Batman: The Enemy Within: Episode 5 - Same Stitch
Score: 100% Publisher: Telltale Games Developer: Telltale Games Media: Download/1 Players: 1; 2 - 12 (Crowd Play) Genre: Adventure
Previously on Batman: The Enemy Within: Batman: The Enemy Within: Episode 5 - Same Stitch ends a season-long story arch that has led up to this moment, when John Doe claims his identity as The Joker. The question is, how have your choices in both this game and the first Batman: The Telltale Series season shaped the relationship between Batman and Joker? By the time the previous episode, What Ails You, ended, John had decided to follow one of two paths. In the events leading up to this final episode, Bruce Wayne, both as the playboy billionaire and as Batman, had either befriended or used John, first to get out of Arkham Asylum, then more recently, to infiltrate a gang of super villains containing Harley Quinn, Riddler, Bane, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman. When The Pact's immediate plans fell apart, John and Harley were confronted on Gotham Bridge with Waller's agents surrounding them. How you handled that pivotal moment not only changed how the Joker was born, but also what he feels his purpose is. Also, and this is no small feat on Telltale's part, that choice makes for completely different story in this final episode. I haven't seen the company put out such a drastically different gameplay experience before, and that includes the final episode of Guardians of the Galaxy whose level of branching points was already outrageous.
The Villain: If Batman betrayed John Doe on Gotham Bridge, Batman: The Enemy Within: Episode 5 - Same Stitch starts off with Joker joining up with Harley. The pair have the virus that The Pact was searching for and whatever their plans are for it, it can't be good. Batman will need to follow the clues they leave behind, even when they lead him in some unexpected directions. It isn't long before the crazed pair start racking up a body count and Bruce has to use all of his detective skills to find Joker and Harley before their number of victims grows much more. Batman will have to track down where the pair plan to release the virus, and in the process of trying to stop them, he will get sucked into a deadly game. Thankfully, Batman will have some help before everything is played out, and unfortunately, he will also learn a dark secret about one of his supposed allies. How Batman/Bruce Wayne handles this revelation is all up to you, but of course, that decision will change the nature of your relationship with that character, and that change should be more apparent in a future season of this series.
The Vigilante: On the other hand, if Batman protected John from The Agency, then Batman: The Enemy Within: Episode 5 - Same Stitch has a very different story to tell. In this playthrough, Joker becomes a vigilante and he models himself after Batman, or at least his view of Batman. Joker sees The Agency as a dark spot in Gotham and is bent on ridding the city of their presence. Joker and Batman end up having to team up in a fight against Joker's former team as Waller has "recruited" them in a way that anyone familiar with her character should not find surprising. After a lengthy fight sequence, Joker decides to abduct Waller so he can dispense his own brand of justice. Batman will have to find Joker's hideout and try to free Waller, but depending on your choices, he doesn't have to go into the field alone. The question is, can Batman trust his new protege, or is bringing a partner into the field a mistake?
The Complete Package: While a vast majority of Batman: The Enemy Within: Episode 5 - Same Stitch is different depending on how Episode 4 ended, they both join back together towards the end, and the final few scenes set up what looks to be an even more interesting third season. You have a few last-minute choices to make, and it will be hard to see how Telltale will be able to maintain the drastically different situations Bruce Wayne finds himself in, but I feel like they can pull it off. While I can't wait to see where Batman: The Telltale Series goes in the future, I can't help but look back at both this season and the series as a whole and marvel at it. This series has no problems throwing out the status-quo that is standard Batman lore and diving into new directions. Between killing main characters, revealing normally idyllic characters as flawed individuals and even changing up standard relationships between other characters, the Batman of this world can be a very different, and much more human, one than seen in many other tellings. This fact, coupled with the artful weaving of branching stories and difficult choices that The Enemy Within presents, makes this one of my favorite Telltale games yet. While you can jump into this second season without having played the first, I don't recommend doing that since there are parts of that season that will affect how events play out here and it's best to have the whole picture. I just hope Season 3 keeps the momentum going.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
Related Links: Batman: The Enemy Within Home Page Batman: The Enemy Within on Steam Our Batman: The Telltale Series Coverage Our Batman Coverage Our Guardians of the Galaxy Coverage
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