New Bruce, New Gotham, New Focus: Why You Shouldn't Sleep on The Batman Telltale Series

I know a lot of people are weary of Telltale's games these days, whether it be from the engine or simply because most of them have failed to reach the highs of The Walking Dead Season 1 or The Wolf Among Us, but their recent Batman series shouldn't be overlooked. Why?

There are a few reasons.

One: It's a refreshing reinvention of the Batman mythos. Opting to show Batman's beginnings for the umpteenth time would otherwise come off as stale, but Telltale's reinvented Gotham makes what is old new again. Gotham itself is a bit more futuristic than the dark and gritty city we're used to, with neon lights and bright colors abounding amidst millenial technology. It's not quite Batman Beyond, but a nice midway point between the traditional 20th century Gotham and Beyond's. It's Gotham if it was created today.

A more modern Gotham is one of the series' most compelling aspects.

Two: This also extends to the cast. The rogue gallery are the characters we know, but from a completely different perspective. The Penguin is Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, a skinny guy who plays the role of an anti-Wayne (although not an anti-Batman) and comes off as more menacing and capable than his goofy classic counterpart. The first season opts for a new villain entirely, who is loosely based off of Scarecrow, but has their own new story to tell.

We meet Joker before he becomes Joker, and at this time, he does not even go by the name Joker, but the name John Doe; we meet him as an innocuous asylum patient and guide his development, not as an enemy, but as a tenuous friend. Joker and Harley are inverted, with Harley taking big bad role and Joker being her submissive underling. Tropes are constantly not just subverted, but turned sideways; everything you knew is completely redone from the ground up, making everything feel new and exciting.

Harley takes over as the assertive leader of the bad guys this time around.

Meanwhile, Joker is much more passive than usual, and even comes off as sympathetic at times. Red and green find themselves inversed.

It's hard to avoid spoilers without getting into the really interesting stuff, but Batman's entire supporting cast is the same. You'll hardly recognize the people you recognize, and despite this, they still feel in-character. It feels like a what-if universe.

Three: This is more of a Bruce Wayne game than a Batman game. Sure, we get to beat up mooks as the Bat. We even get to choose the color of his bat tech. But these stories show the human side of Batman, the struggles Bruce goes through playing through his double life. We see Bruce Wayne, the billionare. Bruce Wayne, the detective. Bruce Wayne, the adoptive son of Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce himself is also portrayed in a much more humanistic light, and his relationships with the people around him are the highlight of the story, especially his "father" Alfred and his "friend" John Doe. Most Batman stories want to focus on Batman the badass. This one focuses on Batman the man... but still lets you be a badass in between.

This is a game about Bruce Wayne first, and the cowl he wears second.

There's also a Catwoman romance that you can either play straight or straight up ignore, but that's up to you.

As one last addendum, I found the second season to be an overall improvement to the first. It has higher highs and lower lows, and it drags a bit in the middle, but oh boy does it have some awesome moments. I think, as a complete product, I enjoyed it more than season one, and by quite a bit, too. The stakes feel a lot higher, and there's a constant sense of suspense throughout all five episodes. It also has a much stronger set of villains than season one.

I know this is a fairly brief overview, but I'm trying my best not to give away all of the game's surprises or spoil anything. I think any fan of Batman, casual or hardcore or otherwise, owes it to themselves to give this game a shot. To me, it was the most invested I'd been in these characters in a long, long time.