“The Batman Arkham series is the pioneering and revolutionary superhero video game franchise for Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montréal. Focused on Batman, the series combined stealth-laden action, detective skills, and a heavy story line into a created unit. There are 4 main Arkham games Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), Batman: Arkham City (2011), Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) and Batman: Arkham Knight (2015). Each game builds on the previous one, developing the mythology of Gotham City and honing gameplay mechanics. That page also has a breakdown of the series, its plots, play mechanics particular to the titles, positive and negative reviews and legacy.”
In Image: Batman Attacking Enemies in Arkham
Batman: Arkham Asylum Genesis
In Image: Batman: Arkham Asylum Game Cover
Then everything changed in 2009 when Batman: Arkham Asylum was released. Developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Rocksteady Studios, Eidos Interactive and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, received widespread praise for its ingenious combat system, taut gameplay and gripping narrative. Before the Arkham Series arrived superhero video games generally had a bad reputation with cliched gameplay and terrible storylines. To alter this perception Rocksteady crafted the game that has become synonymous with Batman’s universe.
Narrative and Environment
Arkham Asylum: The dreaded mental asylum home to many of Gotham’s most dangerous criminals. The Joker himself quickly escapes corruption, taking control of the engagement facility and pitting Batman against a series of enemies. The story by the veteran Batman writer Paul Dini is dark and twisted, a tale that plays to what one might expect from the character’s back story and then slyly upends it. The game includes a virtual who’s who of dastardly rogues from the Batman universe, among them Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow and Killer Croc.
The place has a personality all its own.” Architecture that is, by turns, Gothic and gloomy, and hallways crumbling would seem to conjure that sense of a haunted madhouse. The semi-open environment architecture also permits a level of exploration while ensuring that the writing remains concise and thought-provoking at the same time.
Mechanisms of Gameplay
One of the most noticeable features of the game is the “Freeflow” fighting system. Unlike a lot of brawlers, which in my experience I have just hammered buttons on, Arkham Asylum has an actual slick to system that integrates timing and rhythm into your fighting. Chaining together strikes, counters and gadgets, players advance in a linearly choreographed manner that feels tactical and forceful.
Stealth or “predator” mode is another element of the game. Players can use terror and their advantages by stalking enemies like Batman does in the shadows. That leaves other simple-action games looking weak, when you can slide around gargoyles, set traps or ambush villains from the dark.
Detective mode, lest we forget. This section highlights Batman’s world’s greatest detective title by giving players the ability to see through barriers, find clues and mark enemies. All these, combined give a good balance of game dynamics that rewards players.
Important Acceptance and Legacy
Batman: Arkham Asylum This Arkham series was hailed as a monumental achievement and wore many Game of the Year awards. Critics hailed its inventiveness, storytelling and fidelity to the original. The success of the game launched a beloved trilogy in gaming history.
The Batman: Arkham City Expansion in Arkham series
In Image: Batman: Arkham City Game Cover
Batman: Arkham City Rocksteady StudiosTwo years after the first Arkham series game, Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady Studios was already back with the Arkham Series. Its sequel, sent players to Arkham City, the sprawling section of Gotham that has been walled off and was much larger in scope than the institution’s narrow halls.
Narrative and Environment
Bruce Wayne is imprisoned and dumped into Arkham City, a sprawling super-prison filled with crime at the start of the game. Then recalling that he’s Batman’s foe Hugo Strange, a man who knows Batman’s identity and is also about to carry out the secretive “Protocol 10.” And the Arkham Series storyline encompasses a whole tapestry of deadly plots that sees iconic villains like Mr Freeze, Two-Face, Penguin, and Ra’s al Ghul all marching at Bruce’s door with evil grins.
Arkham City is an open-world wonder of architecture. In this game, players can fly from roof to roof, find secret passages and take on side quests featuring such unremarkable characters as Deadshot and Calendar Man. It is so alive, swimming with gangs and political prisoners and even random street crimes that conspire to keep the city living under constant threat and general unpredictability.
Improvements to Gameplay
The followup to Arkham Asylum, Arkham City widens and polishes their bedrock systems. However, the free-flow combat elements along with new weapons, combos for your enemies, and foes you can select from are back. Playing as Batman, the stealth sections feel livelier, as foes will rely on thermal vision or drill holes into the environment with traps depending on how you design your actions.
Of the many additions that Arkham Series offers, this character one of the largest. Whether her sections are shorter they bring a different playstyle focus on speed and acrobatic action. It adds new Riddler puzzles, of increasing difficulty, to test the player’s puzzle-solving skills.
Important Acceptance and Legacy
Batman: Arkham City The Arkham Series was a titan both commercially and critically. It was a much wider and bigger experience that plays to the strengths of Arkham Asylum. It was widely praised for its gameplay mechanics, environmental design, and narrative. Most see Arkham City as the series high point, striking the balance between on point gameplay, character based narrative and world at leisure.
