Review for Batman: The Enemy Within. Game for Android, PC, iOS, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 08/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 02/10/2018
The second DC Dark Knight adventure continues with a new episode Telltale Games, an episode with the heavy responsibility of reviving the fortunes of a decidedly uncertain season. After a well-balanced overture between plot, characters and gameplay, we found a second lopsided episode in our hands, the real highlight of which was the new and surprising incarnation of Harley Quinn and her with the future Joker John Doe. Fractured Mask is another chapter focused primarily on events, but which shakes the delicate balance of s between Bruce Wayne and the other characters, making the story more and more interesting.
NB As this is the review of the third episode of Batman: The Enemy Within, there will be light SPOILERS regarding the previous chapters.
In the previous episode Bruce Wayne found himself forced to go undercover inside the wolf's lair, the group of criminals called The Pact, who is plotting something extremely dangerous against Gotham City. After the failure of the last mission, the team begins to mistrust and the members begin to suspect the presence of a mole. As if his situation weren't complicated enough, we saw the entry of Catwoman, a presence certainly friendlier than the other villains, but whose unpredictability we have come to know. Through her we will learn that The Riddler was not always the person we clashed with, and even his with the rest of the group may not have been that of mere leader. Not just Selina Kyle it will call into question what we know about The Pact, but it will also be a new focus of attention for Bruce Wayne, which we can decide to show still emotionally involved by the beautiful thief, with all the risks that could derive from it.
Another particularly interesting character is John Doe, whose presence is both fascinating and destabilizing. The character is still confused and looking for references, as well as being always addicted to Harley Quinn's attentions, and this will lead him to get even closer to Bruce and even Batman. As we observe his need to find acceptance, we already see the premises for his ultimate descent into madness, an eventuality that the game seems to allow us to contain.
Without a doubt Fractured Mask is the episode in which the web of s is intertwined and more complicated. In addition to having to keep tabs on the members of The Pact and Catwoman, Bruce Wayne will have an increasingly difficult life juggling Amanda Waller, Tiffany and especially Jim Gordon, who, taken by the pressure for his precarious position with the Agency, will put a hard test the friendship with our hero.
In short, the screenplay of The Enemy Within encounters in this chapter a fundamental junction point of s, even if in terms of real advancement in the plot there are few steps forward. If until now the choices of dialogue had led us to a calculating diplomacy, in Fractured Mask things get irremediably complicated, forcing us to make more important and personal decisions. While the plot will continue in the next few episodes in its predetermined course, we expect those choices to greatly affect the s and reactions of the characters involved, as well as the protagonist himself.
All this meat on the fire in the story doesn't seem to leave much room for extra-dialogue sessions. We will find ourselves solving a post mortem puzzle of the Riddler, so simple that it is not only a disappointment but also a real insult to the brainy character who should be the author. The subsequent investigation session with a heat and electric current detector is interesting, but also in this case little and badly exploited.
Obviously, the fights via QTE are back, always engaging and well choreographed, although not very present. We are, moreover, in an episode in which we will have to talk a lot and clash as little as possible to maintain the s of trust established.
Although the "real" gameplay remains unsatisfactory, Fractured Mask is an episode that continues to focus on what Telltale does best: tell a well-written story, involving several characters whose s start to get complicated, forcing us to make important decisions and potentially significant in the long term. The arrival of Catwoman inserts a not indifferent emotional note, while the spring in John Doe's head continues to wind up, leaving us with the growing curiosity to see when and how it will trigger.
► Batman: The Enemy Within is a Graphic Adventure type game developed and published by Telltale Games for Android, PC, iOS, Mac, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 08/08/2017 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 02/10/2018
