Episode Two of Batman: The Enemy Within saw Bruce Wayne tumbling into the criminal underworld without his familiar bat-like façade. It was an interesting twist, putting him in amongst the wolves and trying to protect his identity in an altogether very different way to usual. Telltale have a knack for finding new and interesting ways to use the two contrasting sides to the character, and as the third episode picks up almost right where we left off, you have to wonder how far they’re going to let him tumble down the rabbit hole?
Where last episode was really all about this series’ take on Harley Quinn as perhaps the most psychotic of a whole array of psychos, really putting you on edge throughout, this episode does a good job of then letting you see how all of this is affecting not just Bruce but Batman’s relationships with other characters. Nothing is really happening in a bubble here, and so the actions that Bruce needed to take to ingratiate himself with this gang from his growing Rogues Gallery spill out into the wider cast of characters.
There’s the perilous balance that Batman has to find with Commissioner Gordon, who’s seen everything that Bruce Wayne is up to, Bruce’s working relationship with the Agency and Amanda Waller, with Lucius Fox’s daughter Tiffany, Alfred, and on and on. Every one feels like a precarious balancing act, with only a few instances where there’s an obvious “right” thing to do.
As ever, John Doe and his almost inevitable transformation into the Joker is at the forefront of all of this. It’s clear that Telltale are holding this back for a truly pivotal moment in the series, and there’s a growing sense of danger every time you see the already wide smile grow to almost double its size or see the mood swings that bubble beneath the surface and burst forth just for a few moments. Anthony Ingruber is doing a stellar job with the character, and the writing is great as you have to try to manipulate him, trying to keep him relatively balanced but also bend him to your whims. Fascinatingly, you also get to see John Doe and Batman on screen together, pushing you to potentially play in a different persona.
At the same time, you revisit a whole other facet to Bruce after the surprise return of Catwoman at the end of last episode. Naturally it’s up to you how you resume your relationship, not to mention what even transpired between the pair in the first season, but it certainly doesn’t take much to rekindle any sparks that may have fired before almost regardless of what you do earlier in the episode.
There’s just this feeling of deus ex machina to the middle of this episode, as though Telltale are somewhat more overtly shaping the flow of the story. You get a chance to take a step back and relax from the pressure cooker of the Pact’s gradually unfolding plan, but while I can see what it offers the episode, to give a few moments with the Batman persona, to let Bruce grow the relationships with other characters, it does feel a touch contrived. Sure, it comes back to bite him in the backside, leading to a cliffhanger befitting the classic 60’s Batman TV series, but he’s playing too fast and loose in what’s meant to be a life or death situation.
Just as last time out, there’s technical and presentational niggles. Putting the controller down for a moment during a rather wordy cutscene, I was too slow for the game’s liking to perform a banal action, so it just did it for me. There’s also noticeable stutter between scenes, despite playing on a rather high end PC.
I’m still very much enjoying Batman: The Enemy Within, and the way Telltale are forcing Bruce Wayne out of his punchy vigilante comfort zone, but this does feel like the mid-point of the season that it is. There’s more than a little tension here, but it’s starting to feel a little contrived through some of its twists and turns. Here’s hoping that the final two episode bring some more dramatic twists and turns, not to mention the payoffs that all the build up with John Doe deserve.
