Batman: The Telltale Series continues to showcase its strengths by putting the spotlight on Bruce and his relationships in Episode Three – New World Order. Throughout the entire episode, his parents’ actions weigh heavily on him, and the Children of Arkham threaten to ruin his public image and undo all of his hard work protecting Gotham.
Episode Two ended with a decision that left Harvey Dent horribly disfigured in my playthrough, and the events of that night change him forever. Not only has he been elected mayor by default, but he journeys down a path that leads him to becoming Two-Face.
After visiting Harvey in his hospital bed at the start of New World Order, in which Harvey begins to display signs of a split personality, Bruce is called away by Gordon using the Bat-Signal. Right away I was presented with two choices; go after Officer Montoya who has gone rogue in an attempt to find out who drugged her last episode, or save Harvey who has left the hospital and is attacked en route to a speech.
I chose to go after Montoya first and I didn’t spend enough time helping her to make my choice seem meaningful. She ends up in a fight with a few members of the Children of Arkham, and while I save her and stop them from leaving with a shipment of chemicals, it doesn’t seem to affect the rest of the episode as far as I can tell. Because I left Harvey to defend himself, he kills one of his attackers with his bare hands. Though this can be seen as another event that causes Harvey to lose his grip and slowly become Two-Face, he eventually begins to turn into the villain no matter what choice I make. What is disguised as possibly a major decision lacks consequence, at least in this episode, and feels like a cheap way to create tension for a moment.
Getting further in, I understand why Oswald believes his hate for Bruce is justified. Bruce’s father had Oswald’s mother forcibly committed to Arkham Asylum, drove her insane, and essentially stole land from the Cobblepots in order to build up the Wayne’s business empire. This was revealed at the end of last episode, and New World Order shows just how much Oswald wants to take everything from Bruce. I like the direction that Telltale is taking the Penguin, I just wonder how the Children of Arkham and their leader fit into the equation. They are all working together somehow, I’m just not sure what everyone’s motivations are other than Oswald. Gotham is corrupt and people want change, but a revolution seems a bit extreme. Hopefully their reasons will become clear by the end of the series.
Once again there was a scene which comprised of detective work that I’m growing somewhat tired of. While investigating a lead on the Children of Arkham, Batman discovers one of their hideouts. There were several clues in this location which required me to walk around and connect lines between the evidence so Batman can piece together the Children of Arkham’s plans. I enjoy listening to Batman’s thoughts as he realizes what is going on, but the act of walking across a room just to link together two pieces of evidence is getting old. Thankfully, my detective work was cut short and I was treated to a wonderful fight scene for Telltale that led into another enjoyable scene.
Bruce and Selina have been growing closer and it is one of my favorite relationships that Telltale is tackling in this series. When Batman is wounded by the Children of Arkham’s leader, Catwoman takes him back to her apartment. They are both aware of each other’s identities, providing solace for Bruce knowing that he isn’t hiding anything from Selina. I love their dynamic, and whether you choose to sleep with Selina or not, this leaves Harvey and Bruce’s relationship even more strained as he finds Bruce in her apartment.
New World Order ends on a cliffhanger where the identity of the Children of Arkham’s leader is revealed. Obviously I won’t spoil it, but I don’t think many will see it coming. Looking back, there are slight hints as to who the leader is, but they are so harmless or easily explainable that people will not think twice about them.
Summary
Leading into the final two episodes of this series, Bruce’s world seems to be collapsing around him. He has lost so much of what matters to him, and if the preview for next episode is anything to go by, he stands to lose much more. New World Order serves as a great middle episode that starts off a little clumsily but ends on a high note. Telltale’s compelling writing of this cast of well-known characters is commendable and I can’t wait to see how their story unfolds.
Jennifer is a games journalist, former games journalist and PR Manager at Gearbox. They contributed 234 articles to ICXM between 2015–2017, focused on opinion pieces, game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: went on to write for Windows Central and later managed PR for Gearbox Software.