As perhaps the highest profile release for Telltale Games in a while, Batman: The Telltale Series promises to one again provide players with a living, breathing, interactive comic book to experience episodically for the next six or so months. Except this time, they’ll be put into the shoes of one of the most iconic comic book heroes of all time -- Batman.

Unlike Telltale’s previous comic book adaptations, where they either went in a different direction to the source material, or were niche franchises to begin with, Batman represents a new challenge for the studio. For the most part the characters and locations we’ll see have been talked about, written about, or represented in some form or another countless times over the years. So then, how do they make it interesting?



By sticking to what they do best of course. Which puts Episode One ‘Realm of Shadows’ in an awkward position. Like the first film in a series, a pilot episode of a new TV series, or the first issue of a comic book, there’s a lot of ground to over. And by that token as a standalone piece it suffers a bit from first act syndrome. With more than a handful of characters to introduce, motivations to establish, relationships and potential plot lines to hint at, and dead parents to talk about, ‘Realm of Shadows’ sure packs a lot into its two-hour or so running time.

Is it a good Batman story? Sure, but it’s probably too early to tell how good.

At this point, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who’s not familiar with the story of the billionaire orphan turned bat-suit wearing vigilante -- Bruce Wayne. His parents were shot right in front of him in an alleyway behind a theatre when he was a kid you know. So yeah, this is touched on a couple of times. And for the most part, handled well. As are establishing Lieutenant Gordon as the only good cop on the payroll, the upstart do-gooder by the name of Harvey Dent running for mayor of Gotham, and the corrupt gangster by the name of Carmine Falcone. Plus, the Catwoman. And Vicky Vale.


This roster of familiar faces and names and places are what make up a large portion of ‘Realm of Shadows’. It’s only in the latter stages where Bruce Wayne and Batman are given specific, in the moment, goals and objectives that add a sense of excitement and propulsion to the events. It’s in these moments where Telltale’s knack for great dialogue and interesting set pieces shine brightest. Especially when you’re tasked with investigating a gruesome crime scene and then later on deciding on how best to dispose of a number of henchmen.

Comparisons to other Batman videogames, like Rocksteady’s Arkham series will certainly be there, under the surface, as you play. Mainly because those were some of the best representations of the character we’ve ever had. But this is a Telltale game through and through, and one that continues the studio’s push to keep the story going no matter what. Resulting in a number of quick-time event powered sequences that never really extend beyond being there to simply give people something to do instead of just watching.


And speaking of watching, Batman sees Telltale’s own internal engine get a much needed visual overhaul. It’s nothing spectacular, and suffers quite a bit performance wise, but it’s a marked improvement over something like the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. The only real gripes with the presentation are the somewhat stilted animations you’ll see, where characters move around like hand-animated robots. Something that’s been a part of Telltale releases for a number of years now, and sadly still present in a high-profile release like Batman.

But story is what you pay for, and ‘Realm of Shadows’ will certainly leave you in a position of wanting to see more. The episode ends in a position far more confident than where it begins, and with equal focus placed on both Bruce Wayne and Batman, we’re probably in for quite a ride.

Speaking of which, great Batmobile.