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Batman: The Telltale Series Review


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5a4fadfa40e4e_BatmanTelltaleboxart.png.be0a878332c9ac8dcad994ae74bf32a2.pngAt this point, you probably already know what you're getting into with a Telltale game: episodic point-and-click adventure, lots of dialogue options, quick-time action sequences, and a lot of choices that don't really alter all that much in the end. Batman: The Telltale Series continues that formula to a tee, with all of the annoying quirks that come with it. But to be fair this may be one of the more interesting stories written by Telltale, not because of the branching options but because of how it treats the characters of the Batman universe. For better or for worse this is a pretty unique take on the Caped Crusader's world, even if it is yet another Telltale adventure full of missed opportunities.
 
Batman is one of the most well known comic franchises out there; in fact he's one of the most popular pop culture figures still relevant today. So how does Telltale create an engaging story using well-trod characters? By turning some familiar conventions on their heads. The story does dip into a somewhat annoying theme of "everything/everyone is bad," the kind of grimdark style that trades storytelling depth for shock value, but this game does something that even Rocksteady's Arkham series never did: it tells a story that is as much about Batman as it is about Bruce Wayne. It makes sense that a dialogue-heavy game would do so, but it's still pretty refreshing to see a story that explores Bruce and the balance of his life with Batman's. This story-telling focus isn't necessarily a complete success—as usual Telltale bit off more than it could chew when it established some themes in the first couple episodes that aren't fully explored—but if nothing else this is a Batman story that you wouldn't see in any other game.
 
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As is the case in every modern Telltale game, narrative choices play a big part in the game. Well, as much as they do in any Telltale game, which is actually not that much out of some cosmetic differences. I'll give Telltale's Batman some credit though; this game actually has some interesting differences based on your choices. No, there aren't huge changes—the story is still very much railroaded into specific scenes, often to the point where characters just seem schizophrenic as they bounce between emotional extremes, and frankly at this point it would be just as crazy on the player's part to expect anything more elaborate from Telltale—but some of the differences at least lead to unique scenes. These scenes still come together to the same end result but it's neat to see someone else play the game and experience a different scenario, with different characters or locations, based on player choices.
 
The majority of the gameplay is also the same as every Telltale game, but there are two unique features that cater to the Dark Knight. In some instances, when you are about to take on a group of enemies, the action pauses and you can choose how to take out each goon—toss him into a table, knock out a light fixture above him, etc. These options don't actually matter and it only comes up a handful of times throughout the game but it's a nice touch for showing off Batman's impeccable ability to plan out his moves.
 
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Secondly, you get to actually do a bit of detective work at times. Like the combat planning there aren't too many opportunities to do this throughout the game and by "detective work" I really mean click on the only interactive objects in the scene and draw conclusions on how they're related but it's more than you might normally expect from Telltale. These sequences would have been a lot more satisfying if they were even slightly more elaborate—something to justify Batman's title as "world's greatest detective"—but I'll take any gameplay depth I can get from these interactive stories.
 
It also wouldn't be a Telltale game if there weren't some technical issues. Despite using an updated game engine you can still expect some jittery visuals, which is most noticeable during fight scenes, i.e. those moments where the frame rate needs to be smoothest. Granted, combat in a Telltale game just means a lot of quick-time sequences but it's still annoying to see every punch or kick stutter through a few frames then jump ahead.
 
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And although the updated engine adds some more detail to the graphics it's still the same style as previous Telltale games. Sharp outlines, bold colors—it's actually all very appropriate for a comic book franchise like Batman. You can also expect a star-studded voice cast that does a fine job of bringing the characters to life. It might take you a bit of time to warm up to Batman/Bruce Wayne's voice but overall the voice cast is solid.
 
A new graphics engine and a new IP isn't quite enough to shake up Telltale's formulaic game design. Batman: The Telltale Series has all of the same pitfalls as its predecessors: narrative choices that don't really matter in the end, a lack of engaging gameplay, and technical issues that may not completely disrupt the game but are still pretty obnoxious. On the bright side this eight hour romp through Gotham offers a few enticing ideas that try to explore a more complex Batman story, but just like Telltale's concept of player choice these ideas don't lead to much in the end.
 
Rating: 6 out of 10 Batmen
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For a TellTale game, the gameplay was certainly a bit more involving than I expected, between the detective work and setting up attack points in stealth scenarios... TellTale Batman was a nice fresh departure from the Arkham franchise as well, which had eventually suffered in parts from the AAA series kind of effect, especially with Arkham Knight. Arkham City and Origins (as underrated as the latter is and despite having much of the gameplay formula of City) remain my favorites from that series, though not sure where I would place TT Batman among them, but it's more a step in the right direction for TellTale IMO. The last episode particularly was a homerun. Lady Arkham was a great villain and the fights with her in the finale were epic. Gotta give them credit for not retreading old ground.

 

Still haven't played Walking Dead season 3 and not sure if I ever will after the disappointment of S2, but at least I'm more considering of season 2 Batman, with how well the Joker will probably hold up and the choices you make with him should be interesting to a point.

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