BATMAN - The Telltale Series - Episode 2: Children of Arkham Reviews
Telltale gives Oswald Cobblepot some time in the limelight, but skimps on gameplay to do so.
It has the air of young men putting on silly costumes, not knowing what they're doing, and trying to style it out.
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 eventually gets to really interesting places, but it takes them a little too long to get there — and many interesting story threads from the premier aren't given proper attention gameplay-wise or story-wise. Still, it's nice to see Bruce Wayne and Batman taken in such a dark new direction.
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.
A step back for the series, but still an enjoyable couple of hours despite the flaws.
That’s a game which absolute nails this style of episodic, choice-driven gaming and the new bar for Telltale to meet. For now, I can only hope this season of Batman can elevate itself to a far greater level than the first two episodes let on.
Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 2: Children of Arkham has two flaws. Firstly, everything, from the talking to the punching, is done in pretty much the same way as before, which results in a good game, but not a substantially different experience. Secondly, Telltale still plays it safe with the storytelling, with choices that don't really matter in the long run. The finale of this episode, however, hints at a potential change of strategy for the upcoming chapters… a change that will surely stir things up a bit.
Whilst this episode is something of a let-down, it at least sets up enough plot points that could deliver quality episodes yet to be released. Oswald and his shadowy partners in the Children of Arkham have their big plan to unveil. The relationship between Bruce and Selina, between Bruce and Alfred, between Bruce and Harvey… everyone knows what's coming there! The next episode will hopefully pay off on many of the threads Telltale is setting up.
Continued technical issues and a stumble in story hold episode two of Telltale's latest series from being as good as it's debut predecessor. That being said, if you're a fan of the caped crusader, there are still some interesting threads dangling that are worth seeing through to the next episode.
Telltale Games continue to be a formidable supervillain, and manage to turn Batman into the one thing he should never be: boring.
There's promise going forward, for the story at least, but this is an otherwise messy episode on several levels.
Batman: The Telltale Series — Episode Two: Children of Arkham is ultimately dispiriting, as a follow up to the amazing Season Premiere cliffhanger and fails at following that up with a sorry payoff to Episode One. A lot of the Episode feels rushed and underutilized, making it nigh impossible to dive back into the dichotomy of the mask of Bruce contrasting with the true face of Bruce, Batman. The vision for the Season does become quite clear after this Finale, but as a standalone, it fails to stand on its own two feet.
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.
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.