Batman: Everybody Lies Tests Your Detective Skills Against DC's Best Detective

A new Batman game is set to hit tables this month. Batman: Everybody Lies is a unique spinoff of the popular Detective game series published by Portal Games. The Detective series features players working together to solve a mystery on a short timeline, chasing leads and expending resources while trying to collect enough clues to solve the puzzle. Players use their deductive skills and logic to solve each mystery and are scored based on how they answer a series of question at the end of each session. 

Batman: Everybody Lies uses the core tenets of the Detective series, but with a few unique twists. To better understand how Portal Games built a Detective game featuring DC's greatest detective, we spoke with Batman: Everybody Lies lead writer Weronika Spyra via email about the new game.

ComicBook.com: How does building out a Detective board game story in the world of Batman differ from the true crime narratives we've seen in past Detective games?

Weronika Spyra: Contrary to most past Detective games, the playable characters in Batman: Everybody Lies are not spies or investigators from a detective agency, but a group of unlikely allies, all with different motivations and reasons to join the investigation. These characters are Harvey Bullock, Catwoman, and two Gotham City Gazette journalists—Vicki Vale and Warren Spacey. Every card is written from one character's point of view, and every player has a secret introduction to read before the game.

For me, the main difference concerning the game setting was the introduction of supernatural elements. It was all very exciting from a creative point of view, but tough to tackle in the design process. If everything is possible, nothing is impossible, and the Detective board game system is all about logic and deduction. Nevertheless, I think we managed to make a game that is accessible not only to people who are familiar with the DC universe but also to new fans who are yet to be acquainted with all the superheroes and their superpowers. 

Other than that, Batman: Everybody Lies doesn't differ much from the classic Detective experience. There's still a challenging investigation to solve, evidence to collect, NPCs to interview, and a database to search. We introduced several new mechanics, but the overall feel remains the same.

What sort of research went into Batman: Everybody Lies?

Spyra: The narrative in Batman: Everybody Lies isn't based on any particular comic book series, but we had to make sure everything is believable and as truthful to its origins as possible, of course.

How does this person being a police commissioner influence the work of other police officers and vigilantes such as Batman? What technology can we use to analyze this piece of evidence found during an investigation? Is it believable for this character to visit this place and talk to people met there? What past crimes could we refer to make the story more complex? These are only a few of many questions we had to ask ourselves before we even started writing.

Also, a big part of the research went into studying the player characters—Catwoman, Spacey, Vale, and Bullock. We needed to grasp the idea of how they talk, how they behave, what is their work ethic, what allies they could meet during their lifetimes, and so on.

Also, a big part of the investigation in one of the scenarios is tightly connected to the history of Gotham City, so we also had to delve into that.

Players notably do not actually control Batman in Batman: Everybody Lies, but they instead control some of his allies. How will players interact with Batman in Everybody Lies?

Spyra: Batman is not a playable character in this game, but he's definitely an important part of the narrative. There's one scenario where investigating his actions is a crucial part of the plot, but that's all I can say without spoiling anything.

Moreover, there's a location in the game, the Batcave, that can only be accessed by Catwoman. There she can ask Batman to use his tech to help with the investigation or share his knowledge on certain characters and events. 

Could you talk a little bit about the Scenes in Batman: Everybody Lies? How do these gameplay moments factor into the story and gameplay?

Spyra: The Scenes in Batman: Everybody Lies are illustrated by two amazing Polish artists, Hanna Kuik and Maciej Simiński. Each Scene refers to one of the Lead cards the players will draw during the game. Sometimes the illustrations are there just to better describe what's going on on the card, but sometimes they contain hidden clues that might help them with the investigation, so it's crucial to give every Scene a good look before continuing the game.

Besides, we couldn't make a game based on comic book stories without including any comics, right?

One interesting concept in Batman: Everybody Lies is the secret goals and win conditions that each player has. How does that factor into the narratives and how does it work within gameplay?

Spyra: In their secret introductions, each player is presented with a secret goal to accomplish in the currently played investigation. Sometimes these goals are connected to the main narrative, and sometimes they concern something very personal, or even immoral. During the game, the players encounter links to personal goal cards. It's up to them if they want to share their content with the rest of the team or keep it to themselves. They can choose what level of secrecy they want to maintain.

At the end of the game, the players will be asked questions about the main goal objectives, but also their personal goals.

Are there plans for more Detective-style games set within the world of DC Comics?

Spyra: Yes, we're currently working on the next Detective game, Batman Detective Chronicles. Contrary to Batman: Everybody Lies, it's not a campaign, but a series of stand-alone cases to investigate, with different sets of playable characters, villains, moods, and specific mechanics. For example, one of the scenarios will revolve around the Huntress and the Batman Family members, another will tell the story of the Riddler's followers, and yet another will delve into the dark schemes of the Two-Face. And that's not all, of course. 

A crowdfunding campaign is currently in the making. 

Batman: Everybody Lies will be released this month and has a retail price of $50.