The Walking Dead — Episode One: A New Day Walkthrough

The Walking Dead is a sprawling, branched out game with multiple results for different actions you take.  With so many different choices and subtle differences, your play style may differ slightly from our guide.  This walkthrough will take you through the game step-by-step and explain each decision as much as possible.

Prologue

You will start the game with Lee in a cop car, chatting with the officer who is driving him to prison.  Aside from looking at the rear view mirror, as directed by the game’s tutorial, there is not much to do and the conversation does little to affect the plot.

The scene will abruptly end when the cop swerves his car in order to avoid a walker.  The care over tuns and Lee is knocked unconscious.  When he wakes up, look to the right and aim the cursor at the window of the car.  You will be given the option to kick the glass of the window using the “action button” (normally the option at the bottom of the cursor wheel).  You will have to kick it a couple times before the glass shatters.

After breaking the glass, hit the “look” button on your cursor options (the look option will always be the top of the cursor wheel).  After hitting the “look” button, Lee will comment that he needs to climb out through the window.  Scoot forward using the left joystick, then press the action button to climb out of the car.

After Lee climbs out, use the left stick to move alongside the vehicle.  The cop from the previous scene has been thrown through the windshield and is lying next to a tree on the left hand side of the screen.  Move close enough and you will see the keys to your handcuffs hanging out of the cop’s back pocket.  Use the action button to take the keys, then aim the cursor at your handcuffs to unlock them.  Lee will drop the keys next to the dead cop’s head, but aim the cursor at them to pick them up again and take off the handcuffs.

No sooner do you get the cuffs off and the cop springs to life as a walker.  Back away from the cop using the left stick until you are up against the cop car.  Then look to your left to find the cop’s shotgun, then to your right to find a shell laying on the ground.  Lee will drop the shell while trying to load it (he’s just butterfingers today), simply point and click on the shell again to pick it back up and load the gun.  After the gun is loaded, aim it at the cop and blow him away.  You can run out of time which is signified by the screen’s growing red tint, so act fast.

After shooting the cop, aim the cursor in between the trees and hit the look button over the “Mysterious Figure”.  Lee will call for help, but gets more walkers instead.  A cutscene will take you away from the car and into the backyard of an abandoned suburban house.  Gunfire will draw off the walkers and you are free to roam around.

Suburban House

Walk (limp) toward the back porch of the nearest home and press action button on the sliding door.  Lee will bang on the glass and call for help.  When none comes, you will have the option to open the door.  Once inside, hobble Lee to the pool blood at the kitchen entrance and examine it.  Then continue to the table that runs along the wall where you will find an answering machine.  Press the action button to listen to the family’s messages.

Head into the kitchen and start checking the drawers, one of which contains a walkie-talkie.  After leaving the kitchen a voice will speak on the walkie, this is Clementine.  Lee will chat with her briefly before a walker will grab him, triggering a quicktime sequence where you will have to button-mash the action button then press a randomly assigned second button.  After throwing the walker down, Lee will try to make his escape, only to slip on the floor.  You vision will be blurred, but aim the cursor at the walker the best you can (look for an action to become available to know you’re aiming in the right spot) and press the action button to kick the walker away.  You will have to do this one more time and do another quicktime sequence, while in the background Clementine runs up and opens the screen door.  After the quicktime sequence, point the cursor at Clementine and take the hammer in her hands.  Then aim the cursor at the walker and hit it in the head.  After it’s down you will have to hit a few more times until the hammer gets stuck in its eye socket.

Once the walker is dead, Lee will strike up another conversation with Clementine.  At the end of the conversation you will be given the choice to either wait until dark or leave the town right away.

Wait Until Dark

You climb out of the tree house in to the backyard.  Walk around to the side of the house and aim the cursor at the gate to open it.  After walking out into the street you will hear raised voices which leads to a conversation with Clementine, Shawn, and a cop named Andre.

A friend of Andre and Shawn has become a walker and will disrupt your conversation.  In a rush Lee and Clementine hop in Andre’s cop car and head out to their farm.

Look for help during the day

Lee starts outside the house on the porch, exit the porch and take a right.  Aim the cursor at the gate and press the action button.  After assessing the strangers in the street, press the action button to trigger a conversation with Clementine.  When you’ve finished talking with her, Lee approaches the two guys at the car and speaks with them.

