Episode One ‘Realms of Shadow’ was somewhat of a slower starter for Telltale Games new Batman series, but if there’s one thing I’ve learnt from the studio, is that in most cases then not, the first episodes don’t often begin with a bang. That said, this is a season of episodes and much like TV series, the first episodes are always about introducing the cast of characters and setting the foundation for the episodes that follow. Realms of Shadow had its interesting moments, but as the episode closed out (EPISODE ONE SPOILER WARNING), it revealed that the Wayne family were in cahoots with much of Gotham City’s criminal underworld, in particular with Carmine Falcone.
So with episode one fresh in my mind, I was intrigued to see how Episode Two ‘ Children of Arkham’ would playout and I wasn’t disappointed. Episode two begins with Bruce Wayne questioning what he had learned about his family and that night in Crime Alley. While his mother, Martha seems to be unscathed from the allegations, but this Bruce’s father, Dr Thomas Wayne’s integrity has been brought into serious question, especially involving his position at Arkham Asylum.
With much of Telltale Games premise being revolved around the choices that you make within their games, there was an interesting altercation with Bruce and his loyal family butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who knew of the secrets of Bruce Wayne’s parents after all these years. Your treatment with Alfred could go a number of ways, depending on your choice and I appreciated the idea that you could react to Alfred, who is a good man, but also the only remaining family member that Bruce could vent his frustrations towards, if you choose to do so.
In episode one, we were introduced to Telltale’s version of Oswald Cobblepot, who looks drastically different to the iterations of The Penguin that we’ve seen before and in this story and is a childhood friend of Bruce. He returns to Gotham and re-introduce himself to Gotham’s favourite son, but unfortunately to Bruce, not as a friend. Oswald has come to Gotham to rule the criminal underworld and a huge factor that stands in his way, is Harvey Dent’s policy on crime. However, following on from episode one, Bruce is funding Harvey Dent’s campaign to become major of Gotham and he just so happens to be a good friend. Balancing the two lifestyles of Batman and Bruce has serious implications on both sides of Bruce’s life, in particular with his friendship with Harvey and the ultimatum that Oswald has imposed upon him.
Another take from episode one, was the introduction of Selina Kyle aka Catwoman. In other Batman games from studios such as Rocksteady’s Arkham series, we’ve only seen the Catwoman side of Selina, but getting the opportunity to interact with her as a normal everyday person (as normal as anyone someone could be in the DC Universe). In this Telltale series, we get to know both sides of Selina and this is clearly going to be a driving factor for the remainder of the series, balancing the act between day and night and this relationship is going to be further intensified knowing that Harvey has strong feelings towards Selina Kyle.
However, the true premise of this opening series (for now at least), is discovering the truth to the Wayne families shocking revelations and Bruce learns that he must trust the kingpin of Gotham, Carmine Falcone. But can Bruce discover the truth behind the accusations made against the Wayne’s? Can he trust in Carmine Falcone? How will Harvey react to the blossoming friendship between Bruce and Selina and what does this mean the Harvey’s campaign to be Major of Gotham? The truth is, whatever Bruce uncovers, the burden is not only going to bear a heavy for Gotham’s favourite son, but also its Dark Knight.
You can read our review of Episode One ‘Realms of Shadow’ here.