Like I said in my Episode Two review of this series, these reviews are best viewed if you’ve played the episode in question, as well as the previous episodes. I will be talking, at the very least, about the first half of Episode Three and the previous two episodes.
Fair warning.
One thing I respect about Telltale’s Batman is the unabashed ownership of their Batman. They’ve continued down this very unique and distinct Batman universe, with character filling similar, yet different, roles to their Animated Series, Scott Snyder, or other interpretive counterparts. Penguin is savvy, handsome, and charismatic, yet devious like he always is. Catwoman is as much the right match for Bruce as she always is, while also bringing a new flavor and style to the character that Telltale has had a ton of fun with. Harvey, depending on the choices you made in the previous episode, is either way off the deep end, or is losing his mind for other reasons than being horribly scarred, at least in my playthrough.
All of these choices combine and coalesce into a really interesting and new world for Batman to flex in, and much like with many Telltale series in the past, Batman’s third episode is more of a transitory period, where players shift around the board, but not a whole lot really happens.
This is, in the grand scheme of this series, pretty okay with me. Being able to do some more investigating, see how the attack has unhinged Harvey, or spend time with Catwoman was plenty to keep me engaged with Bruce’s story. I love the tension of Bruce’s day life, too, because with the bad publicity from his parents coming out as truly corrupt, he’s pushed out from Wayne Enterprises as CEO, with Cobblepot taking his place. It gives less Bruce to breath, leaving only room for Batman, an interesting development going into the final two episodes of the series.
What worked here was Harvey, Cobblepot, and Selina, the three other main characters that have taken center stage in this Batman story. The “Children of Arkham”, who act as the main antagonist of the series, to avoid spoilers, only have a real big set piece moment at the very end of the episode. It’s a really fun twist, that I definitely didn’t see coming, but fits when looking back at the previous episodes. Again: the final moments of New World Order leave me in suspense for what happens next in Telltale’s Batman universe, and how specific things will go down.
Character moments of trying to be a good friend to Harvey, debating on a romantic relationship with Selina Kyle, and forcing yourself not to punch Cobblepot in the face all continue the great lengths that Telltale has set out to make the characters of this Gotham so, so interesting. I’m continually impressed by the choices made here.
Closing Comments:
Telltale’s Batman series makes some great moves, fighting back technical issues all the while, and presses the story forward in a complete turn of events. I’m anxious to see what’s coming, and am continually impressed by how characters from Batman history are reimagined in Telltale’s world.
Reviewed using a Season Pass code for PlayStation 4 provided by Telltale Games.
