‘Batman: The Telltale Series’ – Two-Faced, Pt. 1

Telltale Games uniquely excels with storytelling in gaming. Based on player choices, your character journeys through diverging paths in an average Telltale entry. They also possess great dialogue writing abilities, and better than most gaming titles. You’ll find one of their best examples in the hilarious Tales from the Borderlands. Although taking a more serious approach in Batman: The Telltale Series, it is no deviation in quality.

Batman: The Telltale Series tells a completely unique Batman story which doesn’t exist in any medium. There’s no DC comic, poorly-acted TV show, or underwhelming movie containing this tale. Telltale CEO & Founder Kevin Bruner openly discussed their partnership with DC during this series’ creation. In the first episode of the related behind-the-scenes series Batman: Unmasked, it’s revealed that DC felt Telltale’s take does right by Batman. After completing the first Batman: The Telltale Series episode thrice, I say DC’s trust in Telltale is justified.

Instead of your typical review, I’ll dissect my differing playthrough experiences. If you need my usual grade for reference, this episode deserves an A-. For those that have yet to play this fantastic episode, this article includes SPOILERS, as we’ll divulge the results of my contrasting decisions as Bruce Wayne and Batman, starting with my “good” Batman playthrough.

PLAYTHROUGH 1

READY TO BELIEVE IN GOOD

The mysterious Catwoman

My first playthrough consisted of decisions a good person would make. The game opens with Batman (voiced by Troy Baker) attempting to prevent a heist at Gotham City Hall. Here, Batman encounters Catwoman (voiced by Laura Bailey). We end up fighting regardless of the words traded, Batman takes the hard drive she stole back from her, then she escapes. My familiarity with Telltale’s games aids me as I succeed in each Quick Time Event (QTE) here, and in the 2nd playthrough. Batman: The Telltale Series gives us the Batman action we know and love, but your actions’ consequences reside in your dialogue choices.

The first major dialogue choices in Batman: The Telltale Series occurs during a fundraiser for Harvey Dent’s mayoral campaign, hosted by Bruce Wayne himself. I navigate through various polite choices with influential guests, with Harvey Dent (voiced by Travis Willingham) at my side. Reporter Vicki Vale (voiced by Erin Yvette) shows up uninvited, but being the decent guy I am here, I tell her she can stay. Carmine Falcone (voiced by Richard McGonagle) also arrives uninvited, yet he’s a known crime boss. With all guests’ eyes on me, I refuse to shake his hand. Then we converse privately, where I insist on Harvey’s presence, and I further give Falcone grief for his methods. Time will tell how this rift impacts Bruce’s life.

After the fundraiser, Bruce reconnects with old friend Oswald Cobblepot, or Oz for short (voiced by Jason Spisak). I keep things cordial with Oz despite his veiled threats of overthrowing the rich (which includes Bruce). Post-reunion, Bruce heads to a press conference, co-hosted with Harvey, for the announcement of a renovated Arkham Asylum. Here, the press bombards Bruce with accusations of his parents’ involvement with the mob. Simultaneously, Bruce receives texts from Alfred notifying that the police are searching his mansion for evidence. I remain cordial and calm with the press, stand up for Bruce’s parents’ legacy, then race home.

A STORM’S COMING

Back at Wayne Manor, Lieutenant James Gordon (voiced by Murphy Guyer) confronts Bruce, and I have Bruce politely tell him how wrong these accusations are. However, Gordon will only believe what the evidence tells him. Then Vicki Vale intrudes again, but I’m inviting to her and give a quote at her request, calling the story on Bruce’s parents fabricated.

Batman traversing in a familiar fashion

After Vicki departs, Bruce finds Harvey at a restaurant, questioning if he knew about the search warrant signed by potentially-corrupt incumbent Mayor Hill. Harvey swears he didn’t, so I have Bruce believe him. Then Harvey’s girlfriend, Selina Kyle, walks up. She silently recognizes Bruce’s scratches as Bruce identifies the bruise on her eye. These two subtly acknowledge each other’s secret identity.

Harvey steps away for a phone call, which is where the real tension builds. I chose for Bruce to scold Selina’s criminal lifestyle, but when she offered help, I didn’t refuse. Selina then gives Bruce a warehouse’s address, where Selina was expected to deliver the hard drive mentioned earlier.

Batman suits up, finds the warehouse a bloody mess after a chemical leak and a shootout, then questions a nearby, poorly-hidden sniper. The options here are to physically maul the sniper or simply intimidate him. This Batman being honorable, I feigned beating him with a pipe, threatened to break his arm, and still obtained the needed information. I passed along these details to Gordon, which implicated Falcone as the responsible party. Gordon notices I didn’t maim the sniper and respects my restraint.

THE POWER OF FEAR

Bruce heads back to the Batcave as the stolen hard drive data is fully decrypts. The drive contains data that can take down Falcone and his empire, although it’s unclear from where the drive originated and why. Another choice reveals itself, as you either opt to share this data with your contacts in the press or the police. While condemning Falcone in the court of public opinion is a nice sentiment, I went with the obvious choice of handing the evidence over to Gordon.

Discussing the evidence with Gordon as Bruce presented a small challenge. Gordon sees your act of goodwill as a potential bribe. Still playing good guy mode, I assure Gordon the intentions are pure, which Gordon trusts. After separating, Bruce suits up as the Bat to start his own methodical takedown of the Falcone regime.

Bruce Wayne: a man at odds with his perceived legacy

Another commendable element of Batman: The Telltale Series is the detailed approach at choosing your attack plan. There are 4 armed guards in Falcone’s luxury suite, and you select which inanimate objects to beat them with. It’s nothing short of glorious. After this task, you corner Falcone and can either brutalize him or handcuff him. When a news chopper arrived, handcuffing was the less bloodier option I chose, which will play well with the viewing Gotham audience.

Falcone reveals to Batman that the Waynes are behind the entire mess Gotham is in. This sends Bruce in a tizzy. He returns home, violently removes his cowl, and demands Alfred to tell him the truth. This is our first of 4 expected cliffhangers Telltale delivers brilliantly. Now we have a story that’s equal part Batman and Bruce that we the fans can sink our teeth into.

My excitement for episode 2 is palpable but first, we’ll have a write-up and video playthrough of the “bad guy” version of Batman. He’s not so much a killer as he’s just mean and makes bad decisions. However, I suppose one could argue that’s the more fun version.