BATMAN - The Telltale Series - Episode 2: Children of Arkham Reviews
The second installment of Telltale's Batman takes all of the solid foundations established by Episode 1, trims most of the fat, and continues to build an engaging Dark Knight story in a unique and uncharted version of the D.C. legend’s universe. Old Bat-fans will get much more out of the unexpected twists and turns than a newcomer, but the relationships Bruce Wayne forms and develops with the people around him appeal equally.
Telltale Games continue to be a formidable supervillain, and manage to turn Batman into the one thing he should never be: boring.
An emotional roller-coaster ride that is often jolted by gun shots and unexpected plot developments
Telltale gives Oswald Cobblepot some time in the limelight, but skimps on gameplay to do so.
Telltale continues to craft its own version of Batman and Bruce Wayne. The action is still solid, but this is all about the story: Who is Bruce Wayne when everything he knows to be true is a lie? Given the truth of his origins, who is Batman? Telltale's Batman relies on safety and familiarity to subvert expectations here and it works well.
You still have your patented "safe" approach from Telltale with Batman: A Telltale Games Series: Children of Arkham, but its heart is in the right place. Retreading on Batman themes we've already seen from great writers like Jeph Loeb, Frank Miller, or Scott Snyder isn't necessarily a bad thing.
A strong second episode that rattles along at a fast pace and includes no shortage of surprises and reveals. And now that we know what the Children of Arkham in the title refers to, I’m definitely looking forward to the third.
Batman: The Telltale Series Episode 2 "Children of Arkham" continues perfectly off of the stellar first episode. The action is tight, the dialogue is engaging, and the characters are all fantastically acted and scripted. Fans of Batman and/or Telltale will be very pleased with the direction that this series is going. However, technical problems still create headaches, though they might be lesser for some players depending on the system they play on and the setup they have. Hopefully Telltale can clear those up soon, so that Batman: The Telltale Series can truly live up to its already great potential.
A much better episode this time around, featuring some tough choices, great visuals and a fresh take on the Batman mythos.
It has the air of young men putting on silly costumes, not knowing what they're doing, and trying to style it out.
The story is gripping, the game looks beautiful, the production values are excellent, but you don’t really get a lot to do.
There's promise going forward, for the story at least, but this is an otherwise messy episode on several levels.
By trimming the fat, Telltale has delivered a much stronger episode in its fledgling Batman series. The story's beginning to take a shape of its own now, and more interesting personalities are beginning to come to the fore. While it still feels like the developer's laying foundations, this episode begins with a twist and goes out like a rocket – and that's how we'd like it to continue, thank you very much.
In traditional Telltale fashion, "Children of Arkham" ends on a high note and I'm already anxiously awaiting the next episode.
An improvement on the first episode, but still marred by technical issues and. A move in the right direction, but it's still too early to tell if this is more The Killing Joke or Batman & Robin.
Children of Arkham delivers a great follow-up to the original episode, while also cleaning up the pace and some of the technical issues. I am more invested now than after the first episode, and am excited to see how things develop. Telltale has crafted a unique take on the Dark Knight, with characters taking on new roles, making it interesting for fans of the character. I am extremely excited to see where this story ends up.
Children of Arkham begins with a couple of great scenes and an interesting plot twist. Unfortunately the central part of the episode doesn't work that well. The QTE-Based fights are dull, and the investigative component which had been one of the distinctive trait of the first episode is completely missing.
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This review will contain spoilers for all previous episodes and the current episode of Batman The Telltale Series. For our review of Batman The Telltale Series Ep. 1: Realm of Shadows, click here.At the end there’s the promise of a new larger villain at play, who seems suspiciously like Telltale’s version Scarecrow with a slightly modified Batman Begins story, using a neurotoxin to “free” the city of Gotham. I’m just waiting for the inevitable Joker reveal, because let’s be honest, everyone who takes on the Batman mythos wants the chance to do their particular version of the Joker. At this point, while trying to honor Batman and give unexpected beats, Telltale has managed to make Batman actually feel dull. There’s a lot of potential in what they are doing, but Children of Arkham is more poorly rehearsed high school play than engrossing Batman fiction.
Telltale’s Batman is off to a great start, but only time will tell as to if the developers can weave a Bats story that ranks among the upper echelon of The Dark Knight’s adventures.
It’s definitely aimed at the Bat-fans, but Telltale is busy crafting a superb story starring the dark knight that manages to feel fresh and brutal.