Telltale is officially unmasking Batman - The Telltale Series today, providing the first handful of screenshots and casting details for the adventure game.
Telltale's expansion in the past year has been significant, marked by the announcement of a Telltale Batman adventure game series. While fans have excitedly been waiting for Batman to be fully revealed during and post-E3, Telltale just couldn't wait that long to show fans what it is working on. Today the company released a bit of teaser content for Batman, a handful of crisp screenshots as well as a portion of the game's casting details.
Kevin Bruner, Co-Founder and CEO of Telltale Games, provided a prepared statement regarding Telltale's excitement regarding Batman. He goes into the team's approach to Batman as a character, as well as what players can expect from the a full episodic season with the Dark Knight:
"We've been hard at work at Telltale creating an all-new iteration of the iconic Batman story that puts players in the suit of billionaire Bruce Wayne, just as much as it will put them behind the mask, deciding how to carefully navigate a complex drama, rich with action, crime, corruption, and villainy lurking around every corner of Gotham City. The complex life and fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne has lent itself to becoming a bold evolution of the signature 'Telltale' role-playing experience, and we couldn't be more excited as we prepare to debut the series to players across the world this summer."
Four screenshots were provided, as well as the official logo of the Telltale Batman game. Everyone's first takeaway should be that Telltale's new game engine looks very sharp, though the company's artistic direction doesn't seem to have shifted much -- if any. From there, let's talk Batman. Really, Telltale's just covering the basics. There's Bruce Wayne, a photo of his murdered parents in the background, a Batcave and Batmobile shot, Batman with Catwoman in semi-intimate moment of conflict, and a transitional Bruce Wayne in the Batcave shot. Nothing at all to hint at the game's plot. Damn.
Regarding the casting details, Telltale notably provided what's likely to be only half (or maybe less than half) of the entire thing. That's because, naturally, the company omitted the rogues gallery of the story in order to preserve the mystery and suspense of Batman. Well, Carmine Falcone is a villain of sorts, but not the kind that Telltale wants to keep secret until they leap out of the shadows at Batman. Here's the cast that Telltale has provided as of yet, along with each character's voice actor:
- Bruce Wayne - Troy Baker
- Harvey Dent - Travis Willingham
- Vicki Vale - Erin Yvette
- Alfred Pennyworth - Enn Reitel
- Lieutenant James Gordon - Murphy Guyer
- Carmine Falcone - Richard McGonagle
- Selina Kyle - Laura Bailey
What should immediately jump out to players is where this Batman takes on the overall timeline of Batman stories. Two names in particular, Harvey Dent and Lieutenant James Gordon, give clues to where we are on that timeline. For one, Harvey Dent has apparently yet to transform into the coin-flipping villain Two Face. Second, James Gordon has yet to be promoted to the rank of Commissioner. Are we meeting a very young Batman? A potentially inexperienced Batman? Will those two events occur in this first season? It'll be exciting to find out.
Telltale will be unveiling Batman in motion at E3, starting Tuesday. That is, unless it debuts the game during a press conference like Sony's. If not, Telltale traditionally shows the first chunk of the first episode to press for written impressions and also releases a related trailer. That's usually followed up by the first episode's release in the next months -- the sooner the better.
Batman - The Telltale Series is officially planned for release "this summer" 2016. It will be available digitally on PC/Mac, home consoles and mobile devices, and will also be available via a retail "Season Pass Disc" that unlocks episodes as they're made available. Expect more specific release details soon.