This week, Telltale wrapped up the first season of its Batman adventure game on an appropriate note, with Batman fighting a shocking villain in a hidden lair. That, however, was the most conventional thing about the studio’s take on Batman, which is a welcome switch to the Dark Knight. But the story is hemmed in constantly by Telltale’s writing conventions and game structure.
We’ll be departing from our usual review structure here since, in a lot of ways, we’re going to focus on the story and the changes it makes to Batman. Hence, this will be rather spoiler-heavy. So if you haven’t played all the way through, enjoy this GIF instead:
Still here? Then let’s talk about how Telltale manages to throw Batman mythos out the window but for some reason won’t chuck its story structure out with it.
Telltale gives players a very different Batman here, not least of which are the people who surround him. Thomas Wayne is revealed to be a corrupt doctor, a major player in Gotham’s nasty power structure who committed sane people to Arkham and tortured them to get them out of the way. Among those victimized, it turns out, is Oswald Cobblepot, who saw his family destroyed and became a bitter, psychotic gangster, and Vicki Vale, who turns out to have a far different role in the plot than Batman fans expect.
Even relatively traditional characters have some major changes. Harvey Dent no longer snaps immediately after being scarred, but slowly slips away, eaten by his own moral failures and his rage at Bruce. Alfred is now a morally conflicted father figure and surprisingly delicate. Not all of it works: When you discover the backstory of the game’s new villain, while the presentation is undeniably stomach-churning, it doesn’t really generate any sympathy or offer that villain any genuine depth.
That said, the game’s very successful in making even long-time Batfans care about Bruce Wayne. In many Batman stories, you can argue Wayne is the mask and Batman is the real person, but not here. In fact, the game often has you playing as Bruce, and often you can choose between dealing with a situation as Bruce or putting on the Batsuit. Another good touch is the player in many ways builds the Batman they want, emotionally. Is Batman a blunt jerk? Is he the kind of guy who sleeps with his buddy’s girlfriend? Is he a diplomat in pointy ears? It’s up to you. The game reacts to the Batman you want to be, at least on the level of the characters. The problem, though, is the plot doesn’t.
Take, for instance, the end of the third episode. You can choose, as Bruce Wayne, to swallow your pride and step down civilly as CEO, plotting to strike at the bad guy later. After all, you’re Batman, right? But since the plot dictates you have to go to Arkham Asylum, it doesn’t matter: You get pumped full of a rage drug and lose your mind anyway. In the climax of the final episode, you can drop a major revelation on the villain and the reaction is to swing into the scripted fight anyway.
The game is full of forced plot moments like this that compromise the way you want to play the game. It’s especially annoying because, as Telltale reminds you at the beginning of every episode, the whole point of their games is that as you make choices, the game adapts to them. The Arkham moment is perhaps the most egregious: It only exists for fan service, really, including an extended cameo from a villain we all know is coming in the sequel. It would have been nice if this were an Easter egg you found if you made certain decisions, instead of something you were railroaded into.
In the end, Telltale’s look at Batman and the people around him will probably be controversial among hardcore comics nerds and casual Batman fans alike. They make some bold changes and swing for the fences every time, and it sometimes doesn’t work. Still, a fresh take on Batman is worth a few cliched plot points, and hopefully Telltale will keep going with their take on the Dark Knight.