E3 2016 Impressions — Batman: The Telltale Series

Batman: The Telltale Series

While at E3 I was able to see Batman: The Telltale Series in a more intimate setting than just a trailer. Here’s my take on Batman: The Telltale Series

A few reveals for Batman have already popped up here at E3 this year but of course that isn’t where the reveals were going to end. In fact in the middle of Wayne Manor here on the floor Telltale Games had a secret access to the Bat Cave and allowed some of us to see the first 30 minutes of the first episode of their take on the Batman franchise. That sounds like quite a bit to take in but thankfully it was just enough to keep the hype ball rolling as we wait for the episode to finally land sometime this Summer for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. Here’s what is new to the whole gameplay set up that we already know and love from the developer.

The first bit of the demo started off with a very Frank Miller take on the Batman franchise in both look and feel. It is a darker theme and not the traditional “bad guys only really hurt people and not kill them.” In fact the whole thing kicked off with a security guard being shot in the face as the criminals attempt to steal whatever they were aiming to get. This is where the caped crusader employed all of his tried and true actions to stop them all in their tracks and save even more lives. Although I don’t know how he missed the first one there.

Combat here played out just as you would expect in a Telltale title and a Batman game. A lot of QTE and some bad ass moves. Also some new options thrown in to the QTE list to make sure it wasn’t always just push a button and move the stick. Some require both to be combined at the same time. The bigger difference here being that after completing certain section of the fight a Bat Meter began to fill up. Once it was completely filled up a new option was thrown in that allowed Bats to go into a final combo move to end the fight. It was a lot showier than the rest and is only available if you perfect the whole fight up to then. A nice little mixer to have your choices and actions mean more in the game.

Speaking of, we also have a nice look at how the dual roles in Batman will play out. Generally we will be playing equal time as both Bruce and the Dark Knight. Although it looks like Bruce’s side of things will be with him dealing with all of the choices made during the other sections and then playing the social game to learn more about the city and his own family. All of which is based on cannon or is becoming new cannon. The section we saw was with Bruce helping Harvey Dent raise money for his campaign which we all know doesn’t turn out to well. Although given that the friendship between the two is pressed hard with the choices maybe this means that when/if he becomes the villain we might be able to use all of that to an advantage.

This brings me to the last little change up coming to Batman for both the franchise and the game. It looks like Telltale is not having all villains start off at their worst and we will get to see some of them make the transition in the game. As I mentioned Harvey was still a playboy lawyer in the game while the main baddy we saw in the Batman section wasn’t just the goons but Catwoman directly. What other characters will be making the transition or change up is still up in the air but that is what we were able to see in the first 30 minutes of the episode but we have been told this is only the tip of the iceberg for the full five episode adventure.