Lee’s conversation with Shawn and Chet is cut short as walkers start coming after them.  In order to escape they have to clear the road for Shawn and Chet’s truck.  Aim the cursor at the hood of the car and press the action button to start moving the vehicle.  It will move a few inches before you will have to press it again for a second effort.  Clementine and Lee hop in Shawn’s truck and they all drive out of the town.

Hershel’s Farm

No sooner do you arrive at the farm then Shawn’s father, Herschel, comes out and starts to ask some questions Lee doesn’t seem keen on answering.  Your talk with Herschel will have long term ramifications, so choose your answers carefully. No matter your answers, Herschel will offer his barn for the night and Lee bunks down next to Clementine.  After a short chat with Clem and a nightmare, Lee wakes to the sound a of man named Kenny standing over him.  Kenny introduces Lee to his family and offers to take Lee and Clementine with them to the town of Macon.

After this conversation you will have the option to walk around the farm and talk with Kenny, Katjaa, and Shawn.  Shawn will tell you to head the barn and speak with Herschel, who’s mood toward Lee will depend upon the conversation from the previous night.  No sooner do you finish the conversation than Shawn will cry for help.

Lee stumbles upon the scene of walkers attacking both Shawn and Kenny’s son, Duck.  You will have to decide which one to save, earning the ire of either Kenny or Herschel.  No matter what option you choose, Shawn will die and you will be forced to leave Herschel’s farm.

Macon

No sooner does Lee and company arrive in Macon than things get real.  After a shootout on the street and a daring rescue by new friends (mostly), Duck ends up covered in blood.  Larry, one of the new group, suspects Duck is bitten and wants to toss him out before he becomes a walker. You will have to side with the old man, or defend Duck with Kenny.

The argument is put on hold as Clementine cries for help at the nearby bathroom.  Lee runs to her aid, but falls to the floor, in pain from his injury.  Aim the cursor at the walker attacking Clementine and press the action button to save her.  Then complete the quicktime sequence by button mashing the action button until Carly, one of the Macon newcomers, save you with a good shot.  Larry will get in a tizzy over the gunshots, working himself up until he has a heart attack.  His daughter, Lily, will ask you to get him medication from the pharmacy.

Once things settle down, you will have the opportunity to get to know this new Macon crew.  You can talk to Carly, Doug, Clementine, and Kenny.  Kenny’s mood will be dependent on your actions toward his argument with Kenny.  Carly is looking for batteries for her radio, the first is a bookshelf to the right of Katjaa and Duck, the second is on the floor, next to the shelves to the right of Clementine.  There are also energy bars (three in total), on the food shelf right above the battery by Clementine, another on the shelf right behind Carly, and a third on the shelves to the right of the greeting cards, these can be distributed to earn the affection of different group members.  Talking to Doug will get you outside, however you won’t be able to do much but look at a walker trapped underneath a large wooden beam.

After talking to everyone, you can walk through the door to the right of Larry.  This will lead to the office, which has a door to the pharmacy.  Clementine will follow you in here, providing another chance to talk to her.  Moving a wooden plank will reveal a cane that belonged to Lee’s father, triggering a cutscene between Lee and Clementine.  After the cutscene, move the desk from in front of the pharmacy door.  Clementine will help and in doing so, cut her finger.  There is a first aid kit on the table to the right of the desk which has a bandage for her.  Bring the bandage to Clementine to fix her finger..

After you help Clementine, look at the TV in the upper right hand corner and press the look button.  Then, check the left side drawer of the desk Clementine is sitting on to grab the TV remote.  Once you have the remote, check the blood spot on the floor to find a photograph of Lee’s family in front of the drug store.  Carly will enter the room and talk to you about your past.  You can choose to trust her or brush her off.  Again, choose carefully as she will remember what Lee’s reaction is.  Clementine will ask you about what Carly said on your way out, again you should always choose carefully.

Walk to the back of the store and cutscene will trigger with Glenn asking for help.  You and Carly will have to go rescue him.  There’s also another energy bar on the store shelf next to Clementine if you want to grab it and offer it to whoever you have stiffed thus far.  Tell Carly when you’re ready to head out to help Glenn.

