Why A Marvel and Telltale Game Doesn’t Work

Marvel and Telltale Games recently announced a partnership that is set to produce a console game in 2017. Many people are excited about the announcement, but I’m not one of them.

Sure, Telltale Games has a great reputation for creating games with amazing stories. They’ve made player decisions the focal points in their games, creating the illusion of true control over how the story progresses. Every outcome has the weight of the player’s previous decisions behind it, and if a result isn’t what the player wants, they have nobody to blame but themselves.

While I have played two Telltale Games (The Wolf Among Us and The Walking Dead: Season One), and while I appreciate the way they played and the stories they told, I don’t believe Telltale’s gameplay is meant for Marvel video games.

Now for the record, I’m not trying to argue just to be argumentative. I truly believe that games based on any comic universe would not be appreciated in the style of Telltale’s many titles.

The reason for this is that comics are themselves meant to tell a story. They are pages filled with words, artwork, and of course stories that fans read every week. Comics inherently tell a story, and while fans do not interact with the story as they read it to effect the outcome (except in rare circumstances), the stories themselves are set.

Sure, comics can rewrite history in ways that involve time travel or multiple universes (you know, the usual things), and certainly Telltale Games can work with Marvel to create new stories, but is that really what gamers want from superhero games? Whether you’re a gamer or a fervent reader of comics, chances are you don’t want to be a casual observer in a game about your favorite heroes – you want to BE your favorite heroes!

Now THIS is what I want from my superhero games!

And this is why I’m not excited about the recent partnership between Marvel and Telltale Games. I’m fine with seeing a story unfold in a universe that’s newer to me like in The Wolf Among Us. However, characters from the Marvel universe, while complex, are best known for kicking butt and taking names (just see Netflix’s Daredevil for a prime example of this).

When I play a Batman game or one based on The Avengers, I don’t play it for the story. I want to use batarangs and adamantium claws and Mjölnir to take down enemies and save the day. While the story is important, it’s supposed to the background of a superhero game, not the star (that’s what comics are for).

So while everyone is abuzz about Telltale Games and Marvel releasing a game sometime in the future, I’m going to give it a pass. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer my superhero-based games to involve action, and let the story be told as I progress with many, many, many butt-kickings.

So what are your thoughts about the upcoming Telltale and Marvel game? Do you feel the same as me, or do you find my argument to be insane and you don’t quite care for it, no sir not one bit? Please share in the comments below.

[Images via Telltale Games and Game Informer]