Highlights
- The titles in Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series are considered to be some of the greatest superhero games, with the characters, story, and gameplay aging well.
- Gotham Knights, developed by the same team, failed to live up to the success of Batman: Arkham because DC didn't learn the right lessons.
- The success of Batman: Arkham lies in its celebration of the comic book version of Batman, its authentic portrayal of characters, and its separate and accessible narrative.
Though plenty of great games have come after it, Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham series is still widely considered to be the greatest set of superhero games out there, with only really one or two other comic book games coming close. Debuting back in 2009 with Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady's Arkham series has only continued to grow more beloved with time, with its characters, story, and gameplay all aging like a fine wine. And with Batman: Arkham still being considered the bar to pass, it's only natural that DC has tried to imitate its success again.
When Gotham Knights was first announced a few years ago, it gained quite a bit of hype right out of the gate. Being developed by the team behind Batman: Arkham Origins, Gotham Knights seemed like a natural next step for the Caped Crusader in the video game landscape. But DC learned all the wrong lessons from Batman: Arkham, and Gotham Knights ended up being one of the biggest disappointments of 2022. Moving forward, it's vital that DC revisits Rocksteady's Arkham series and really digs deep into understanding what made those games so great to begin with.
The Batman: Arkham Series Was a Celebration of Everything Caped Crusader
Batman: Arkham Asylum made an immediate impact on the gaming landscape upon its launch in 2009 for a number of reasons, and one of the biggest was the game's willingness to embrace the character of Batman and a huge portion of his comic book roots. While Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and Dark Knight are both phenomenal movies, they aren't the most comic-accurate adaptations, choosing to heavily ground the character and his villains in reality. Because of this, Batman: Arkham Asylum felt like a breath of fresh air.
For the first time since Batman: The Animated Series, the comic book version of Batman was getting his chance in the mainstream spotlight, and Rocksteady didn't let him down. Along with a great portrayal of Batman himself, Arkham Asylum is filled with iconic Batman villains, all performed incredibly well by Batman: Animated Series voice acting veterans. While Arkham Asylum's actual gameplay was outstanding as well, it's the overall tone, feel, and authenticity of the game's narrative and characters that made it really stand out back upon its initial 2009 release.
With each subsequent entry, the Batman: Arkham series only continued to double down on what made Asylum so great to begin with. More comic-accurate villains, better writing, and more Easter eggs and references, all acting as a continued celebration of Batman's long history in pop-culture. And while small references to the wider DC universe could be found throughout the Arkham series, it was never a core point of the story, ensuring that Batman was always at the very center of his own series, which is something that modern DC can't quite get to grips with.
Over the last decade or so - ever since the Nolan trilogy - DC has struggled with making a superhero movie just stand on its own. In an attempt to rush itself to Avengers-level money, DC has continued to try and force its heroes together early, relying on prior fan knowledge to fill in the gaps in its own lazy writing. This has only continued to produce awful results, leading to the current complete reboot headed up by James Gunn. Unfortunately, this issue could end up bleeding into future DC video games, with Gunn's new universe apparently being canon and connected through video games as well. DC needs to understand that the Batman: Arkham series did so well because of how separate and accessible it was. Newcomers didn't need to watch all the animated series or the Nolan trilogy to understand Arkham Asylum, as the game itself gave context and filled in the blanks.