Refusing to be bound to the pages of a comic book, Bruce Wayne’s Batman has come to us in many forms, including appearances on our favorite consoles. Recently, I played through the latest Batman game, Batman: The Telltale Series, designed by Telltale Games on PlayStation 4.
If you’ve played the previous Telltale games, you’ll not be disappointed. It’s same the same graphical delight and the same type of gameplay we’ve come to love. The noted difference with Batman: The Telltale Series is that it’s more action-packed than the others and gives you a sense of contributing to the battles. I was fearful that it would just be an actionless Batman game, but thankfully, my fears were unfounded.
You get five fantastic episodes to play through. One great thing about this is that this story is not linked to any previous story within the Batman universe. The freedom this gave the designers worked a treat and gives you many twists and turns. Here is my review of Batman: The Telltale Series season one. I will keep it spoiler free so you can enjoy it should you wish to be The Bat.
Episode One – Realm of Shadows
As with any Telltale game, they don’t throw you in at the deep end, they give the learning curve a gentle incline. Also, you’ll find that you need to do a little more in the QTE sections than you might be used to with this genre, along with linking a crime scene to piece together what happened. Although Batman: The Telltale Series is set aside from the timeline of any other Batman story, the first episode does well introducing you to characters you know and love.
Episode Two – Children of Arkham
Like the series, it plays out like a TV show, which leaves you picking up from the cliffhanger of the first episode. After you’ve dealt with one tricky decision, the game then throws a few more action scenes before making you make another hard choice. This is where the beauty of Telltale comes in. Depending on your choices, this might sway your decision.
Episode Three – New World Order
After a second cliffhanger, you’ll end up at the receiving end of a Montreal Screwjob (yes, that’s a WWE reference). This one is fairly dialogue based, but extremely enjoyable, but also enraging. One more detective puzzle later, and you’re back at another cliffhanger.
Episode Four – Guardian of Gotham
After your rude awakening, you’ve got a mixture of chatting and punching, plus meeting another one of Gotham’s iconic characters. After that reveal, you’ll embark on more detective work and a revelation of the story. Coming towards the next cliffhanger, the Telltale game gets some stick for not actually making a difference in your choices. This is not the case here, I actually noticed a completely different scene. Enjoy that one.
Episode Five – City of Light
Final episode cliffhanger to cope with, so get your QTE fingers and brain in gear, as there’s a lot of it. Not only does it add greatly to the Batman universe, but it does what all great series finales do – leaves you on yet another cliffhanger.
Given how the cliffhanger ends, it seems quite obvious that season 2 will be coming. However, nothing has been announced to date. Either way, diehard fans of The Bat will enjoy this, as will fans of the Telltale game series. Well recommended, especially as you can grab it for about £20/$25 depending on where you shop.
Even though I did enjoy Batman: The Telltale Series, and it kept me coming back for more, it was a little short for my liking. That said, if they expand on the series, it will be an epic one. It’s currently available on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
