In a recent SXSW Gaming Expo panel Telltale shared a few more nuggets of information on their upcoming M rated Batman series which is set to arrive in summer.
Perhaps the most exciting note in the entire announcement is that the Batman series is being made by the same team that did The Wolf Among Us and Tales from the Borderlands, Telltale's finest games. Here's the official summary from the panel:
• Batman is the perfect character for the studio to explore in a Telltale series, giving the team the opportunity to dive deeper into the mind of the man behind the mask. Each night, Bruce Wayne chooses to change Gotham for the better. The team wants to explore what the consequences are of the player’s actions when decisions made as Bruce have a critical impact on his nightly crusade as Batman, and vice versa. Certain key situations will give the player the decision to approach a scene as Bruce or Batman, with consequences for both sides.
• Fresh interpretation of the universe set in current times, not tied to any existing iteration of Batman in games, film, or comics. Story will focus on Bruce and Batman, not an examination of the extended 'Bat-family,' (Robin, Nightwing, etc.) Fans can expect certain series staples such as Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, James Gordon, and Renee Montoya. Telltale is looking to keep the villains more tightly under wraps until closer to the premiere.
• Certain characters will have a deeply personal relationship with Bruce in his private life, and decisions made as Bruce or Batman will affect their paths towards corruption or redemption.
• The player's actions will help shape the Gotham that Bruce deals with during the day, as well as the criminals that Batman faces at night.
• Team is committing to a non-photorealistic interpretation of the universe, enhancing engine and technology to deliver a more seamless living comic book art direction. Taking inspiration from the works of over 75 years of artists such as Jim Lee, Greg Capullo, and Neal Adams.
• Like some other Telltale series, the game will be landing at M (Mature 17+) rating, and the cinematic approach will feel more akin to an R-rated film.
First of all, while I'm glad they are working on upgrading the engine, the poor thing is now years past its prime and the signs of old age have begun to show, both in terms of gameplay features and performance issues. Still, if it ends up being anywhere near the quality showcased in Tales from the Borderlands I'm sure everything will be fine.
The second detail worth mentioning is that the extended 'Bat-family' will not be making much of an appearance, which is a shame since the interactions between Batman and Robin are some of my favorite memories from childhood comic reading. We've seen the caped crusader in almost every setting imaginable, its prime time the sidekicks got a bit of the spotlight as well.
Finally, I just wanted to say that I'm very pleased with Telltale's decision to keep the series Mature 17+ rated as Batman tends to deal with some fucked up villains, and having them neutered in order to appeal to a broader demographic would be quite the shame. Speaking of villains, the most famous and insane one of them all, the Joker, has not actually been confirmed. None of them have.
I wonder if this means they'll keep the main baddie hidden away until the very end, because if managed well the suspense levels would be through the bat-roof, a thing that I just made up, but is most likely a part of some comic, somewhere. Whatever the case, we'll have to wait for summer to find out.
This monstrosity is the draft, expect to do a lot of talking and reading