Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows

 PC
Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
  1. Games Master UK
    Oct 3, 2016
    70
    Telltale delivers action and intrigue, but the Caped Crusader's greatest enemy is an uneven script. [Oct 2006, p.71]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. Game Debate
    Aug 7, 2016
    70
    It’s playing as Bruce where this game really shines.
  3. The Digital Fix
    Aug 5, 2016
    70
    A slow but solid first chapter which offsets ponderous exposition with some thrilling fight scenes, and introduces much-needed new mechanics to a now familiar template.
  5. Destructoid
    Aug 2, 2016
    70
    Batman: A Telltale Games Series: Realm of Shadows is a nice setup. It's not as strong as some of Telltale's other work, but it manages to honor the legacy of the series and throw in a few curveballs to keep things interesting (thank God there's no Joker yet).
  6. Game Informer
    Aug 2, 2016
    70
    The hook at the end of this episode has me intrigued for what comes next, but be warned, this is the roughest (and slowest) start to a Telltale series yet.
  7. Game Over Online
    Aug 16, 2016
    68
    And so Batman: The Telltale Series is looking like a mixed bag at the moment. The first episode is all set-up, so there isn’t any way to tell if the series is going to be interesting or not, or even what the series is going to be about.
  8. PC Gamer
    Aug 2, 2016
    68
    Realm of Shadows indicates that it might tell an interesting Batman story, but takes time to get there and suffers from Telltale’s tired design and engine limitations.
  9. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Sep 21, 2016
    65
    Are we going to choose which of two Batman’s signature villains will be saved from predestination? That’s one thing that can keep viewers interested in Telltale’s latest product. And it’s really “viewers” instead of “players” – QTE, that little remnant of interactivity, has almost no bearing of the events. [Issue#212, p.45]
    All this publication's reviews
  10. Areajugones
    Aug 15, 2016
    65
    Telltale comes back again with their same formula for Batman: The Telltale Series. This first episode is pretty dull, but ends with a promising ending that opens the door for innovation.
  11. Arcade Sushi
    Aug 8, 2016
    65
    What Telltale has been able to do from strictly a narrative standpoint is up to the company's usual high standards. Enjoying those moments is an absolute challenge though, as so much of the rest of the game just doesn't work properly. Telltale has earned our trust to eventually rectify these qualms, but Batman's adventure is still off to one of the roughest starts we've seen from the developer.
  12. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 2, 2016
    60
    A disjointed first episode that makes Bruce a monster and Batman a button mash. [Issue#255, p.64]
    All this publication's reviews
  13. Eurogamer Poland
    Aug 24, 2016
    60
    Even if Telltale came up with an interesting intrigue, the first episode didn't showed enough to properly rate it. First two hours offer couple of good scenes, but overall the story is not too engaging and very familiar.
  14. Riot Pixels
    Aug 12, 2016
    60
    Batman: The Telltale Series is off to a lacklustre start, and even if you're a die-hard fan of the Caped Crusader, or you simply hope to see a glimmer fresh ideas in Telltale's assembly line products, I'm afraid you're out of luck.
  15. 4P.de
    Aug 5, 2016
    50
    A routine Telltale game based on the proven formula that slowly gets stale even with the Dark Knight as a protagonist.
  16. PC Invasion
    Aug 4, 2016
    50
    Even ignoring the many technical issues, this isn't a particularly inspiring start to Telltale's newest series. There's plenty of time for it to improve, but I'd hold off and see how the next few episodes go before taking the plunge on the series.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