The Prequel: Batman: Arkham Origins in in Arkham series
In Image: Batman: Arkham Origins Game Cover
Warner Bros. Batman: Arkham Origins is a prequel to the Batman show that’s also a pre-quel, but it happens a few decades before the movie. Early in his crime fighting career (Batman: Arkham Asylum), you play as the Bat but this isn’t a Rocksteady game, it’s being developed by WB Games Montréal. We question if Arkham Origins is a clone of its predecessor, and even if it’s not, it’s still a great Bat film.
Narrative and Environment
Arkham Origins takes place on a white Christmas Eve and finds players in the role of a Batman who is younger, wilder and still without his stripes — those being the respect, even fear, of both the citizens of Gotham City and its criminal underbelly. The villain in that tale, Black Mask, puts a $50 million bounty on Batman’s head, attracting assassins including Deadshot, Bane and Deathstroke.
The plot explores the history of the Batman/Joker rivalry and deconstructs their origins. The series also explores Batman’s friendship with a young Jim Gordon — a dynamic that will define law enforcement in Gotham for years to come.
Innovations and Gameplay
Arkham Origins introduces a handful of new mechanics, but the core trilogy has behaved like this. And the combat and stealth mechanics after all are actually quite similar, even if there are new kinds of foes to face and new varieties of tech to toy around with. The game introduces a “Most Wanted” element, through which players can complete side missions against baddies like Anarky and Mad Hatter.
This game has the best detective mode in any game ever made. Crime scene investigations are more involved, with players having to reconstruct the scene in 3D by piecing together various pieces of evidence. This part could go horrible places but still solidifies Batman as a detective archetype.
Important Acceptance and Legacy
Unlike Arkham Origins that had a mixed reception in being credited for its film story-line of its video game and boss fights while also had its critiscs to say it was becoming a little bit on a been there done that. It leaned on gameplay that felt comfortable and didn’t deliver any significant upgrades; the game felt less like a bona fide entry and more of a side dish to the series. Yet it’s a welcome addition to the Arkham canon, and a compelling look at the Dark Knight’s early days.
Batman: Arkham Knight: The Finale in the Arkham series
In Image: Batman: Arkham Knight Game Cover Art in Arkham series
That return would come in 2015, with Batman: Arkham Knight, in which Rocksteady went back to the well and brought a dramatic conclusion to the trilogy. It’s an immaculately gorgeous and richly textured experience, technically straining the limits of the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.
Narrative and Environment
In the very opening of the game, we learn that Scarecrow has banded together every villain in town to outdo Batman once and for all, and at the fortress of a location known as Arkham City, Gotham’s very fate hangs in the balance. The most notable of the villains — besides the tank army — is the similarly enigmatic Arkham Knight, an armored military Batman who leads a militarized invasion into the city. But in our story, Batman must face his fears, question his own sanity, and rise to his greatest threat against his legacy.
Roam around Gotham City on your own schedule; it’s bigger than ever. There are three islands in the game world, and the islands are packed with side quests, treasure and challenges. Criminals and militia guards patrol deserted streets, creating an atmosphere of tension.
Gameplay Modifications and The Batmobile
As for Arkham Knight, the most essential part of the Arkham Series is the batmobile, it is the banged up tanks with the batmobile no other batvehicle that you can controll and call out at anytime when you have to move or fight Carrying a variety of non-lethal weaponry, the vehicle alternates between a battle stance closer in design to a tank along and a high-speed chase setup. This positive thing is reflected directly in the action, although some players thought that the Arkham Series arguably overused the vehicle and made it take away from the main experience.
Combat and stealth remains buttery-smooth, as does the new “Dual Play,” where players switch off between Batman and pals Nightwing, Robin, and Catwoman for certain encounters. There have also been improvements to the detective mode, allowing you to properly process crime scenes, while manipulating evidence to form puzzles.
Important Acceptance and Legacy
Batman: Arkham Knight Oculus is a well-respected series for its voice acting, graphics, and its massive amounts of plot. And there was some contention over a reliance on the Batmobile. The game’s conclusion, which ties up numerous long-hauler story lines in the series, was commended for its audacity and poignance. Archam Knight is considered by many to be a fitting conclusion to one of the biggest franchises in game history, despite the polarizing nature of some elements.
The Arkham Series
Durable Effect
The Arkham series changed the action-adventure and superhero genres for good. Numerous other games have tried to imitate the Freeflow fighting system, but it-high-fidelity to its license, great gameplay, great narrative- set a new benchmark for licensed games. Okay, people can rectify things in their opinions, but the series introduced Batman to a new generation of fans, and helped elevate his stature in popular culture.
Its voice work alone, led by Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, would go on to become legendary and set the standard for how these characters would be depicted moving forward. For narrative-driven games, the series’ dedication to world-building, character development, and storytelling is still the gold-standard.
In Summary
“The Batman: Arkham series is still considered one of the best selling and best received video game franchises of all time. Between the series expansive Gotham streets of Arkham series in Arkham Knight and its constricted hallways in Arkham Asylum, you wont find a better superhero experience. The Arkham series completely changed the Batman game genre with its unique blend of action, stealth, investigative work and deep storyline. It also redefined what a game about Batman could be. The Arkham series is testament to the eternal appeal of Batman and the universe in which he resides, even as the legacy of the Dark Knight ebbs and flows.”