Telltale's The Walking Dead has ended, but the difficult choices we made stick with us. The narrative adventure proved that the zombie apocalypse forces you to make the toughest decisions that mean life and death for yourself and others.
There are plenty of tough ones in each season of the game. The following ones are the most difficult. These are the sort of choices that made some players turn off the game due to the stress or replay an entire episode just to change this one decision. Also, major spoilers ahead!
Updated October 10, 2022 By Ben Jessey: While it isn't the scariest horror series of all time, Telltale's The Walking Dead is an excellent entry in the genre. So, now that we're heading into the spooky part of the year, it's fun to look back on all four seasons.
Each one of them had a slew of difficult decisions to make, which had serious consequences. We put some of the biggest choices on the list. However, some significant ones missed out. So, we've updated the piece to add them.
15 Stay At Wellington Or Leave With Kenny
If you have Kenny by your side at the end of season two, you will reach the safe haven known as Wellington. Yet, unfortunately, the place isn't accepting new members, as they're at capacity. Kenny, however, manages to convince them to let you and AJ inside, as you're just kids.
While this would mean safety for Clem and the baby, Kenny would be left on his own to survive. You get to decide if that's what you want, as the alternate option is to leave with Kenny in the hopes you can find another safe place. It's a very tough decision because you don't want to leave anyone behind, but going with him could put the kids in jeopardy.
14 Let Ben Go Or Pull Him Up
Ben from season one is a problematic member of the team. He's a nice-enough person, but he's also a liability due to his poor decision-making. His worst decision is when he makes some shady deals with bandits. This move ends up leading to the deaths of several characters, most notably Duck and Katjaa.
So, you may have issues with the guy, which makes the decision to save him at the end of Around The Corner a difficult one. At the time, he is hanging from the top of a bell tower with you trying to pull him up as zombies close in on you. Ben asks you to sacrifice him and escape. This would potentially lead to fewer problems down the line, but it means letting a guy die.
13 Save Louis Or Save Violet
The final season of The Walking Dead is a game with romantic options. The people you can woo are Louis and Violet, who are both very likable. They're also two characters who get into serious trouble later in the story when Lily's crew attacks your base and grabs them both. You only have time to save one.
While you may naturally opt for the one you want to romance, it's still a difficult choice. After all, they're the best characters in your crew, so you probably like them both. And there are certainly consequences for the one you don't rescue.
12 Handing Out Food Rations
Walkers and murderous humans aren't the only threat to the main crew throughout the seasons. Lack of food and supplies is also a problem at times. You recognize this early in the second episode of the first season when an angry Lily puts you on rations duty.
You have four food items and ten hungry allies. Therefore, you must decide who eats and who doesn't. Naturally, your choices impact the relationships you share with the rest of the crew. And there are no perfect outcomes.
11 Show Or Hide Lee’s Bite
Disaster strikes towards the end of the fourth episode of season one, as Clementine goes missing and Lee gets bit by a walker. The bite happens when the protagonist is alone looking for Clem. So, your allies don't know what has happened. They soon start walking up to you, though, and you have to decide whether to show them the bite or not.
Of course, you don't want to lie to your friends, and they should know if they're near someone who's going to become a walker soon. On the other hand, though, you may need your friends' help in finding Clementine, and they may be less inclined to assist a soon-to-be walker.
10 Save Carley Or Doug?
Choosing between Carley and Doug is the first hard decision of the first episode of the first season. You just met these two people and suddenly you have to decide which one you are going to save in a sudden moment of a zombie attack. It does not help that both of them are very friendly people.
Most players have chosen Carley since she is someone you can flirt with. Poor Doug.
9 Kill Lee Or Let Him Turn?
At the end of the first season is the most heartbreaking scene of the series, Lee's death. As Lee, you tell Clementine your final bits of advice for her to live by. Then is the hardest choice, do you ask her to kill you so that you do not turn? Or to you tell her to leave and let yourself turn?
Most players kill Lee. But it is definitely understandable to not want to put Clementine through the horror of killing her apocalypse father figure.
8 Shoot Kenny Or Let Jane Die?
This major second season decision comes in the final part of the last episode. Everyone gets separated, Jane comes back without the baby, and Kenny finally snaps. The two break out into a fight. When Kenny gets the upper hand, you have the option to shoot him or let him kill Jane.
You have known Kenny for far longer, but he is also becoming more and more violent as the season has progressed. Be careful, because you might regret your choice when you find out what really happened to the baby.
7 Cut Off Arm Or Leave It Alone?
At the end of the first season, Lee gets bit by a walker. When his friends find out, they suggest cutting off his arm as a possible way to save him and prevent the infection from spreading. In the end, it is your decision.
While cutting off the bitten limb has worked in the past in the Walking Dead franchise, unfortunately, it was too late for Lee. You do not know if it will work or not at the time though, making this a big decision.
6 Help Kenny Kill Larry Or Not?
Everyone can agree that Larry is a jerk to Lee, but does that mean siding with Kenny about killing him? TellTale makes the decision feel impossible to make.
You are locked away with Larry who collapses due to a possible health issue. His daughter, Lilly, begs you to help her perform CPR. Kenny gets other ideas since if Larry dies, he'll become a giant walker. No matter what, Kenny will kill Larry. What your decision really influences is whether Kenny or Lilly is mad at you.
5 Shoot Off Which Person's Foot?
This was the hardest choice to make in the 400 Days DLC. Vincent's story is that the apocalypse starts while he is trapped on a prison bus. He and two other prisoners have their feet shackled to the floor. You have to pick which one to betray and shoot his leg off in order to escape.
However, you just met these guys and have very little to go on. All you know is one is there for sexual assault, though he claims to be innocent, and the other is a white-collar criminal and proud of it.
4 Save Duck Or Shawn?
At Hershal's farm in the first season, you get to choose between saving the Kenny's child, Duck, or Hershal's son, Shawn. What complicates the matter is that Duck ran over Shawn with a tractor. So the situation is sort of his fault, but he is also a little kid. Whichever one you choose, one of the dads are not going to be happy with you.
No matter what, Shawn dies. After all, he isn't around in the comics or show like Maggie is so Walking Dead fans probably saw that coming.
3 Steal From Car Or Not?
At the end of the second episode of the first season is a choice to steal supplies from a car or not. It is open and full of food and medicine. However, where are the people?
No matter what you choose, the group will steal from the car. You just choose whether to partake or not. There is a twist at the end that reveals that stealing from this car was a really bad idea.
2 Save David Or Richmond?
The third season was the least popular since you did not play as Clementine or Lee, but it definitely had its moments in terms of difficult choices to make. One was between chasing after your brother and his son or saving a town of people. If you do not chase your brother and his son, they die.
What is interesting is depending on past choices, Clementine independently makes a decision on her own. It was an example of Telltale really maturing in terms of long-term consequences with Clementine's character.
1 Let AJ Shoot Lilly Or Not?
Finally, it's a choice from the final season. The whole last season is similar to the first in the fact that Clementine is now raising a kid. However, AJ has grown up in the apocalypse and there is concern that his humanity is at stake with some of the choices you make for him.
There comes a point as to whether you let him shoot the main villain, Lilly, or listen to James and teach him mercy. If you let AJ shoot Lilly, James absolutely hates you and tries to kidnap AJ. If you teach AJ mercy, Lilly kills James.