Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 5: City of Light (PlayStation 4) Review

The series, thus far, has been fairly torturous for both Batman and his alter ego Bruce Wayne. His family name has been dragged through the mud; his parents were actually criminals; plus Alfred knew and had been lying to him. His childhood friend, Oswald Cobblepot, hates him and is raising an army to destroy everything Bruce has. His best friend Harvey Dent has gone full Two-Face, completely embracing his dark side, and to top it all off, he's been beaten, stabbed, electrocuted, and committed to Arkham…

The previous episode brought many of the open story threads to a close, including wrapping up one of the two major antagonists of either Two-Face or Penguin, dependant on the player's choices. The showdown with the remaining villain opens this episode and it's honestly worth two save files here to experience each of the different battles. Taking Two-Face out in Episode 4 means Penguin has managed to reinforce his defences with Wayne Tech at the beginning of this episode, while taking out Penguin last time means Harvey has taken over the city with his personal army of Enforcers, leaving Lieutenant Gordon and a few good men trying to take back the city. Regardless of which is chosen, there is, of course, still one outstanding big bad remaining for the finale: Lady Arkham - Vicki Vale.

City of Light doesn't manage a Hail Mary to make up for the mediocre quality so far. It's decent enough with some high points, yet ultimately suffers from the same problems as before. The story does not give sufficient freedom for the player to craft their own story and the story that is told here is riddled with flaws. Too many dull or slow moments are present, dragging the story down. The gameplay aspects consist of the same old QTE combat sequences that have littered every Telltale game, along with some basic CSI style investigations, although both lack much bite. Not to mention Telltale's engine is really due a major overhaul and suffering from the age old problems seen since The Walking Dead.

On the highpoint front, the relationship between Selina and Bruce is done fantastically, with the writers clearly understanding the tumultuous romance between the two and also delivering a great depiction of Selina. Similarly, Telltale's Two-Face is great; he's such an underrated part of Batman's Rogue's Gallery and it's always a joy to see a story with him playing a major role… bar Tommy Lee Jones.