Motel

Once at the motel, Glenn will tell you about a survivor stuck in the one of the second floor rooms that he will insist on saving.  You will start with Lee hiding behind a brick wall andl have to gather materials to kill the walkers in the motel parking lot.  Be careful, too much time peering outside of your brick wall cover will get you spotted and killed.

Poke around the left side of the wall and grab the pillow lying on the ground.  After gathering the pillow, look to the right and press the action button.  This will get you behind a pickup truck parked just below the trapped woman’s, room.  Look to the left and point your cursor at the walker lying against a car.  Use the pillow to muffle a well place gunshot, killing the walker.  Now at the car, open the driver’s side door and grab the spark plug on the driver’s seat.  Then, put the car into gear and close the door.  Aim the cursor at the car and press the action button to send the car into a walker by a first floor door.

Now, Lee will be back at the pickup truck.  Here, use the spark plug on the pickup truck’s window to break it open.  Then grab the ice pick on the passenger seat and return to where you originally started, behind the brick wall.  Poke out the left side of the wall and aim the cursor at the RV, then press the action button to sneak in front of the camper.  Now aim at the walker standing by the RV and press the action button.  Lee will whistle, attracting the walker. Bide your time, aim at the walker as it approaches and wait for the cursor to turn orange/red, then press the action button to stab it in the head with the ice pick.  Another walker will attack Glen, aim the cursor at this walker and press the action button to take it down.

Now you can handle the walker trapped by the car.  Point the cursor at this one and press the action button to take him out.  Lee will lose his ice pick, but gain an axe.  Now it is time to save the trapped woman.  Walk to the stairs, then ascend them, and direct Lee around the motel, slowly approaching the walkers at the door.  Stop when the closest walker notices you and let him approach.  Keep your cursor trained on him and attack when he is close enough.  Then repeat with the second walker.  Now aim the cursor at the door and press the action button,  after the woman inside protests, aim the axe at the wooden board barring the door and chop it in two.  Now you can open the door.  The woman in the motel will reveal that she has been bitten.  You can either give her Carly’s gun or try to reason with her, either way she’ll die.

Back to Drug Store

Once you return, go back outside with Doug.  Once outside, aim the cursor at the walker trapped under the wooden beam and press the action button to identify where the pharmacy keys are. Then aim the cursor at the lock on the gate, Doug will tell you he doesn’t know the combination, but if you press the action button again Lee will bust open the lock with his axe.  Then press the action button on the gate a third time to open it.  Once the gate is open aim at the brick on the ground a few feet in front of Lee and pick it up.  Then, aim the at the TV store across the street and press the action button to throw the brick at the TV store window.  Then aim at the TV store and use the remote from your dad’s office.  Doug will program the remote to create a distraction, allowing you to sneak to the trapped walker.

Lee will share a tender moment with his undead brother before taking an axe to its head.  You will have to aim the axe at the walker and press the action button a few time before the walker is dead.  Once it is, press the action button to grab the keys to the pharmacy.

Lily will follow you into the pharmacy.  Use the key on the door and enter. No sooner do you do walk into the pharmacy, than the burglar alarm goes off, drawing all walkers in the area.

Run to the front door, Glen will scurry off, and you will have to take his place.  Aim cursor at the door and press the action button to keep it closed.  After a small cutscene you will have to do the same thing again.  Doug will be forced to leave you all alone as walkers burst through the door.  Button mash the action button and press the random second button to hold the walkers back.  Clementine will approach you with your father’s cane from before, aim the cursor at the cane and press the action button to take it.  Then aim the cursor at the door and press the action button to bar the door, using the cane.

Now you will be forced to choose between saving Carly or saving Doug.  Choose who you will, but know that after you save one, the other will die and Kenny will announce it is time to go.  Clementine will be grabbed by a walker, aim your cursor at the walker attacking Clementine to save her.  You will have to stomp on the walkers head a few times, but eventually you will kill it.  As you make your escape Larry will appear and knock you out.  Don’t worry, Kenny will rescue you.

The group escapes to the motel where Glen found the trapped woman.  Upon arriving, Glenn will tell you he is leaving for Atlanta.  Talk to the survivors and the episode will end.