The critically acclaimed Batman film adaptions, but the Arkham games put players in control of his many expertises - beating up criminal henchmen, investigating mysteries, and gliding through the night. The Batman: Arkham series is one of consistent greatness, but some of its games still stand out as better than the rest.
Each Batman: Arkham game gets "bigger" in nearly all aspects as the series progresses. The first game, Arkham Asylum, was groundbreaking on release, and the Arkham series remains widely influential in the action-adventure genre. Asylum's combat system, especially, which was refined and built upon by the subsequent Arkham titles, has been emulated by many games since, including Insomniac's Spider-Man games.
The following ranking covers only the mainline Arkham series: the trilogy developed by Rocksteady and WB Games Montréal's prequel. There are a handful of other games in the Arkham universe, including mobile and VR titles, each with their own merits, but the main games are of a universally better quality.
[Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for all four mainline Batman: Arkham games.]
The Worst Batman: Arkham Game - Arkham Knight
Despite Batman: Arkham Knight's disastrous PC launch, calling it the worst of anything is a discredit to its quality. Arkham Knight is a great game, and it builds upon its predecessors to deliver the biggest explorable area of the series. Knight's greatest innovation over the trilogy's first two games was the addition of the Batmobile, though this also happens to be its most common criticism. Adhering closely to the main story provides interesting Batmobile gameplay sequences, but branching out into the side content makes the Batmobile overstay its welcome. Still, while Batmobile combat is tedious, simply driving it around the streets of Gotham provides a fresh means of transportation that offers a perspective other than a bat's-eye view.
Another major detriment to Arkham Knight is its narrative. The stakes are impressively high: Scarecrow has planted bombs around the city and threatened a widespread release of his most potent fear toxin, leading to Gotham's evacuation. Now in a city of mostly criminals, Batman's greatest foes team up to eliminate him once and for all, aided by the mysterious Arkham Knight. Unfortunately, the mystery isn't all that compelling, since it's painfully obvious fairly early in the game that the Arkham Knight is Jason Todd.
The Second-Worst Batman: Arkham Game - Arkham Origins
Arkham Origins came out two years after City, was developed by WB Games Montréal instead of Rocksteady, and noticeably did not feature Mark Hamill as the Joker. Upon release, Origins was met with a mixed reception. In essence, many felt it was more of the same, simply adding another section of Gotham to Arkham City's map. While these criticisms are fair, as a prequel developed by a different studio, Origins succeeds in emulating Asylum and City well, and it even has some key sections that are highlights of the series - namely, its boss fights. The bosses of Arkham Origins are more varied in gameplay than the series' previous attempts, and they put players through exciting, multi-stage set pieces.
Arkham Origins also succeeds in an area of utmost importance to a prequel: establishing relationships. Origins takes place on a Christmas Eve early in Batman's vigilante career, when prominent crime lord Black Mask puts a bounty on Batman's head, prompting eight elite assassins to enter Gotham. The police department (of which James Gordon is not yet chief), the supervillains, Alfred, and even Bruce Wayne himself all have conflicting thoughts on Bruce's latest hobby. The early relationship between the Joker and Batman, integral to the rest of the series, is especially well done, but it unfortunately overshadows the rest of the game's plot, which could have been exciting in its own right.
The Second-Best Batman: Arkham Game - Arkham Asylum
Arkham Asylum is the game that started it all, utilizing an iconic and popular DC locale to create a landmark, influential title. Its so-called Freeflow Combat would prove to be innovative and satisfying, getting more effective as players practiced and unlocked additional skills. Compared to the rest of the series, Arkham Asylum is defined by its limited yet detailed setting; the Joker's latest plot traps Batman on Arkham Island, home to all of Gotham's most dangerous criminals. Asylum is more segmented than its successors, but large courtyards provide plenty of room for the Bat to spread his wings.
The game's limited scope works in Arkham Asylum's favor. Its levels are intricately designed, with encounters growing more complex as more gadgets and abilities become available. The attention to detail in Asylum is unmatched in the rest of the series, the chief example being Batman's cape. At the time, its fabric physics were a pinnacle of video game realism; according to Eurogamer, one developer spent two whole years creating "over 700 animations and sound clips" for it alone. Arkham Asylum was a turning point for licensed superhero video games, setting the bar for the genre going forward.
The Best Batman: Arkham Game - Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City is the best of the series, building on the original in nearly every way but maintaining a well-conceived scope. In the titular Arkham City, the poorest neighborhoods of Gotham have been repurposed into a penal ghetto, where violent gangs and supervillains are free to roam under the supervision of warden Hugo Strange. This environment provides players a more open world to explore, letting them truly don the cowl and silently glide through the night. The size of Arkham City pales in comparison to Knight, but it lends City a better, more structured experience.
Arkham City excels in its narrative, which is more complex and compelling than any other in the series. Mimicking Asylum's intro of Batman delivering the Joker to Arkham, City begins with Bruce Wayne being incarcerated in Arkham City in order to keep a watchful eye over the new super-prison. The story features an ailing Joker, Ra's al Ghul as Arkham City's puppet master, and warring factions of an ensemble Batman cast.
Arkham City expands on Asylum perfectly, with a more limited open world than Knight that exemplifies the sentiment of bigger not necessarily being better. The plot has many unforeseen turns and culminates in an exceptionally conflicting moment: the death of the Joker. Arkham City is the pinnacle of superhero games, owing to its place atop the already illustrious Batman: Arkham series.
Source: Eurogamer
