Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham (PC) Review

Time is money, and money equals more nerdy stuff like comics and video games, so instead of wasting any time analysing things, here's a short synopsis of those gameplay and storytelling elements that return in Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 4: unexciting QTE battles that don't raise the bar even an inch? Check. Lame, "push A to open door" sequences? Check. Detective work that feels like those kiddie connect-the-dot games? Check, and check, as Guardian of Gotham throws a small puzzle into the mix that's so simple that, in order for the karmic equilibrium to get into balance, every single fan of the Myst series committed suicide.

Of course, the main complaint that most people had about the "gameplay" portion of Batman: The Telltale Series had to do with the developer's decreasingly ambitious system of choice, or, to be more precise, its non-existent system of choice, as the various dialogue options available never really affected how things would turn out, with the biggest example being Harvey Dent/Two-Face, who goes full villain whether Batman saves his pretty face or not. Therefore, it once again boils down to the plot; how good it is, how well it's presented, and so on. Is it good, then? Well, it's surely solid, but don't get your hopes up just yet.

The good thing is that it all starts on a much darker tone, with Bruce Wayne being in Arkham Asylum, and, once again (a treat for some boys and girls), still in his boxers. So, Brucey is an inmate in a nuthouse, the all-powerful mayor Harvey Dent won't let anyone help him, and, most of all, the Batcave never felt so far away - and right when things couldn't get more tense and exciting, here comes the Joker! Unfortunately, Telltale has made quite the wrong move here. The Smiling Man isn't just any random Batman villain, but the Batman villain. He, however, is treated like a brief cameo here - a character that people would pay no attention to if he wasn't who he is.

Even worse? Bruce gets out with no real effort, or, to be honest, no effort at all, and, moments later, gets cured from the weird chemical that was previously injected into his body, again, as if this was just a minor thing. After that? Nothing, really. Batman gets to do some detective work, gets to choose between confronting the Penguin or Two-Face… and then it all ends in a displeasingly low-key crescendo. The only scene worthy of mention is Batman's dialogue with a young child; a scene that, despite the extremely brief moment that it lasts, has lots of heart, and may very well be the best character interaction that the Dark Knight has had during his Telltale odyssey.