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

 PC
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

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Talbis
    Aug 2, 2016
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand 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.… Expand
  2. KeyboardPlayer
    Sep 17, 2016
    0
    engine is outdate, story is not so good, puzzles aren't even a thing and worst of all there's no key rebinding. how can a 2016 game not have such a simple, basic, MANDATORY feature is beyond me.
    Don't buy.
  3. 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% 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    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.    … Expand
  4. Linzo48
    Aug 2, 2016
    3
    Game sucked, immediately regret buying it. There is little to no interactivity at all in the game. The reason I kinda liked Season 1 of The Walking Dead was because there were a lot of point and click puzzle solving to do. I don't know why Telltale's newest games don't have that anymore. The choice making aspect of the game is a gimmick, it doesn't affect the story's narrative at all. ItGame sucked, immediately regret buying it. There is little to no interactivity at all in the game. The reason I kinda liked Season 1 of The Walking Dead was because there were a lot of point and click puzzle solving to do. I don't know why Telltale's newest games don't have that anymore. The choice making aspect of the game is a gimmick, it doesn't affect the story's narrative at all. It resulted in me not caring on what I chose. But the worst part has to be the QTE moments. Even if you didn't press the correct button you'll still win like what the hell?! This game is a joke.… Expand
  5. MalistiX
    Aug 10, 2016
    0
    You cannot release a game say it has a new improved engine and have it be less stable then your previous games, this game runs worse then I do and I am in bad shape.
  6. Asadar
    Aug 4, 2016
    0
    No option for keyboard, outdated graphics, poor optimization, etc.
    And, I failed the first game-play sequence again, and again, and again.
    I will change my note when they will finally make a playable game.
  7. Nobilis1984
    Aug 4, 2016
    1
    unplayable on the PC.
    I bought the game only through Steam. Since jerky only and although I have quad-core computers. The life which I could see was press primitive knobs.
  8. Zer0TheHer0
    Sep 18, 2016
    0
    Still can't rebind keys... incredible. Still can't skip cutscenes that you've seen already, thus killing replayability. Very bugged, you can get stuck and need to restart the chapter. Still based arond annoying quick time events instead of proper puzzles. Story is kinda weak.
    Telltale is getting very, very stale. Those games worked for a while, but now it's too much. Can't recommend.
  9. Raiden94
    Aug 2, 2016
    0
    Exactly what you'd expect from Telltale, only now, the developers have clearly overstayed their welcome. The game suffers from the typical limitations we've come to expect from the studio, and it's starting to get annoying. It runs poorly, it looks awful, and the animations are straight out of 2007.
  10. thenthomwaslike
    Oct 25, 2016
    0
    Ive been a telltale apologist for too long. Xbox one controller doesnt work with this game. The official windows 10 pc controller is not supported. I made it 2 minutes into the game before it became impossible to progress because the triggers dont work. I didnt even have a chance to see the rest of the bugs.
  11. mugen_is_here
    Mar 7, 2017
    0
    Horrible move making it only 64bit processor compliant. I was about to purchase this game when Steam warned me that it's not compatible with my OS. Really really horrible move TellTale games! I can't believe that out of all the companies it's among my most favorite companies (the other being Ubisoft) that set this move. Really a bad direction for the market to be heading in if this is a trend.
  12. SirRandallGames
    Aug 21, 2017
    0
    This game is buggy and lacks anything that made TaleTell great back in the day. They really need to go back to Sam & Max. The game looks old from the 90's and not much work put into it. I really didn't like the voice for Batman either.

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. Pelit (Finland)
    Oct 11, 2016
    80
    A beautiful and dark interpretation of the early years of Batman starts promisingly, but eventually relies too much on traditional Telltale mechanics that are starting to show their age. [Sept 2016]
  2. 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]
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 2, 2016
    60
    A disjointed first episode that makes Bruce a monster and Batman a button mash. [Issue#255, p.64]
See all critic reviews »