*Spoilers for "Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows" below*

For nearly 20 years, I've been an avid, obsessive Batman fan – virtually all my life, I've had an extreme adoration for and attachment to the character: his allies, his villains and his world. So, when I found out that Telltale was making a Batman video game, a game that would allow me to make my own Batman, I became immediately hyped.

Usually, video games present a linear story which unfolds throughout cinematics or cutscenes, essentially little videos with dialogue within the game that the player observes and doesn't actively participate in, placed between longer bouts where the player sometimes acts as a character or set of characters. The games developed by Telltale, however, present a far more interactive experience; instead of cutscenes and cinematics with pre-chosen dialogue, the player chooses from their character's dialogue from a series of options that each have their own impact on the story – in essence, the player writes their own story. Telltale is famous for this approach, having previously made games set in series such as "The Walking Dead," "Game of Thrones," and "Back to the Future." Beyond this, Telltale games are released in an episodic format – instead of one massive game, shorter, more digestible chapters of the story are released every month or two, allowing for the game to be replayed and different choices to be examined.

Their most recent foray has been an original Batman story set early in the Caped Crusader's tenure in Gotham. Bruce Wayne is still determining who he wants to be – noble hero or vengeful vigilante, and the player has a significant say in that decision. Gotham isn't overrun by costumed supervillains such as the Joker or Mr. Freeze but is instead riddled with mobsters and crime lords, the most notorious of which is Carmine Falcone; however, not all of Gotham is doom-and-gloom dystopia, as Bruce is publicly backing Harvey Dent's mayoral campaign, and the two hope to brighten Gotham's future and restore, er, hope to Gotham. Beyond this, serial thief Catwoman has made her first, flashy appearance in Gotham, and Bruce’s childhood friend, Oz, has reentered Bruce’s life with an ominous, prescient warning.

Elements of this certainly sound familiar to anyone with a working knowledge of Batman’s history, but Telltale places several twists in the game to keep even the deepest of Batman fans (in essence, me) on their toes. For example, Harvey Dent is revealed to be dating Selina Kyle, secret identity of Catwoman. Oh, and remember Bruce’s childhood friend with the threatening message, Oz? He’s revealed to be none other than Oswald Cobblebot, who fans will recognize as the man who becomes one of Batman’s fiercest enemies, the Penguin. However, the most prominent change to Batman lore is the revelation that the Wayne family, namely Bruce’s parents, were secretly Gotham’s true crime lords, as revealed by Carmine Falcone at the first installment’s climax. Basically, when Gotham’s most notorious crime boss says that two other people were actually even bigger crime bosses and those same crime bosses were Batman’s parents, stuff gets really real. Now, I doubt that Telltale is trying to make Batman’s parents the worst criminals Gotham has ever seen, but this is unexplored thematic territory that has me very, very excited.

These changes to Batman’s lore all point to what’s at the forefront of Telltale’s Batman: Bruce Wayne and his fractured psyche. As was mentioned before, the game’s story focuses on Bruce Wayne determining the person he wants to be, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman; this, by extension, allows the player to decide who they want their Bruce Wayne and Batman to be. Several moments in the game stuck out to me as perfect instances of this. The first occurs as Bruce Wayne, at a campaign fundraiser for Harvey Dent, sees Carmine Falcone who makes an unexpected appearance and reaches out his hand for Bruce to shake. I, as the player, determine if Bruce does or doesn’t shake Falcone’s hand, both of which have their own unique set of consequences. Do I embrace the most notorious crime boss of Gotham and help my friend with his campaign, or do I rebuff these advances in the hopes of a brighter Gotham whilst risking Falcone's wrath? While I chose not to shake Falcone's hand either time I played the game, I know other players made the opposite decision (at certain moments, the game shows statistics about how many players made what decision).

Two other moments stood out to me, though they were both as Batman. The climax of the game occurs as Batman raids Falcone’s compound; in the midst of overwhelming his forces, Falcone appears and pulls a gun on Batman. I chose to dodge the gun, because I’m the godd*mn Batman, but doing so resulted in two innocent henchmen inadvertently being filled with bullets by Falcone. While two henchmen being killed was clearly not my intention and doing so absolutely devastated me, this little incident reminded me of what is at stake as Batman, along with reminding me that my actions have consequences -- something unique to this game.

After overwhelming his forces and breaking into his safe-room, Batman holds Falcone over the edge of a building in an attempt to extract necessary information. Falcone delivers the information, including the bit about Batman’s parents being crime lords, and Batman is given a choice: Hand Falcone over to the authorities, unharmed, or drop him onto an exposed pipe, stabbing him. I made different choices each time I played the game, peacefully handing Falcone over and stabbing him with that pipe, and the first left me feeling like a hero capable of dragging Gotham out of the darkness and showing it a better way, whereas the second left me feeling like an angry man born of a hellhole who handles his anger with his fists. Regardless of the decision, the game told me “Gotham will remember that,” but how it impacts the story, and my Batman, will wait for future installments; at present, though, I loved what I played and can't wait to play more.

"Batman: The Telltale Series - Episode 1: Realm of Shadows" is available on all gaming platforms and PC now.