How the Arkham games are still setting the standard
Superhero games have had a mixed history with few hits like Spider-Man 2 (2004) and games with negative critical reception such as Superman 64 (1999). But notably in August 2009 a small British developer working with DC released “Batman: Arkham Asylum.” It released to massive praise for its oppressive creepy atmosphere based in the famous DC prison filled with secrets, the stellar voice acting from veterans of the Batman franchise such as Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill and Arleen Sorkin, the great mystery of a story written by long time Batman writer Paul Dini. The game was praised most for was making you feel like Batman, you got tons of gadgets to use, puzzles to solve for the Riddler, an intricate combat system that was easy to pick up but complex enough for long time use and stealth sections where you felt like someone criminals should fear. Most superhero games are panned for not capturing what makes these characters special, but Arkham Asylum put you squarely in the characters shoes. The only issue people had been that there wasn’t more- they wanted a bigger open world, more villains, more gadgets and especially to drive the Batmobile but Rocksteady had faith in their product and got to work.
Image: Batman looking at Bat Symbol (WB Games)
On October 18th 2011 they dropped “Batman: Arkham City.” This game released to even bigger praise for an amazing story filled with twists, stellar boss fights, a massive detailed open world and even more intricate systems than Asylum. Many people described it as the best open world game of all time due to having fun side missions, tons of secrets to find and fun puzzles due to the Riddler side mission. The game also had an entire separate side story following Catwoman for players to enjoy between major sections. The game also threw in some DLC costumes from comics and TV shows for players to enjoy while exploring the map. Just because they couldn’t help themselves, they also dropped a DLC follow up to the story called Harley Quinn’s revenge where you could play as Robin and then just dropped Nightwing as a DLC character for fun. Needless to say people loved it and after the ending of the game so many people wanted to see because it ended on a cliffhanger and they also wanted to drive the Batmobile.
The sequel to Arkham City would take a few years but DC wanted a new Arkham game, so they made Rocksteady give over the Arkham city assets to WB Montréal to create a prequel called “Batman: Arkham Origins.” Released October 25th 2013, the game follows a young Batman (who is now voiced by Roger Craig Smith of Sonic fame) in his second year as eight assassins fight for a price on his head placed by a mobster called Black Mask. The game released to less praise than the other two due to mostly being a reskin of Arkham city and a controversial twist being clunky, but it was praised for amazing boss fights and a strong narrative arc for Batman. This game let you fast travel with the Batwing but people still wanted the Batmobile.
Image: Batman looking over Arkham City (Source: WB Games)
But on the 23rd of June 2015 Rocksteady returned and released “Batman: Arkham Knight.” The main selling point was that finally you could drive the Batmobile. People were also excited for Scarecrow to be the main villain alongside the new villain the ‘Arkham Knight’ who people very quickly guessed was Jason Todd. The game was not as well received as the first two because they overemphasised the Batmobile (ironically enough) along with a clunky story with obvious twists. However overall people still loved this game for having the best side content in this series, another great open world, amazing non-Batmobile gameplay and groundbreaking graphics. This was the final swan song of the Arkham series they went all out in every regard and all though there was some contention regarding the story and Batmobile, it was still heralded as the best superhero game series of all time with a satisfying ending.
The Spider-man series by Insomniac games has admitted they took tons of inspiration from the Arkham series in terms of open world, story and gameplay and a lot of games have taken inspiration from the basic combat system started in Arkham Asylum. DC struggled with games post Arkham Knight with WB Montréal releasing “Gotham Knights.” In 2022 to very mixed reviews and Rocksteady creating a new game set in the Arkham universe called “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.” Releasing in 2023 to terrible reviews believing it ruined the Arkham legacy. However in 2024 Camouflaj, a VR game developer released “Batman: Arkham Shadow.” To massive praise claiming it to be the best VR game ever. Acting as a sequel to Arkham Origins with many of the voice cast returning it follows Batman as he goes undercover in Blackgate prison to uncover the identity of the mysterious rat king. Many believe this will act as the start of a new Arkham series as the ending teases a sequel about Robin and many think this game will be the start of a new wave of VR games the same way Arkham Asylum was the start of a new wave of open world games and superhero games. So, while the original Arkham series has been over for a decade its influence is still strong and may still be changing gaming.