Now, don’t get me wrong with my negatives here. I like what Telltale does. They can take a franchise you like and give you a packaged story that’ll keep you intrigued and wanting more. It’s like a cross between a game and a really good book that you are shaping as you go along. The only issue I have is the package they’re giving you feels like it’s straight off the UPS truck during the holidays. No, it’s not an unplayable mess, but there are bugs and such that you wouldn’t expect considering all the games Telltale has been pumping out.
For instance, I was 2 episodes in on Batman. I was excited to get into the 3rd and realized in the “previously on Batman..” movie before the episode, that none of the choices I made were carried over. Before, I questioned if the choices I made throughout the game were even significant. So it wasn’t until this point I realized I actually do care because I was ready to call it quits if I had to replay the whole thing. I had to search and find a random reddit post where someone from Telltale explained a crazy loophole that danced around the glitch. They said a patch is in the works, but seeing as how the 1+ year old game that was just ported to Switch is still receiving complaints on glitches, I doubt we’ll see anything.
Knowing who was who and how Telltale decided to portray the characters made everything Batman feel fresh for me.
Other than that, I adored the game. I’ve been drifting away from Batman for a while now, not caring for him as a character or respecting him as a superhero like I used to. Maybe it’s because Iron Man is better? I dunno. The Marvel fanboy in me could be what’s making me bias, but let’s be real. Iron Man wins every time.
Ok, I’m just fueling flames here, back on topic. Batman: The Telltale Series made me care about Batman again. See? That’s the point I’m trying to make here! While playing through the story and watching it unfold, I couldn’t help but feel engrossed. Even days after completing it I was thinking of the twists and turns the story made and the impact some characters left. Having a good general consciousness of Batman and his universe made it all a great experience. Knowing who was who and how Telltale decided to portray the characters made everything Batman feel fresh for me. Penguin, for example, is one who made a huge impact on me while playing. Typically, he’s a robust, and somewhat grotesque looking character. Here, he’s thin, very cleaned up (in appearance), and I was shocked to see that’s who he was.
It made me want to get into Batman again, and that’s saying something because it’s been forever since I cared about him.
As far as story goes, which is what you play Telltale games for, isn’t it? You don’t go to a good burger joint because you want the salad. The story is great. Like I said, I felt engrossed, and towards the end all I wanted to do was finish it. It made me want to get into Batman again, and that’s saying something because it’s been forever since I cared about him.
It was so dark the way Telltale twisted everything about, taking almost everything you know about Gotham and the Caped Crusader and making you rethink it all. It made me extremely excited for the new Batman Telltale series – Batman: The Enemy Within – that just started back in August. With a new story featuring the Joker, Mr. Freeze, and my favorite Batman villain, The Riddler, I cannot wait for it to come to Switch…
Which brings me to the last point I wanted to make here. I guess you can say I’m done with the actual review of Batman: The Telltale Series. The glitches were present but the story and characters made you feel aaaaaaall better. There. Ok. Now that that’s out of the way, let me get to the one thing I learned from playing this game: All Telltale games – past, present, and future – need to be on the Nintendo Switch. With who I am as a gamer right now, I’m talking parent/husband first, food blogger somewhere in there, with a dash of wannabe reader these days, it’s all pretty hard to juggle with a measly 24 hours in the day. Not since Destiny 2’s launch have I forced myself to sit in front of a T.V. to play a game. So I know without a doubt I wouldn’t have made any sort of exception for Batman.
All Telltale games – past, present, and future – need to be on the Nintendo Switch.
With it being on the Switch, it made it a bajillion times easier to burn through it. And the formula of Telltale games is so amazingly easy to digest on the go. Nothing too button dependent or twitch reflexes needed (though that may be debatable). The sound was hard to hear at some points but it could’ve been just me and the noise levels in the room. Despite the bugs and glitches I experienced, the game was an absolute dream on the Switch and I can only hope Telltale brings their library of games to the system. They’ve already confirmed as much, it’s only a matter of when at this point.
I can’t say much for other Telltale games that have been released the past few years. I’ve come very close to buying Guardians of the Galaxy but I refrained. The last one I played was A Wolf Among Us, which I thoroughly enjoyed as you can tell from my review. I purchased Game of Thrones and was very excited for it, but like I said, asstime™ is hard to come by. And when it comes down to it, if I’m on the couch, I’m playing something that will take a good chunk out of my Pile of Shame™.
With that said, Batman: The Telltale Series just hit the PS+ lineup for January 2018. So as of this writing, if you have PS+, get on this because it is well worth your time if you dig Bats. Like I mentioned, I’m beyond excited to visit Telltale’s Gotham again in Batman: The Enemy Within which takes place close to a year after the events of Batman: The Telltale Series. I hope you’ll check this out and enjoy Telltale’s Batman universe like I did. In the meantime, I’ll be here anxiously awaiting them to release everything else they have on the Nintendo Switch.
