Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode One

After the Rocksteady produced Arkham series, Batman has become the success story of video game comic book hero crossover, wiping the distain of Superman 64 from many mouths.

So when news came about that the caped crusader would be meeting the episodic adventure of Telltale games, it was a tasty concept indeed.

It’s only taken a few weeks from announcement for the first of five episodes to hit digital accounts and with The Walking Dead setting the bar high, the deconstruction has begun on how this release stacks up.

For those unfamiliar with previous Telltale stories, the game centers around decision making and the consequences of those decisions, somewhat of a choose your own adventure with video game action spliced throughout. Where Telltale have kept this idea fresh is shifting focus to Bruce Wayne as well as the Ultimate Detective alter ego (placed somewhere between Year One & Year Two of the story arc), giving players the chance to point and click through scenarios where your reaction is essentially broken down into the character you favor the most. Choosing between Selina Kyle or Harvey Dent, Brain or Brawn, Justice or Mercy, each decision will twist into a different subplot of heavy dialogue and cut scene, meaning fans of the character will get much more replay ability than the two hour suggested game time.

With little to go on for new features, one interesting addition is the ‘Crowd Play’ function. Aimed more at broadcasters through mediums like Twitch, it gives the player a unique link to send to viewers, who can then watch the gameplay and vote on a decision in the game, a video game version of ‘ask the audience’ if you will.

In the end, enjoyment of this series comes down to the storyline and once again, it’s been delivered. Steering away from any spoilers, the paths are unpredictable and weaved with thick layers that will force pain staking choices while desperately trying to beat the timer. The stylistic choices and voice acting is as great as ever and additional detective sequences break up the longer non-interactive periods well. It’s again a great showing from the modern adventure story masters, but if the episode trickle nature of the release isn’t for your style, give it a few months and pick up the season for a steal.