‘Batman – The Telltale Series Episode 5: City of Light’ Review

Game: Batman – The Telltale Series Episode 5: City of Light
Consoles: PS4, Xbox One (reviewed), PC, Mac OS, PS3, Xbox 360, iOS, Android
Publisher: Telltale Games
Developer: Telltale Games

Gotham’s dark defender has been through a myriad of problems. Having to deal with the Children of Arkham, its maniacal leader and a mentally broken mayor have been quite challenging (and engrossing) to play through. Everything that Bruce Wayne and his heroic alter-ego have been through culminates in “City of Light,” a fitting finale that presents the most exciting episode of Season One. From the very beginning, you’re thrown into a harrowing situation that involves your ongoing conflict with Harvey Dent and the disturbing half of his crippled psyche. This portion of the episode does a fine job of providing the most intense action-packed sequences of the series’ 1st season. If you chose to deviate from your crusade against Penguin and him tampering with your Wayne Tech, then your 1st encounter within this episode turns out much differently. Either way, the very start of this episode pulls you in and never lets go.

After getting through Batman’s initial mission, the middle portion of this episode deals more with Bruce Wayne’s relationships and him further solving the mystery behind Victoria Arkham’s machinations. Dealing with Alfred’s guilt and coming to terms with who Selina Kyle really is presents some of the heaviest moments featured all season. Besides those two climactic encounters, you’ll engage in two crime scene investigation sections. The 1st one is a simple puzzle that tasks you with discovering how your must trusted ally was captured, but the 2nd one is way more interesting. The initial mystery behind why “Vicky Vale” murdered her caretakers comes to light and it’s quite shocking. This moment is particularly heart breaking and actually makes you feel for the broken woman behind Lady Arkham’s mask.

The final portion of this finale hits hard and even throws you into one of Telltale Games’ most incredible boss fights. As Batman, you find yourself navigating Arkham Asylum once again in an effort to put a stop to Lady Arkham’s sinister plans. During your battle against her, you’ll be on edge as you dodge a bunch of blows, absorb painful hits and dodge falling debris. A few technical issues arrived during this incredibly hellacious battle though, such as the audio dropping out occasionally and some moments of slowdown bringing the action to a startling halt. Its to be expected with Telltale Games’ engine, which has been used for the majority of their titles. Here’s hoping some form of an engine upgrade arrives with future titles. Even still, Batman’s final crusade against Lady Arkham is the perfect finish for the game’s 1st season. What’s most exciting is the tease of who the primary villain will be for what we hope is a 2nd season. Batman’s troubles are far from over. And that’s something everyone (especially us) should be excited about.

Bottom Line

“City of Light” closes out Batman’s Telltale Series introduction on a good note. The battles that play out here are immensely powerful, Bruce’s meetings with his closest friends presents impactful moments and the final battle is amazing. It’s a bit of a letdown that Telltale’s game engine’s most familiar issues hamper the experience at times during this finale. It doesn’t deter too much from all the great moments that are littered throughout this season closer, however. The 1st official season of Batman’s Telltale Series had a few hit or miss moments, no doubt. But at the end of it all, we were throughly entertained by this new take on the DC Comics’ hero’s legendary mythos.

Score: 9.5/10

Pros:

• The action sequences presented here send the biggest encounters out on a high note
• Discovering the reasoning behind Lady Arkham’s attack on her parents is quite the revelation
• The tease at the end of this season has us giddy with excitement

Cons:

• A few audio issues and bouts of slowdown cropped up

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