Batman – The Enemy Within Episode 3 “Fractured Mask” Review (PC)

Batman – The Enemy Within has had a very interesting path so far this season. It soared very high with its first episode, then let up a little to do some worldbuilding in episode 2, and now we have episode 3 in the form of “Fractured Mask”. This episode doubled down on relationships that both Bruce Wayne and Batman had, and it led to some very interesting situations, and consequences.

If you want to read my review of the first episode, click here. Or for the second episode, here.

Game Name: Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 3: Fractured Mask
Platform(s): PC/Steam
Publisher(s): TellTale games
Developer(s): TellTale Games
Release Date: November 21st, 2017
Price: $24.99 | Steam (Whole Second Season)

I find it a bit difficult to review Fractured Mask, mainly because the game features many scenes that would be defined as “spoilerific”, and while I’m fine with spoiling some things here, I don’t want to ruin everything…that would be bad…heh, heh, heh.

But, I can tell you that where this episode thrives is the situations that Bruce and Batman find themselves in. As the situation with The Pact becomes even more dangerous and twisted, both sides of Bruce Wayne are forced to make some hard decisions, mainly because these decisions affect your allies in some significant ways.

For example, Selina is back, as teased at the end of episode 02, and her involvement (depending on how you play it) will affect your possibly romantic relationship with her. I chose to be the romantic (that, of course, I am at heart) and did my best to play nice with Selina while admitting Bruce’s feelings for her. But, then, I had to sacrifice her safety because of a situation with Gordon. I couldn’t risk losing him as an ally, but it didn’t hurt any less when Selina showed back up and rightfully blamed me for her…condition. I did work it out, but I still felt bad.

Another situation like this emerged with Tiffany Fox, who tried to do the right thing, but ended up doing a lot more harm than good. And yet, I couldn’t help but be honest with her about the situation so that she wouldn’t make a situation like that happen again.

And yet…when it came to The Pact, I had to lie, a lot, just to make sure they would trust me, and it didn’t always work out. It’s a tough tightrope to walk, and I’m pretty sure that’s what TellTale Games wanted. They want you to try and walk a straight line, yet figure out just how difficult that is when you’re playing both sides against the middle. As the saying goes, you get burned.

A simpler joy I had in this was the cameos and returning characters that popped in and out. For example, Riddler came back in a fun way…and a morbid way…but whatever. Lucius also came back for a very touching moment. And…we got to see Harvey Bullock! Fun! It just goes to show how big and character-filled this game is.

Onto the more serious plot though, it was a bit…stretched. For we find out that Riddler had a plan to get back at those who tortured him, and it led to some shocking reveals. Not the least of which was a shadow upon Amanda Wallers Agency. The problem though was that the entire episode was spent over the finding of one location. And while that’s alright in a way, it did stall the plot at times.

But again, the characters made it up. It’s really fun to see Harley in a more dominating state, and not just the recepient of abuse. I wish we had more scenes with her in this episode. The real showstopper though was John/Joker. He continues to be a very fun character to chat with, and you honestly don’t know who he is, or what game he’s trying to play. But, it’s going to be fun to find out.

Speaking of fun, one of the coolest moments of the entire season was a fight between Bruce and Catwoman. It honestly rivals the Riddler fight from the first episode, and it has a lot of fun and personal moments that makes it stand out. Sadly though, this was basically the only fight scene in the episode, I really wish there was more, and I’m sure others feel that way.

What’s more, certain conversations did feel a bit flat. For example, in one scene, Selina notes that Alfred “is close to a nervous breakdown”. Yet, I never got any indication of that at all, at least not via the conversations I had with him. So why did she say it?

Finally, the ending scene was tense for sure, but we all know that the “twist” at the end didn’t really mean anything. So this was honstly the worst ending of the season so far.

But, for its faults, Batman – The Enemy Within Episode 3 did a great job on focusing on the relationships we’ve forged. Hopefully, with things now truly in motion, it’ll be even better next episode.

Review Disclosure Statement: Batman: The Enemy Within was provided to us by TellTale Games for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please go review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy for more info.

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