I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve barely scratched the surface of Batman media. I’ve seen all the mainstream stuff, and I recently delved into some of the comics. A running theme throughout all of this is disappointment. The concept of Batman as a force of purely good intentions is flawed from the outset. Most modern takes on the character use Bruce Wayne’s status as an ivory tower dwelling playboy as a springboard for their storylines. Any worthwhile criticism is quickly thrown away when either DC higher-ups refuse to let writers tarnish their cash cow, or the tangled web of morality leaves said writers too scared to continue with it. Telltale’s Batman, by contrast, is unrelenting in its criticism of Gotham’s elite. Although its writing falters in ways that are unavoidable with this type of game, the writing’s dogged pursuit to eviscerate its audience’s perspective on established characters is extremely admirable. The Telltale format, while the origin of some of its weaker aspects, is perfect for a character that is so plagued by the comic book industry’s inability to commit to meaningful change. You become Bruce Wayne, and with that comes the often contradictory choices he is forced to make. It’s all so much more complex than the usual black and white decision making endemic to Telltale games, as Bruce Wayne’s entire life is tied to a legacy of immorality. This is what Telltale’s Batman gets so right as opposed to every other Batman story I’ve consumed. It isn’t afraid to (if the player chooses) tackle the problem at the heart of Gotham: its uncaring elite. The Court of Owls storyline in the comics came so close to doing the same thing, but it was so ready to absolve the Waynes from any wrongdoing they would have absolutely been involved in.

Thomas Wayne, who is almost always a paragon of virtue, is detestable in this game. Not one moment is dedicated to forgiving him once his crimes have been revealed. It’s almost shocking to see, as I constantly expected the game to say “just kidding” and commit to absolutely nothing in the name of safety. Because Thomas Wayne is the source of essentially every problem in this story, his presence constantly haunts both Bruce and the player. My actions constantly fluctuated on a dime, as I questioned Bruce’s place in Gotham. Should I use my corrupt father’s dirty money to attempt some form of justice, or walk away from everything to spare everyone the trouble? In the end, my decisions were guided by Alfred, who is way better than literally any other incarnation I’ve seen, and I would struggle to believe he is better in anything else. Catwoman is also a highlight, and her existence as a broken and isolated person while also being a potential love interest never compromise each other. I was shocked when, though I had thought I did everything right in the pursuit of her love, she scoffed at the thought of getting attached to someone after such a short time, and abandoned Bruce on the spot. Gordon is Gordon. His incarnation is nothing mind blowing, but there are clear similarities to his Year One version, which is never a bad thing. Bruce’s arc of fighting for those he has learned to love through experiences together rather than those with whom he shares family ties proves that telling a compelling Batman story doesn’t require reinventing the wheel. This has been a core storyline that Batman stories have run with in the past, but it is made far more interesting here because of the freefall that Bruce is thrown into upon learning about his past. He is forced to find a purpose that doesn’t involve the childish revenge seeking that he started his journey with. I was teary eyed when Alfred referred to Bruce as his son, and crushed when Selina didn’t reciprocate his feelings. This story is about Bruce Wayne becoming less of a machine fueled by hate, and reclaiming the experiences that he lost in the architecture of his one man war.

Unfortunately, this game was not given the chance it deserved. Telltale’s engine is unforgivably bad. I say this as someone who is usually very lenient on bugs or glitches. I couldn’t go five minutes in this game without encountering a visual bug at best, or a missing character model at worst. The game crashed on me once, and dialogue would frequently be cut off or desync from the corresponding lip movements. It took a lot of steam out of an otherwise riveting experience. The actual gameplay is also not great, but it’s a Telltale game, so your expectations shouldn’t be anywhere but the gutter. Besides the technical flaws, there are some unfortunate writing blunders. Almost all of these issues stem from the game’s villains, which it has too many of. I typically don’t like to criticize a character for acting “unrealistic”, but Harvey Dent brushes up against my tolerance a lot. If I’m being generous with his character, his immediate heel turn on Bruce could be seen as a refutation of the latter’s money being a ticket to universal acceptance. Harvey Dent, who from the very beginning is ready to do whatever it takes for power, is willing to immediately drop his closest ally once it becomes opportunistic to do so. However, his transformation into Two Face is undeniably rushed. Some extra foreshadowing to his authoritarian and unstable thoughts would have been much appreciated. The Penguin suffers from a similar lack of meaningful screen time. I enjoyed the main villain of the game, but their immediate usurping of Penguin from main villain status did no service to his character. The best aspect of the villains is that they are all the result of Bruce being too trusting of his legacy, and believing that with enough power and political ties, everything will just blow over. The elite that Bruce was so used to using as his shield turns against him. One of the most interesting plotlines in the game is the board that Bruce must answer to as CEO. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but the promises fed to Bruce by the completely out of touch with Gotham board members I continually tried to please amounted to nothing. Whether or not the fizzling out of this thread was an intended plot beat or a decision matrix they forgot about, it is one of the most genius things I’ve ever encountered in Telltale Game. It actively goads the player into trying to please these useless and detestable people, and nothing is given back in return. I also wish this game had more of John Doe, but I know that the sequel has got me covered on that front. Here’s hoping that it continues this game’s willingness to break every rule in the name of good writing.