This video was recorded and edited directly on my Playstation 4 with SHAREfactory.

Episode 1 – The Enigma

Foreword

Batman: The Enemy Within is an episodic story based game by Telltale Games. It uses a newer version of their signature Telltale Engine that many have seen in their earlier games. The new Engine was used in their last round of releases including the original Batman: A Telltale Series, Walking Dead Season 3: A new Frontier, and Guardians of the Galaxy. The new engine certainly looks nicer and the controls are better however I had some major bugs occur in The New Frontier which were nearly game breaking and required me to reboot my system a few times. So far so good with this game though. I don’t really feel comfortable offering a rating for individual episodes but I still want to share my thoughts as they are released.

That Which Came First

The original Batman: A Telltale Series is one of my favorites from Telltale. When it was announced I was super excited. Batman is a detective. The world’s greatest detective no less. So it makes sense that over the course of his encounters he would stop and investigate frequently and that would mesh very well with the Telltale formula. I adore the Rocksteady Arkham games but their Batman really didn’t do much detecting. Sure there were some interesting sidequests where we could rebuild crime scenes in VR, which was fantastic. But really they proved to be the exception rather than the rule. So with that aspect of Batman so far underutilized in gaming I had high hopes for what Telltale might be able to do. And boy did they do a great job.

Not only did the detective aspect work really well but it completely caught me off guard how much of the game I played as Bruce Wayne. Even more of a surprise is how much I enjoyed it. I’ve never had the chance to play Bruce Wayne in a game before. It’s like the character didn’t even exist in the Rocksteady universe. But here he is front and center and his story is riveting. They completely flipped the narrative from what I’ve known for years. To find out his father was a crime boss who worked shoulder to shoulder with Falcone was so far out of left field. It really put me on my toes. There were also a lot of other startling events and character twists that made me want to keep playing to see what happened next.

Choice and Consequence

Traditionally I’ve found the Telltale games only offer the illusion of choice. It really doesn’t matter if you go right or left as things are going to play out the same regardless. It’s basically like selecting from different flavor text to add into your backstory. And I’m ok with that. I’ve still enjoyed the games regardless. They’ll never rank near the top in my rankings but they are like enjoyable interactive movies. In the Batman series decisions feel like they have more weight than they did in other series. I know they don’t actually matter. I’ve seen enough videos and read enough chat topics to know. It doesn’t matter if the choices are real or not. What matters is do they feel real? And they do. They feel significant and meaningful which is another welcomed surprise.

Maybe the decisions feel like they carry more weight because we learn the consequences of these decisions are so large. Regardless of if you actually have any say in how events play out, some truly terrible things happen to Batman and his allies. These aren’t just random characters either. These are well known characters anyone who has seen any Batman flick in the last few years knows. We know these characters and we have expectations of them. So when Lucius Fox is murdered during the first episode of The Enemy Within, Pandora’s box is blown wide open. How can such an integral character to the Batman mythos we’ve come to know be wiped out? What Telltale may lack in their ability to offer meaningful choices they make up for by delivering unfathomable consequences.

As It Happened

Batman: The Enemy Within takes place after the events of the first game. We are told by a quick voice over that Batman is no officially working alongside the Gotham Police. He and Commissioner Jim Gordon have a direct line of communication and it’s made clear they coordinate their efforts. When the episode begins Bruce Wayne is staking out an arms dealer in a casino but it isn’t long until the soiree is ruined. The Riddler appears to crash the party but he isn’t after Bruce, he’s after the arms dealer. He’s also brought an elaborate trap that looks like it came right out of the Saw movies. Luckily Batman is able to save the weapons dealer but the Riddler escapes leaving a puzzle box behind. As the dust settles an unknown Agency led by Amanda Weller shows up to take charge.

Back at the Batcave Bruce is able to solve the puzzle box but it only leads to more questions. Having exhausted his abilities Bruce brings the Riddler box to Wayne Tower to have Lucius Fox examine it. While in his office two of Amanda Weller’s agents arrive to question Bruce about his relationship to John Doe. He was a mental patient Bruce met in Arkham Asylum while he was unjustly held there in the original season. All signs point to him being the Joker but as of now he and Bruce are friends. At least John Doe thinks so. Suddenly an alarm goes off in Wayne tower. A frantic Lucius calls Bruce and tells him the Riddler has pulled one over on them. The building rocks violently as an explosion is heard. Bruce runs onto his Balcony and sees a smouldering hole in Wayne Tower.

At his funeral, Lucius’s daughter tells Bruce she holds him personally accountable. He tries to talk to her but she withdraws. In the distance Bruce hears a familiar voice. It’s John Doe. But what is he doing here? Bruce pulls him aside for a private chat and he offers information on the Riddler. With that information Batman and Jim Gordon find the Riddler’s hideout. But it’s a trap. After barely escaping with his life Batman discovers a Missile in a safe. Now Bruce returns to the casino and speaks with the arms dealer from earlier. He admits to selling the Riddler a missile array and gives up his location. The final showdown takes place on a ship but with the Riddler nothing is ever easy and Batman will be forced to make a fatal choice before it’s all over.

Final Thoughts

In the closing moments of Batman: The Enemy Within’s first episode I had the death of two well-known characters on my conscience, my relationship with Jim Gordon was strained, Lucius’s daughter counted me as an enemy, John Doe aka “The Joker” is probably a criminal mastermind who has been using me and Amanda Weller called me Bruce Wayne while I was in the Batsuit. All in all I feel like I make a terrible Batman. As noted above I know the choices I made are illusory but it’s hard not to take it personal.

Bottom Line: Good Episode

This season of Telltales Batman starts off with a bang and it really never lets up. It’s savage and unpredictable and I can’t wait to see where it goes next. If you like Telltale games, Episodic games, Narrative Adventures or Batman you should buy this game. Otherwise it might not be for you. Oh and PS here’s a teaser picture of who will be showing up in the next episode.

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