Telltale seem to have every licence under the sun these days, ranging from adaptions from the Fables series of comics to Jurassic Park, Game of Thrones and more. 2016 will see the studio taking on Batman of all characters as well, which is not without its own gargantuan expectations. Indeed, with the studio working on so many different titles simultaneously, it's a wonder they haven't managed to crumble under their own weight. However, out of all their choices yet, The Dark Knight feels the most befitting of a point and click narrative. After all, the character has an iconic 75 year history to boast of, and that brings with it a whole host of source material for developers to mess around with and take inspiration from - hopefully more effectively than in the Caped Crusader's most recent video game adventure. A point and click tale brings with it a slower pace, more provoking moments and a chance to deviate from the normal constraints telling a licensed story may usually bring with it. With such a complex and rich a universe to explore, the potential for storytelling dynamite is very much apparent, and with Telltale behind it, pretty much guaranteed. Some may complain of over bat-saturation (myself, guilty as charged) across the last few years, but it really isn't difficult to get excited. With so many comics to look to in crafting a unique narrative, Telltale's next series may just be their best yet.
10. Heart Of Hush
Unpopular opinion: Hush is awful. Well, the series itself was at least. Jeph Loeb's 2003 tale of a former friend of Bruce Wayne's coming back to haunt him always seemed to lack purpose, slowly trudging to one twist after another whilst trying to shoehorn in as many pointless cameos as possible. It felt unrefined, and until Heart of Hush came along in 2009, squandered Thomas Elliott's chances of entering the top-tier of Batman's rogues gallery. Luckily, Paul Dini was there to pick up the pieces and make Tommy a convincing threat, with the antagonist pulling some of his most decrepit acts yet in the story-arc. Without delving too far into spoiler territory, the plot revolves around Elliott emerging from his watery 'grave' at the end of his first series, hellbent on exacting revenge on the Wayne family once again - by any means necessary. This leads to some incredible twists and turns and perhaps even the most emotionally impactful moment of the Bat-series of books for the past decade. (Hint, it involves Catwoman) The stuff established in HOH led to a truly groundbreaking altering of the status-quo that became intrinsic to Grant Morrison's tenure on the main title, just without the zaniness. It equipped Hush with his biggest weapon yet - the ability to dismantle the Wayne family legacy - and illustrated just how hard and fast the character could strike in order to make a point. It remains the seminal work on the ex-doctor thus far, and should be essential reading for any developer intent on including Hush in a point and click adventure title.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