?
  1. Mashable
    Aug 2, 2016
    Choice has been the great strength of every recent Telltale game, but it's especially powerful in a story about a beloved character that's been interpreted and explored in dozens of different ways over the past 75 years.
  2. PCWorld
    Aug 3, 2016
    It’s a good start. I’m not hooked like the first season of The Walking Dead or Wolf Among Us, but it’s looking like more of a slow burn with a lot of potential. Telltale sets up a lot of plot threads in this first episode, and it’s actually pretty impressive how many bit players they’ve introduced in just an hour and a half.
  3. Polygon
    Aug 2, 2016
    Clunky bits of dialogue and sleepy start notwithstanding, Batman: The Telltale Series, a game about Bruce Wayne, might just make me feel like I'm Batman. [Provisional score - 80]
  5. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Aug 3, 2016
    Some foundations are laid that might make for stronger follow-ups, but as it stands Batman does not have the emotional punch of The Walking Dead’s better episodes, the intriguing oddness of Wolf Among Us or the shockingly heavy consequences of Game Of Thrones, and worst of all it makes cracks in Telltale’s aged wall highly obvious. I should not feel bored in a Batman game, but bored is what I felt for most of it. Bring back Joel Schumacher, all is forgiven.
  6. Shacknews
    Aug 2, 2016
    While the main focus of the story isn’t on how badass Batman is, Telltale has done a great job with the combat sequences, and the story-driven choices that are littered throughout the narrative really help to push the character forward.

Awards & Rankings

87
#87 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
97
#97 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 237 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 129 out of 237
  2. Mixed: 45 out of 237
  3. Negative: 63 out of 237
  1. Sevorast
    Aug 2, 2016
    4
    Game has potential but the engine is apparently broken, can't progress through menus 75% of the time, and having crashing issues the other 25%Game has potential but the engine is apparently broken, can't progress through menus 75% of the time, and having crashing issues the other 25% of the time, literally can not make progress in the game because when the menus work the game crashes and when the game isn't crashing the menus don't accept inputs and I have to alt+f4 and restart game.

    Refunded for now, really hope they fix these issues so I can update this score in the future.    … Full Review »
  2. Talbis
    Aug 2, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Well, this is a weird one... If you're familiar with Telltale previous games you know what to expect - a dated engine, quick time events and a love it or hate it writing. This time with bugs on top. For some reason I decided to play this game with a controller and in the opening action sequence I died. I failed. So I repet things, I mean, surely I did something wrong, no? No. I died again. It took me two more attempts to discover that the right trigger is on the left side of the controller according to Telltale games. Getting stuck on the "codex" screen and having to restart the game is another bug I found. Next one was the ever changing resolution of the game... Yeah, if you want my advice, every time you open the game make sure the resolution is set to what you desire. And I mean every single time. For me, it went from 1080p to 1024x768. Yeah. Beyond that the game looks like an episode of "Archer". Add to that poor lip syncing and dated animations and you get the whole picture. The writing is okay-ish... Main character is portrayed very well. Supporting cast is severely lacking. Harvey Dent looks like a professional athlete more than a DA, Gordon looks like J. Jonah Jameson and Oswald Cobblepot... I don't know the dealer the Telltale team gets their drugs from, but keep away. The overall story is acceptable but predictable like hell. At least Batman is doing some detective things but despite IGN's words, it's nothing special, mindblowing or challenging. The game would've been a lot better had they secured the rights to Batman TAS from the '90, got their writers and cast, but nope... This game doesn't look like any Batman you might be familiar with. It's not true to the comics or any other incarnation of the Dark Knight. It does have one good feature... you can buy it, play it to completion and get a re-found and that's my recommendation.… Full Review »
  3. Batmanfanboy97
    Aug 2, 2016
    10
    Telltale have shown they really understand the Bruce Wayne character and the Batman character from personality to skills the story is veryTelltale have shown they really understand the Bruce Wayne character and the Batman character from personality to skills the story is very interesting seeing Batman more early on in his career tackling crime from meeting catwoman for the first time to the personal life of Bruce Wayne supporting his freind Harvey dent and the villain being crime boss carmine falcone. The gameplay itself is through choice and quicktime event's and the main highlight for me being this detective segment the voice acting is amazing also troy baker did a great job as Batman i highly recommend this if you are a batman fan.… Full Review »
See all user reviews »