70%PlayStation 4

Episode 2 contains a massive cheat that undermines the unnerving and unexpected twist ending of the previous episode, however luckily, the story actually doesn't do this as a cop-out – instead, it actually uses this to raise more questions, and later on, these questions begin to paint a far darker picture than you initially think (which is already quite dark..). This episode also begins to put your actions from the previous episode into perspective, as my choices actually make things more difficult in this chapter, having now made enemies of potential allies. There is a greater emphasis on investigation this time around, and I do dig this, but like before, the world-building itself is still quite murky. Perhaps worse, if you are unfamiliar with the stories of some of these fairy-tale characters, then a lot of the significance of these plot-twists are going to be lost on you. One thing I really enjoy about this series is how well it integrates these fairy tale backstories into complex inter-personal relationships, as well as integrating them into how these characters would live their lives in a modern setting, but if you are unaware of the stories of a few (I am somewhat unfamiliar with about 1/5 of them myself), then these characters just feel like random works of fiction. But the actual plot is the main draw here (well, that and the atmosphere during the quieter moments), and this is more than strong enough to carry the weight.

80%PC

Ginny's score: 8.452. My score: 8.

More involving than the first episode with some good mystery and investigation to be done. There are some great shocks and twists here. It's also paced very well, and although it has a very short run time it does flow nicely and feels like a satisfying experience. As a newcomer to the world of Fables, this did confuse me a few times with all the references to things, but it's easy to figure out eventually. Except for the character of Bluebeard, he comes out of nowhere and doesn't get an explanation.

The decisions also felt much easier to make in this episode.

70%PC

The story's progression slowed down quite much, and there isn't much happening in this episode, but it was still rather enjoyable. The cliffhanger in the previous episode turned out to be a dissapointment, personally I did not like, how the writers treated this problem (even if they had to adapt to the comics strictly). The interrogation scenes were really great, but I never felt like I can miss something, if I don't make the right choice, so the illusion wasn't that great. But overall I liked the episode, it just felt a bit slower and a bit more boring than the previous one.

70%PC

Kind of on the short side. Other than the big reveals at the very beginning and the very end, it doesn't feel like a lot happened in this episode, but there was some decent development for the principal cast. Like most second episodes in Telltale games, it just feels like a line connecting two big dots.

70%PlayStation 3

It was a long 3 month wait after the introduction to the wolf among us but episode 2 is finally here. The second episode is not as solid as the first mostly because of sloppier writing and a shorter running time. Despite all that the writing is still better than most other games and the world is unique and interesting.
At the end of the day if you enjoyed the first episode you going to enjoy this one as well.

90%PC

Awesome continuation

90%Xbox 360

Another awesome episode of the wolf among us.

90%Xbox 360

The Wolf Among Us Episode 2: Smoke and Mirrors is a great second act to Telltale's adventure noir.
+ Amazing writing
+ Great character development
+ Tough decisions
+ Replayability
- Minimal story progression

90%PlayStation 3

A much more darker and less action filled episode this time around. The story is still engrossing as anything and you keep wondering where this is all heading. It surprises you a few times, and that keeps you on your toes. Only complaints are that I felt like I barely controlled Bigby this episode, and that the only thing I did was complete speech options (not that this is bad, but it really starts to leave any semblance of game territory). And for something I`ve been waiting months for, it was shorter this time around, but even that`s not too bad if it`s enough for them the get the story they want across (just please don`t wait so long for episode 3 though).