Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1: The Enigma (Xbox One) Review

Set one year after the events of Season One, Gotham has been recovering from the brutality brought by the Children of Arkham. Newly elected Commissioner Gordon and Batman's increasing public perception has aided in Gotham City's crime rates dropping to all-new lows, and the civilians have never been safer. With the Penguin and Two-Face locked up for the time being, it is time for a new villain to take the limelight in the premiere episode of The Enemy Within: cue the Enigma. Of course, The Riddler's reappearance puts his timeline as a lot older than Batman, for he was running rampant in the city back in Thomas Wayne's days. While none of his whereabouts during the events of last season are visited, maybe it is something that will be further explored as this season progresses.

Following The Riddler's movements to Gotham, Amanda Waller and the mysterious "Agency" she works for also make their debut. From the get go, she doesn't pull any punches, as she lays down the law to Gordon and Batman as to how the legal investigations will progress from this point forth. She is a strong character, who hints at being an extremely powerful ally; however, she is equally as dangerous as the criminals she chases. In addition, Agents Iman Avesta and Blake follow their investigations into the office of Bruce Wayne, quizzing him about his apparent close relationships with criminal figures Harvey Dent, Oz Cobblepot, and Carmine Falcone.

Lucius Fox and Alfred are back again to assist the Caped Crusader, both on a technological level and a mental level. As much of a rock as Alfred has been for Bruce Wayne and Batman thus far, it is clear that he is still suffering psychologically from the kidnapping and beatings he withstood during the Children of Arkham's reign of terror from the first season. Now, it seems that Al needs Wayne's support to overcome this issue. Fox, on the other hand, has his daughter Tiffany begin her first day at Wayne Enterprises, and the game hints at her being a possible successor for her father in the R&D department for the season to come.

As good as the opening episode for the new season is, The Enigma's mechanic of linking objects and interactions together to piece scenarios in Batman's detective mode is still quite limited in order to not be overly difficult. The Riddler's puzzles and trap sequences are brutal contraptions, but it seems quite silly guiding Batman to solving these puzzles when they are painfully obvious from the off. While having puzzles that are too difficult can negatively impact the story's pacing, it still seems like a wasted opportunity to not include a "tougher" puzzle-solving sequence.

While Telltale's older titles have long suffered from frame-rate dips and the occasional crashes, Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 1: The Enigma has to be the best animated game in a long time. With no frame-rate issues to report on, no crashes or slowdowns, and no fractured audio cues, this episode is quite clean and tightly polished and it sets a great precedence moving forward. It remains to be seen whether Telltale can keep up with this effort for subsequent episodes and seasons.