It sure seems like Batman is never-ending.
After the Arkham series, you may have thought the Batman video game series was pretty much over (LEGO games don’t count because LEGO games are awesome.) Yeah, right! With the popularity and amount of money that series makes I was not surprised that Telltale eventually jumped on board and announced there were working on a Batman focused series. It is all about that Dark Knight cheddar!
On the another hand, I do like Telltale and their style of adventure games, and come on, who does not like more Batman? So I tune up the PS4 version of the game (Ed Note: glad you didn’t go with the PC port like some of us) and launched our Twitch stream (@GAMbIT_Magazine) to find out what was up with our brooding Bruce. Yet again, Telltale proves that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to Bruce Wayne with the first episode of its on-going series, “Realm of Shadows”.
Realms start off with a dark tone, focusing on the Batman straight away. After this action it then jumps back to dialogue with Bruce Wayne & Alfred. It seems like a page from the playbook of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy with how everything plays out. Telltale did mention that we would be getting more of a taste of what it’s like to be Bruce Wayne, something not heavily explored in game form. As a matter of fact, this first episode has way more Bruce Wayne than Batman; like way more! If I had to measure it I’d say twice as more time is spent on Wayne than on the Batman. I should mention that the period this game takes place is very early/first few years of the Batman’s career. How early? Well before Jim Gordon is the Commissioner, before Dent had a second face and before Selena was just known as Catwoman. But if I say any more about the story it;s getting into spoiler territory, so that all you are going to get from me.
Troy Baker returns to lend his voice , but not to the mediocre Joker from that Arkham game, but as Batman himself. I was not aware that he also voiced Batman in the Lego games when I was doing my IMDb research, but it’s nice to hear him in a more canon role. That said, I am not a fan of the voice used; yes it can work for a games like LEGO, but this is Telltale who usually kill it in the voice acting. They could have coughed up some extra moolah for Kevin Conroy. Instead, we got a poor man Kevin impersonation, and it just doesn’t flow.
Nevertheless, the other characters in this game work well. For example, Catwoman, who is voiced by Laura Bailey (Injustice 2 & Lego Series) does a spectacular job in catching the early chemistry with Bruce. But it’s Travis Willingham (Avengers Assemble) that steals the show with his cocky, machismo take on Harvey Dent. It makes me look forward to what other elements he will bring as part of this ongoing story. Before I continue, I should mention that Carmine Falcone, voiced by Richard McGonagle (Ben 10: Alien Force & Regular Show) makes his return here. I have not seen/heard him since again Nolan’s Dark Knight. He does a pretty okay job in a vocal capacity.
Despite some of the voice acting, I really do like how this game is focused on Bruce Wayne, and how we get a better perspective of the how the mind of the Greatest Detective works. His back and forth dialogue, with Alfred throughout this episode is really well written. It makes me wonder how Alfred can have the patience in dealing with this mopey Bruce. Trust me, after playing the first episode you will know exactly what I mean.
The action mechanics in Batman: A Telltale Games Series is nothing new for Telltale fans, besides the addition of the various bat gadgets which are featured a lot in this episode. Other than that, the fighting style is pretty much similar to “The Walking Dead” & “The Wolf Among Us.” There is a new crime scene investigation/connect the dots thing but it’s nowhere near a real puzzle mechanic. Compared to the detective mode we got to see in the Arkham Games it really pales.
This re-imaginings the early adventures and pain of Bruce Wayne, from the murder of his parents, which is just brushed upon (we all know it well enough now). There is no dropping pearls or bodies on top of each other here which helps cut to the game instead of tired backstory. We did get movies tickets though! Although, I fear we might get a full scene by the previews of the upcoming episodes when you reach the main menu. It’s like writers cannot get enough of the Wayne family getting shot! Lastly, I should mention that they re-tell the story of Bruce & his childhood friend. Lost family and fortune and such, but when we get his name, Oz Cobblepot we know Telltale has a few narrative tricks up their sleeve.
In the end, Telltale gives a safe and well-rounded episode with ‘Realm of Shadows’. The give us a proper introduction to the world of Gotham and the style they bring to the city. They are taking small steps in letting us understand the mind of Bruce Wayne with the various dialogue choices, and even picking out the color of your bat-tech. Batman: A Telltale Games Series: Realm of Shadows has a decent startup for a very promising series, respecting the legacy of Batman/Bruce Wayne.
Batman: A Telltale Games Series: Realm of Shadows
Platforms: iPad, iPhone, Mac, PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox 360)
Developer: Telltale Games
Publisher: Telltale Games
Released: August 2, 2016
MSRP: $4.99 (Each Episode)
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Super agree on the Conroy part, because anything KC is amazing. Specially when dealing with anything Dark Knight!!!