Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 2 Review (PC)

If you recall my review of the first episode of TellTale’s second season of their Batman game, you’ll remember that I loved just about everything they did. The inclusion of characters like The Riddler and Amanda Waller, the teaser of what’s to come, the heavier focus on relationships, and more. Now, after a somewhat long wait, Batman: The Enemy Within returns with Episode 2, titled: The Pact.

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

Game Name: Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 2: The Pact
Platform(s): PC/Steam
Publisher(s): TellTale games
Developer(s): TellTale Games
Release Date: October 3rd, 2017
Price: $24.99 | Steam (Whole Second Season)

I must start off by saving that The Pact wasn’t as good as The Enigma, but to be fair, I don’t think it could’ve been. The first episode set up a lot of things while also focusing hard on the Riddler…which was good…because he died at the end of said episode. So now, they’re focusing more on the long-game, and on that aspect, they did really well.

Right off the bat the game picks up right where it left off, literally! I really appreciate that as sometimes time jumps can happen and who likes that? The returning conversation with Waller was well handled and perfectly led to the arrival of a classic Batman villain…Bane. And much like the first Riddler fight, I really enjoyed this fight scene. The options I had to pick from in the fight was really cool, as well as seeing a familiar yet foreign version of Bane. Including a new take on the classic “I will break you!” scene from the comics.

And not unlike that comic, this encounter with Bane proved to Batman that he can’t just go head-to-head with the members of The Pact, he needs to take them out from within. And…since John Doe (*cough* Joker *cough*) offered him an in with them, Bruce decides to go undercover, which is brilliant.

What this, in turn, leads to is a meeting of more classic Batman villains. In this case Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn. The former only gets a little screen time, but portrays the version we met in the classic animated series very well, but with a TellTale twist or two. And then…there’s Harley.

Leave it up to TellTale Games to twist the dynamic between her and Joker. Now, she’s the dominant personality and Joker is fawning over her like a high school sweetheart. More importantly, she’s not insane (as past interpretations have had her), she’s actually quite cunning, and knows how to play the part of a clown, and when to be the calculating person that she needs to be to help run The Pact. It’s an aspiring take, and one I hope we see more of in the next episode as things get more and more crazy.

Another thing I appreciated wasn’t just the focus on Bruce Wayne trying to infiltrate The Pact, but the lengths he had to go to convince them to join. In one section, you have to earn the respect of Freeze, Harley, and Bane, and making a wrong move can truly end your game right then and there. It was good to see that trust had to be earned, making The Pact much more than just “villains working together”.

Which is another thing I like, this was actually a group that worked together without the idea of backstabbing one another (Joker aside maybe…). They voted on things that needed to be done. Bane mourned the loss of Riddler and wanted to be sure that Bruce wasn’t out for revenge because of what Riddler did to Lucius Fox. Freeze is honored when you offer to help save his wife regardless of how things go with The Pact, and Harley is impressed when you find out more about her past. Add to that Bane’s inspirational speech about working together, and you get a really cool group that truly works well together.

And then…there’s the twist at the end. I won’t spoil this one, but not only does it tease not one, not two, but THREE big arrivals/returns, it sets up a very interesting situation for both The Pact, and for Bruce Wayne.

Now, as I noted, not everything works in the episode. At the beginning, there are some odd cuts in the dialogue to action scenes which also are cut weirdly. And the episode is a bit slow to start despite the fight with Bane. Also, there are some odd scenes that I was very surprised didn’t have the “so-and-so will remember this”, it was actually brushed off quite easily, which is odd for a TellTale game. 

And while I get that “seeing is believing”, the fact that NOBODY notices the giant metal object in Bruce Wayne’s ear is very disconcerting. We don’t need to see the radio communicator, he’s Batman! We know he has one.

These faults aside, Batman: The Enemy Within- Episode 2 was a solid follow-up to the first episode, and it left me wondering what the heck is going to happen next, because it’s got to be big to be doing what they’re planning on doing.

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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