The Batman: Arkham series is one that has become a milestone in gaming history. Mostly because of the combat system that went on to be replicated by many other games such as Mad Max and the Amazing Spider-man series. But sadly the lineage of the Arkham series ends with Batman: Arkham Knight. A wonderful swan song for our caped crusader.
Batman: Arkham Knight is a third-person action adventure game. It was developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. It was released on June 23, 2015. This is the third game in the Arkham series made by Rocksteady, since Arkham Origins was developed by WB Games Montreal.
You play as the titular Batman. Scarecrow, who miraculously survived his attack from Killer Croc back at Arkham Asylum, has returned to Gotham and threatened to release a huge amount of his fear toxin in the city if the citizens don’t evacuate. Within a day the city is emptied, leaving only criminals, the police department, and Batman to wage a war for control of the city.
Along with Scarecrow comes an army of mercenaries and unmanned drone tanks and helicopters, all commanded by the mysterious new character, the Arkham Knight. An unknown foe who seems to have a past with Batman and wants to get his revenge. If you know enough about the Batman comics, then it will be pretty easy to guess who the Arkham Knight is.
But as the city falls into chaos, so does Batman’s mind. Since he was infected with Joker’s blood in the previous game, Arkham City, Batman has started to become sick. He hallucinates the Joker who always has something to say about the situation. Voiced by the amazing Mark Hamill, I’m really glad he was able to reprise his role.
I did have some issues with the Arkham Knight character. He didn’t really feel like an actual villain. He almost feels like he’s only there to justify giving Scarecrow an army to work with and to make him an actual threat to Gotham.
I also have an issue with how the Arkham Knight subplot is resolved. Essentially, Batman punches him a couple times and tells him to stop being evil, the Arkham Knight cries a bit and runs away, then he shows up as a Deus Ex Machina to save Batman later.
But with those small story grievances aside, I did really enjoy the story. As the game says right at the beginning, this is the story of how the Batman died. It’s the final chapter in the Arkham series.
Batman feels very relatable in this game because for the first time since he watched his parents get killed, he has felt fear. Fear that he’ll lose control to Joker, fear of losing those he loves, and fear that he will fail and Gotham will fall. It’s this fear that we have all felt before, fears that we can relate to.
But there may be a slight issue for some people. You can’t see the proper ending until you essentially 100% the game, meaning you have to complete all the side stories. This includes solving all 243 Riddler challenges. Some of which can be difficult to find.
Along with the main story, there are many side missions. This helps the game feel like a satisfying final chapter because you’re tying up all these lose ends before Batman’s story ends. Batman has one of, if not the best, rogues’ gallery of any superhero. These villains are all featured, though some like Killer Croc and Mr. Freeze are paid DLC missions.
But enough about the story. Now let's talk about the gameplay.
The combat is your standard Arkham style punch, counter, stun, and many combinations of said moves. There isn’t much changed about it, but that’s because it was already quite perfect. There are some new mechanics added to the combat though.
There are now sections where you get to fight tag team with a partner. You can fight with Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman. You can switch between character at anytime during the fight, which add a new flow to the combat. There are also dual takedowns; you and your partner both beat the crap out of an enemy, switching characters in the process.
There is also a new way to stealthily take down enemies; fear takedowns. Batman’s new suit allows him to move faster, which means you can takedown multiple unknowing opponents before they can even react.
The Batmobile is another new addition. I enjoyed driving around in the Batmobile. The turning was nice. The handbrake doesn’t make you spin out of control if you hold it for too long. And it was quite fun breaking through walls and smashing down trees as you race through the city streets.
There are some issues with the Batmobile though. There are some sections where it feels like it was hamfisted in, forcing you to use the Batmobile whether you liked it or not. The combat mode it also a bit annoying. When fighting a large amount of drones, it can get painful having to hold down the right mouse button for that long.
Another change that comes with this final installment in the series, the upgrade system got a complete overhaul. Now, along with getting an upgrade point every time you level up, you get a couple for every milestone you hit during the side missions.
Even after you finish the game and complete all the side missions, there are many augmented reality challenges for you to try and to master. This gives you a large amount of end game content to play around with.
Even with some story issues and some occasional hamfisted gameplay, I think that Arkham Knight was the perfect ending to the Arkham series. I would recommend it to any fan of the series and I would recommend the series to everyone.
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