If you have a fandom and enjoy video games you might want to give Telltale Games a try. They are killing it right now as modern role-playing games. You can venture to Westeros help the Stark Family try and survive, be Starlord and fight Thanos, maybe head into the world of the Walking Dead and see if you have the right stuff to survive the zombie apocalypse. Of course, there are more but those just happen to be some of the biggest fandoms around right now. But today I want to talk about the DCU and being the dark knight.
If you’ve chosen who lives and who dies in #TheWalkingDead or examined crime scenes as #Batman, then you’ve definitely heard of Telltale Games. https://t.co/bzzRUQJ6FI #PublisherSpotlight pic.twitter.com/vLP37oAk0T
— AdColony APAC (@AdColony_APAC) June 30, 2018
First, before playing this you might want to do season one and get used to this Gotham, which is much different. Thomas Wayne was still a billionaire doctor but he experimented on patients at Arkham and was friends with the mob. The Penguin isn’t a fat old man but a dashing young rogue and you are playing early in his career so Bruce isn’t fully Batman yet. But let’s dive right in.
The Riddler is re-imagined, not as riddling buffoon but a very dark killer. I love it and he murders a very major character right away. Telltale sure changes things up. It is at the funeral we run into John Doe from the first season. They never tried to hide the fact this pasty-faced asylum patient would be Batmans greatest rival The Joker. But this is all before he becomes the Clown Prince of Crime and he seems a genuinely nice and a bit goofy guy. This is huge and depending on how you play it changes how he becomes the Joker. The first episode ends with Batman catching the Riddler but a mystery assassin murdering the Riddler. See what I mean, big changes. Also, Waller of Suicide Squad shows up and blackmails Batman into working for her. She knows he is Bruce. So everything is set to be an intense season. The fact is with these games it is more like watching a show and picking the actors choices. I am not going to say it is a crazy action fighting game. If that’s what you’re looking for I would stick to the Arkham series.
This season we met the Pact. Harley Quinn, Bane and Mr. Freeze. While Joker and Riddler are pretty awesome the Pact is pretty weak. In the last 5 – 10 years Harley Quinn has been DC’s answer to Deadpool. A newer character that has become insanely popular. So TellTale redid her to and maybe not for the best. The roles are reversed and Joker craves her attention, even though she comes of more like a Jersey housewife than an insane criminal. Bane is well done, the Venom doesn’t make him a joke like that awful Batman and Robin movie. Mr. Freeze is almost why bother… He plays such a small role, which maybe means next season we will see more of him?? Catwoman of course returns to give Bruce / Batman a love interest.
"Everything about this game has been phenomenal, so if you haven’t played it yet, I urge you to do so." https://t.co/KE3WE6zV8g
— Telltale Games (@telltalegames) June 27, 2018
Gordon is given a rough go with Waller in town, so I would be careful in all the choices you make regarding him. If anything I would think even in Tell Tales Gotham you want Gordon in your corner. They did a great job writing Waller, she is awful. You want to beat her down like any villain but of course, you can’t. You do find out who killed Riddler and depending on your choices you may end up with a Robin. I will admit, at points the story gets thin. Bruce Wayne claiming to want to run the underworld might be taking it too far from canon. But that’s what I love with these games, what you do actually matters. It’s not just a road to get there but it can change whats at the end of that road.
The Joker though is the main act. Every choice you make as both Bruce and Batman affects him. The fact is he is a likable guy and depending on how you treat him things go one of two ways. I won’t get into it but basically, you create the Joker and one way is very different than anything else we have seen on screen before. I do want to go back through and change some choices just to see how else that story could have played out.
Let me wrap it up with this, 7/10. The story is great even with a few slow points. The characters are for the most part well done. Although I do see Harley being a sore point for many people. I am not 100% sure about the Joker I made and I am willing to bet many people made him the same way but it is fun to see a backstory on him. There are some good twists and turns and the ending is insane. The last scene will set up what should be a very interesting next season. For any Batman fan or gamer, I would say give it a try. Unless it is action your wanting, then stick to Arkham!
