QCF: Batman: A Telltale Series Episode 2: Children of Arkham

espite how resonant the premise of Batman may be towards the conceit of a Telltale-designed game, the first episode of the series played it surprisingly safe when it came to the approach of narrative in their spin on the Dark Knight. The roles of Harvey Dent, Selena Kyle, and the other notable regulars of Gotham City all played their role up to any fan’s expectation of the plot, and the novelty of the choice-driven gameplay being used in this world and the focus on Bruce Wayne seemed to be the main attractions offered.

In Episode 2 of the series however, the Bat gauntlets are seemingly taken off, as Children of Arkham works to rock the foundation of just about every convention of the Caped Crusader’s universe that fans have come to know and care about, and the results undeniably enthralling, if not admittedly unsettling at the same time.

It’s going to be pretty hard to avoid spoilers from here on out, but I’ll be damned not to try—the shake-ups start happening right of the bat (pun intended, and I could care less what you think of me for it.)

I’ve gone on about how the rehashing of the Wayne’s tragic deaths have outworn their welcome as a plot device in the recent adaptions of the Batman, so suffice it to say that it was a little irksome that this trope was being drudged up yet again in the first episode. That all changed at the climax to Realm of Shadows; Telltale did something different—they introduced a clandestine past to Thomas and Martha that Bruce Wayne had never known, and villainized the Batman’s parents, was this a fake-out for dramatic effect?

After the first few minutes into episode 2, I realized that it wasn’t; this bombshell spin to the story quickly worked to establish itself as a crucial plot point that would build the pace for what was to come, and suddenly, it was at that moment that I realized that I wasn’t just interested anymore, I was intrigued.

See, the biggest challenge behind a choice-driven direction to the Dark Knight is that it would be hinged to the desire of fans wishing to remain faithful to the principles, and virtues that defined the kind of hero that he is. Despite the numerous interpretations that writers have taken the vigilante that last 75 years, there’s somewhat of a consistent idealism to the figure, so it’s natural that fans will subconsciously limit the freedom behind their decisions in fear of misrepresenting the ideals that make him so great.

Telltale tears this invisible wall down though in order to enrich the potential liberty that we can have with the character, by demonizing the one motivation that drove him to persevere in his line of work. I don’t care who you are, even the Batman is vulnerable enough to succumb to an identity crisis of that proportion, and by virtue, his characteristics no longer feel like they’re trapped in a box as a result.

It doesn’t stop there though, several familiar faces of the Bat cast are portrayed far outside of their comfort zones as a character, almost to the point where the story could qualify as “elseworlds” take on the universe; and the game works much better with that direction. Bruce is more human, Gordon’s much more hard-boiled, and Harvey proves that he’s a genuinely good person that really cares about Gotham, instead of the usual well-intention, but heavily flawed persona that we’ve know him to be before his transformation to Two-Face.

Usually, the second chapter’s to these episodic ventures from the Studio are the weakest entries, but Batman is most certainly the exception—the narrative doesn’t spare any expense to kick its pace into high gear, and the it doesn’t stop moving from start to finish. The only criticism I have is that the intensive shift in crazy plot direction is where all lot of the focus is, leaving no room for some of the cool adventure game elements that were introduced in previous entry to shine once more like they did in Episode one.

Children of Arkham goes on to blur the lines that make up what most will consider a real “Batman” story is, and while some may be weirded out by the changes that’re happening with the World’s Greatest Detective, the payoff it offers is immensely satisfying. Telltale definitely proves with this entry that the Batman license doesn’t have to stick with the action genre to be a successful video game—I highly recommend following through on this season to the very end.