Telltale Games’ Batman Steps Out of the Shadows With First Trailer [SDCC 2016]

Announced earlier this year, and then shown in action for the first time at E3 2016, Batman: The Telltale Series has finally gotten its premiere trailer. It's a doozy. Telltale Games is going all out for the Dark Knight's adventure game debut, ramping up the existing engine the developer uses to include improved graphics and gameplay mechanics that haven't been possible before. Plus, unlike other Batman games that have hit consoles and PCs in the last few years, Telltale's game puts a major focus on the man behind the cowl, Bruce Wayne.

It's not often you get to live the life of the last surviving Wayne and his alter ego, as most games put the focus on dealing out justice as Batman. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, the recent Rocksteady Batman: Arkham games have been an absolute blast to play just from a perspective of making you truly feel like you are Batman. Where Telltale excels however is in the more character driven moments, and it's here where Bruce and Batman stand on a bit of equal footing.

The trailer doesn't give too much away, thankfully, but it does give most of you your very first look at the world of Telltale's Gotham City. You can see some of the Batman: The Animated Series' and the Batman (1989) influences on the design, while also noting Telltale's own clear vision for differentiating its Batman from the dozens of other media incarnations. The balance of light and dark scenes with Bruce and Batman work well in this instance, giving you a hint of optimism hiding behind the shadowy darkness typically attributed to the world Batman inhabits.

There are also some glimpses at a number of the supporting cast members, like Commissioner Gordon, Catwoman, Harvey Dent, Vicki Vale, and Carmine Falcone. More guest characters are planned to appear throughout the series, but these familiar faces will all be around in at least the opening chapter. It's very early in Batman's career here, so there's no telling if more prominent villains will appear this season, but with what we've seen so far, Telltale's managed to keep the cast relatively trim... for now. That bodes well for just how much time each will get to develop over all five episodes. We don't want a bloated game that merely gives us glancing characterization. Telltale's writing is much too good for that kind of skimming through Batman's rogues.

The first episode of Batman: The Telltale Series, "Realm of Shadows," will be available digitally on all platforms beginning Aug. 2, with the season pass disc arriving on Sept. 16. Telltale will have more on its Batman game this coming week at San Diego Comic-Con, including a live fan-powered playthrough of the first episode on Saturday night.

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