Batman comic book fans need to check out Batman: Everybody Lies

I’ve barely scratched the surface of Batman: Everybody LiesPortal Games’ latest Detective game is titled. This clever board game has already intrigued me. Although the players don’t take the role of the caped crusader, the game feels like you are crawling through the pages of your favourite comic book to look around. Best of all, it rewards playing along with your friends — a feature that was not necessarily top of mind when designing the original game, which was much easier to finish solo.

Everybody lies drops 2-4 players into the role of classic DC characters nominally aligned with the Batman — journalists Warren Spacey and Vicki Vale, detective Harvey Bullock, and Catwoman. Jim Gordon recruited them together to form a special task team with the mission of investigating contemporaneous cases which have left the Gotham City Police Department baffled. The base game comes with three of these cases, which gives you a play time of 6 to 9 hours.

Mechanically, Everybody liesThe unlock system allows players to exchange influence for new leads. It’s a welcome simplification of the original Detective: Modern Crime Board Game, which was — at least in my opinion — unnecessarily complex. Meanwhile, the simple timer continues counting down the minutes until the final player moves. It creates a fast pace, yet not too fast, that keeps everybody on the table interested.

Photo: Charlie Hall/Polygon

Part of that increased engagement is due to the game’s emphasis on comic book logic rather than realistic simulation. Original DetectiveOpenly, displayed a gross misinterpretation of American police work. Although the clues and cases were very clever, it was difficult to understand the National Intelligence Agency’s concept. This is not to be confused with the FBI and CIA or other allied agencies that are featured in this game. Similarly, the stress mechanic — a penalty assessed when players worked overtime — just didn’t jive with the stereotypical grizzled police officer archetype that the game was gunning for.

In contrast, Everybody liesPlays on the genre expectations beautifully. Each person has an interesting backstory. While there’s room for quarterbacking (letting one player direct everyone’s actions) to rear its ugly head, at least no one’s actually playing as Batman. The game exhibits remarkable restraint in this manner. With his gruff demeanor as well as a range of high-tech investigative instruments, players can summon the Dark Knight to assist in moving cases. Detective games require narrative skill to make the case move along. This is why it’s a feature rather than a bug.

My biggest disappointment, however, is with the game’s required web integration. The game’s required web integration is a disappointment. Everybody liesGet pulled from multiple decks. These cards can often lead you to special websites for more information. But the website itself — at least the pre-release version available to the press — is clumsy, with a challenging user interface and a fairly slow response time. I’m about one case in and I have yet to encounter anything that couldn’t have been rendered as another physical object in the game box. Essentially, the web app adds nothing to the experience, and in some cases, detracts from it — but I imagine it does make the game a lot less expensive to produce.

Batman: Everybody LiesRetail stores should have them available starting May 19, at $50.00 Portal Games offers Pre-Orders.

Batman: Everybody Lies Portal Games supplied a pre-release copy. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. Although these partnerships do not impact editorial content, Vox Media could earn commissions on products sold via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.