Batmanhas had a strong presence in the video game world since the late 1980s, and the countless titles that have come since have been inspired by a wealth of different Batman stories, from direct movie tie-in games, to animated series continuations and spinoffs, to adaptations of specific comic storylines, to wholly original stories that put their own spin on the Caped Crusader’s origin. But regardless of the inspiration behind the story, mostBatmangames have revolved around the same portion of the hero’s rogue’s gallery.
Joker, Bane, Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, The Riddler, Two-Face, and Scarecrow are all common figures throughout the history of Batman video games, with those larger-than-life villains being a natural fit for an interactive adaptation. But ifHBO’sThe Penguinhas taught fans anything, it’s that a grounded story focused on just a villain or two can be incredibly compelling, and it’s an approach that future Batman games might want to lean into.
The Penguin Paves The Way For More Grounded Batman Video Game Stories
The Penguin Shows Just How Compelling Gotham’s Criminal Underworld Can Be
Much likeMatt Reeves’The Batmanbefore it,The Penguinadopts a grounded tone, and maintains it throughout its 8-episode series. This grounded tone gives this Batman universe a high sense of stakes, and a deeper sense of immersion, and that all pairs incredibly well with the show’s tight focus on just a handful of characters.
In focusing primarily on the titular crime boss' rise to power and Sofia Falcone’s attempt to thwart those plans,The Penguinis able to explore the criminal underworld of Gotham City in more depth than ever before. WhileNolan’sDark Knighttrilogydid a good job of showing Gotham’s criminal underbelly,The Penguinis able to dedicate eight whole episodes to it, diving into each crime family’s dirty deeds and how each one has furthered the widespread corruption in Gotham that Batman is trying so desperately to unravel.The Penguinalso humanizes these villains like never before, adding some much-needed depth to characters who have often been treated as one-note villains of the week in the past.
The Penguinmakes a good case for a video game in a similar vein, one that spends all of its runtime diving into Gotham’s criminal families, rather than using them as a background threat or simply as a means to further the plot.
Telltale’s Batman Series Tapped Into Gotham’s Criminal Underworld
Batman: The Telltale Seriesactually experimented with this concept over eight years ago. Much of the series' first few episodes revolved around players learning more about Carmine Falcone’s role in Gotham’s criminal network, and how that network ties intoBruce Wayne’s past. Telltale’sBatmanseries also had the unique angle of letting players take control of both Batman and Bruce Wayne almost equally throughout the adventure, showing how the hero is always on the clock, whether he’s using Bruce Wayne to gather information, or using Batman to act on it.
The recently releasedBatman: Arkham Shadowalso put Carmine Falcone in a primary role, and also split its runtime between playing as Batman and Bruce Wayne.
The Next Batman Game Should Focus On Gotham’s Crime Families Once More
But it’s been a while sinceTelltale’sBatmanserieswas released, and there’s an opportunity once more for a Batman video game to really get in the weeds of Gotham’s crime families, especially afterThe Penguin. Much like Telltale’s series, a new, grounded Batman game could see players control both Bruce and Batman, using each persona to gain different insights into the criminal underworld and its people. This hypothetical Batman game could also focus a bit more on the hero’s “World’s Greatest Detective” moniker, letting players actually deduce information and choose targets to interrogate themselves.
The Penguin
Cast
Created by Lauren LeFranc and starring Colin Farrell, The Penguin builds on 2022’s The Batman. The Max series chronicles the eponymous villain’s attempt to reach Gotham’s criminal peak, rising through the underworld in the middle of a power struggle.
