Batman Telltale Game Detailed, Supporting Characters Named, Visual Style Explained

Batman: A Telltale Games Series debuts this summer, the developer announced at its SXSW panel today. Telltale was tight-lipped, and no footage was shown, but the panel of developers did talk a few details about the Dark Knight's upcoming game.

Telltale revealed that you'll be able to play as Batman and Bruce Wayne, and you'll even get to choose who you want to play as. However, CEO Kevin Bruner said that you will have to play as both characters eventually.

"But how cool would it be if you chose to say 'I want to do as much as Bruce as I possibly can be, and we do think that's something we're going to offer people," Bruner said. "We expect people to try to play a Batman game with as little Batman as possible."

Telltale's Batman story is original and won't be tied to any existing version of the caped crusader. It'll focus on Bruce and Batman, but the panelists said you can expect to see characters like Alfred Pennyworth, Vicki Vale, Jim Gordon, and Renee Montoya throughout the story. The villains were not announced, but it's been confirmed there will be more than one.

The game's comic book art style will take inspiration from the over 75 years of artists such as Jim Lee, Greg Capullo, and Neal Adams.

Batman will be a five episode series, running on a new engine. It will don an M rating and the panelists said it will take a cinematic approach similar to an R-rated movie. Players can expect it to be a Telltale game like The Wolf Among Us but with a "more significant step [forward]."

"Both technologically and creatively, I think there's a lot of really cool things going into Batman," Bruner said.

The upcoming Batman game was announced at The Game Awards last December. You can watch its trailer right here.