Batman: The Enemy Within - Episode 4 - What Ails You - Review

warning this review contains spoilers

Reviewed on Xbox One

Season 2 of Telltale's Batman saga has been quite the up and down ride so far. For all of its wonderful highs it has given me quite a few letdowns. Namely in the pacing of the story and the quick alliance that Batman's rogues form. I love that we get to see such interesting versions of some all time great characters, but Telltale has failed miserably at giving all of them a fair amount of screen time and I'm starting to question how smart these villains are. How many times can Bruce pull off Batman-like maneuvers in front of all of these supposedly highly intelligent criminals before they all realize who he is? My brain just finds it a little too hard to believe and it's starting to detract from the experience for me.

This brings me to my biggest complaint of this episode. My first time through I never donned the cape and cowl. Not even one time! I know Bruce Wayne is an integral part of any Batman tale and I commend Telltale for putting so much emphasis on Bruce during their stories, but, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't the first word in the title of this game Batman? I thought so. I will admit that it did serve the plot of this episode just fine, but this isn't the first time this has happened this season. I enjoy playing as Bruce, though I look forward to playing as Bat's more. I played through it a second time to make different decisions and was pleasantly surprised that there were some pretty big changes such as me finally taking control of The Dark Knight. Make sure you play through this season twice to truly see what it has to offer.

On a positive note, What Ails You finally gave John, who is clearly the Joker, Doe the chance to truly shine and take center stage. He has been the most intriguing character out everyone in my eyes. The bromance that I have developed between John and Bruce is something that I have never seen in any interpretation of these beloved characters and I absolutely love it. I feel that I should add that during John's long segment of the story the graphics and art direction were phenomenal and I just sat there enjoying looking at what was presented to me on the screen. John was pretty much the big focus of the episode and your choices during this season truly have a huge impact on the end of this episode. I can't wait to see what happens during the season finale. Even with the up and down nature of this season Telltale has left me watering at the mouth for the next episode every step of the way. Even if this season isn't reaching the same highs as season one in my eyes, it is still telling an excellent tale with these iconic characters. It's certainly not one that has been told before; which it's a remarkable feat considering Batman has been around for almost 80 years.

Several other plot threads involving Amanda Waller, Alfred, and Tiffany Fox also came to a head in What Ails You. I'm extremely worried for Alfred's future in this series as I think that Telltale could do anything with these characters at this point to continue giving us original material. Another big question mark hovers over the fate of Tiffany Fox. I have a few theories worked up in my head, but I don't feel certain about any of them. I like unpredictability.

This was without a doubt the shortest episode thus far this season, yet the ending wasn't as abrupt as past episodes. The story just didn't take a screeching halt and the ending felt very natural and the stopping point made perfect sense. Telltale picked up a lot of momentum this episode and I'm hoping to see some extremely big payoffs when the season finale rolls around. I don't think they are going to tie every thread up nor do I want them to. I look forward to seeing some of my choices and plot threads carry over to the next season if Telltale decides to pump out another one. That is one of the reasons I get invested in almost all of their games. They tell quality stories and even with its faults The Enemy Within is shaping up nicely.

Graphics/Audio - 4.5/5 Pros: All the story threads start to come to a head

Gamplay - 3/5 Big developments for John Doe's character

Story - 4/5 Features one of the best settings this season

Replay Value - 3.5/5

Cons: Another very short episode

Not much Batman

Final Score - 3.75 out of 5 Stars