as hard. I chose Carley in my first playthrough, so I got the full effect the first time, but I'm a little bummed for everyone that chose only Doug.

3 was my favorite. I liked 1, it was decent set up. I found 2 so dead obvious in where it went that it killed some of my enjoyment of it, but it was still decent. 3 just fucking punched me in the face repeatedly, and introduced some cool new characters. I liked 4 pretty well, it had some cool moments, and I loved Molly as a character. 5 is probably my second favorite, man, what an end.

5 > 3 > 2 > 4 > 1, although even 4 I enjoyed a lot. 1 is really the only episode I didn't particularly enjoy, it didn't feel like it was "there" yet and there didn't feel like there was much cohesion to the story.

@Dezztroy said:

4, because I got to tell Kenny to go fuck himself.

The man makes a compelling argument. There is nothing more satisfying than that dialogue option.