I have always been drawn to these types of games. Even at their worst, when they exist solely as slaves to the choices you make, the novelty of choosing your own path is almost always compelling to me. Telltale has always been more willing to railroad players into their predetermined story than to allow it to diverge in massive ways. This is a blessing and a curse, as while their games usually lack meaningful consequences to your choices, the quality of their stories almost always benefit from that linearity. It’s tragic that Batman: The Enemy Within was one of Telltale’s final games in their original incarnation, because the understanding of its medium is at a level that few other games like this display. Although I love the first season of this series for the risks it takes with the Batman mythos, those risks are continued here and combined with some truly great writing.
It’s impossible to talk about this game’s writing without talking about John Doe. To many (including me), Joker is a stale character. Like many aspects of Batman, vague implications are seen as a substitute for good writing. The fact that Joker and Batman are inextricably linked is gestured at and danced around any time they clash, but that link is never explained like it is here. The manipulative and delusional clown that terrorizes Gotham is a reflection of Bruce Wayne. This isn’t implied or meant to be understood as law, but shown through your own actions. It seems meant to be that Joker, a character partially defined by the cruel ultimatums he gives Batman, is born out of a game like this. Every decision you make regarding John is haunted by your knowledge of other Batman media, and there's no way to make him a true "hero". More than any lecture that can be given to Bruce about his true heroism, the tragedy of John Doe is the biggest refutation of the notion that Batman is a hero. At best, he is an out of touch socialite with good intentions, and at worst he's Gotham's biggest enemy.
Not being a psychopath, I did my best to lead John down the best part for him. I told him to be himself, to do what he felt was right, and to trust Bruce Wayne with his life. I believed that, despite my alliance with Amanda Waller and the agency that sought only the worst for him, John would know that Bruce loved him as a friend. It was easy for Bruce Wayne to give up things like his secret identity, his notions of the Wayne legacy, and even his reputation to Gotham, but what The Enemy Within shows is that Bruce Wayne is a man who needed more help than what was afforded to him. Even with the knowledge that his parents were heartless monsters, the trauma of their death leaves him in eternal solitude. After everything he goes through with Selina, John, and even Alfred, he will leave them all behind in his endless crusade to cure his own pain. Typically, Telltale games conclude on their weakest note, unable to make good on their promise of a branching storyline. That's what makes this game's final episode all the more shocking, when it delivers on that promise and then some. Many of the events that play out for you may be drastically different, but the strength of the game's writing persists. You can affect the losses you endure, but you can't maintain all of Bruce's relationships. The price of carrying the burden of solving an entire city's problems is paid by the end of this game. It's the tragedy of Joker, but it's just as much the tragedy of Batman that nobody but Telltale is willing to tell the story of.
It’s impossible to talk about this game’s writing without talking about John Doe. To many (including me), Joker is a stale character. Like many aspects of Batman, vague implications are seen as a substitute for good writing. The fact that Joker and Batman are inextricably linked is gestured at and danced around any time they clash, but that link is never explained like it is here. The manipulative and delusional clown that terrorizes Gotham is a reflection of Bruce Wayne. This isn’t implied or meant to be understood as law, but shown through your own actions. It seems meant to be that Joker, a character partially defined by the cruel ultimatums he gives Batman, is born out of a game like this. Every decision you make regarding John is haunted by your knowledge of other Batman media, and there's no way to make him a true "hero". More than any lecture that can be given to Bruce about his true heroism, the tragedy of John Doe is the biggest refutation of the notion that Batman is a hero. At best, he is an out of touch socialite with good intentions, and at worst he's Gotham's biggest enemy.
Not being a psychopath, I did my best to lead John down the best part for him. I told him to be himself, to do what he felt was right, and to trust Bruce Wayne with his life. I believed that, despite my alliance with Amanda Waller and the agency that sought only the worst for him, John would know that Bruce loved him as a friend. It was easy for Bruce Wayne to give up things like his secret identity, his notions of the Wayne legacy, and even his reputation to Gotham, but what The Enemy Within shows is that Bruce Wayne is a man who needed more help than what was afforded to him. Even with the knowledge that his parents were heartless monsters, the trauma of their death leaves him in eternal solitude. After everything he goes through with Selina, John, and even Alfred, he will leave them all behind in his endless crusade to cure his own pain. Typically, Telltale games conclude on their weakest note, unable to make good on their promise of a branching storyline. That's what makes this game's final episode all the more shocking, when it delivers on that promise and then some. Many of the events that play out for you may be drastically different, but the strength of the game's writing persists. You can affect the losses you endure, but you can't maintain all of Bruce's relationships. The price of carrying the burden of solving an entire city's problems is paid by the end of this game. It's the tragedy of Joker, but it's just as much the tragedy of Batman that nobody but Telltale is willing to tell the story of.