'Telltale Batman Shadows Edition' release date, trailer, and "noir" changes
Return to Gotham City, this time in a new "noir" inspired visual upgrade.
Gotham City will remember that. The acclaimed Batman video games from fallen studio Telltale Games now has a stylish rerelease in the form of The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition, featuring a downloadable visual upgrade for both 2016’s Batman: The Telltale Series and 2017’s Batman: The Enemy Within. The games evoke a new “noir” aesthetic, reminiscent of the Batman anthology series, Batman: Black and White.
Although the game was announced during the 2019 Game Awards on December 12, the title’s publisher Athlon Games currently has a down, 404 error page instead of an active page containing the game’s press release announcement. However, the press release was captured by various users on Twitter. And less than a week after its announcement, the game was released early on Xbox and Steam.
Here’s everything we know so far about Telltale Batman Shadows Edition.
When will The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition release?
In a surprise move, The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition is available now on Xbox One and PC via Steam. The game will release on December 20 for the PlayStation 4. It will release on Nintendo Switch and the Epic Game Store at an unknown future date.
Where can I watch the trailer for Shadows Edition?
The trailer for Shadows Edition is embedded below.
What is Shadows Edition? What makes it “shadow-y”?
The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition is a rerelease of Telltale’s two popular Batman games: 2016’s Batman: The Telltale Series, and its sequel, 2017’s Batman: The Enemy Within. The press release for the game says Shadows Edition will come with “a sinister new look” and a “noir-style visual makeover.”
The “Shadows” feature will be downloadable content. Players can add the feature to their existing base games for a $4.99 fee.
Set in its own universe, the two games give players control over billionaire superhero Bruce Wayne/Batman, as he makes difficult choices in his endless crusade against crime. The story features a robust roster of popular characters from Batman comics, including Catwoman, Joker, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, the Riddler, Bane, and more.
Like other Telltale games, each decision players make weigh on the story, resulting in wildly different outcomes for players based on their choices.
In a blog post for Xbox.com, Matt Saia and Brett Rogstad of LCG Entertainment wrote:
“When we decided to make a ‘noir’ version of the games the early discussions centered around whether to do the games in black and white only or to allow for elements to remain in color. We decided some color would allow us to not only emphasize certain visceral moments, but to tell story through color in a way the original game couldn’t.
“Shadows Edition isn’t the work of a quickly applied desaturation post process. A small group of old and new Telltale artists took to task the treating of thousands of texture, lights, and vfx elements to craft a new way of experiencing Telltale’s take on the Batman story. This allowed us to carefully select what elements of the game would be in color to emphasize the story and themes.”
'The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition' features a black and white noir aesthetic to the existing Telltale 'Batman' games. There are rare dashes of color, a stylistic choice on the part of the developers.
How much will Shadows Edition cost?
$29.99. But gamers who already “own the base game” can add Shadows Edition’s visual upgrade for $4.99.
Wait, is Telltale back?
Yes! No. Kind of.
A handful of classic Telltale Games will be maintained through a new publishing deal while the new owners of Telltale will work on new games.
In 2018, Telltale Games, the studio renowned for enthralling, episodic narrative games based on popular franchises like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Borderlands, and the Vertigo comic book series Fables (adapted into the game The Wolf Among Us) shut down.
Earlier this year, in 2019, Telltale was purchased by LCG Entertainment. In a Polygon report, the new owners will maintain a few select titles in Telltale’s back catalog and also work on new games. The Wolf Among Us 2 was announced with some of its original creative team at the Game Awards.
Will the game feature new voice acting?
Unclear. It was reported by NintendoSoup writer Sabi (@New_WabiSabi) that Shadows Edition will feature a new cast, replacing the original recording. But the reports are unconfirmed and were not included in the game’s press release (which, again, is currently unavailable on Athlon’s website).
The Telltale Batman Shadows Edition is available now on Xbox and Steam. It will be available on PlayStation 4 on December 20, and on Nintendo Switch and Epic Games Store at a later date.
