Though it was pretty Super Mario-heavy, the most recent Nintendo Direct still had plenty of announcements to keep non-Mario fans happy. Another look at Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's paid DLC, confirmation that the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection is heading to the Switch, and more Pikmin 4 details were all just a handful of non-Mario standouts from the recent Nintendo Direct. Rather surprisingly, the Batman: Arkham Trilogy also makes that list.
A franchise that's now 14 years old, the Batman: Arkham series is finally heading to a Nintendo console in its complete format. Though the Wii U got Batman: Arkham City and the Nintendo 3DS got Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, this is the first time that all three mainline Arkham games will be available on a Nintendo platform, and that's actually quite a big deal. But unfortunately, it isn't all smooth sailing for the Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Switch.
The Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch Is Facing a Tough Uphill Battle
It's extremely well known that the Nintendo Switch is running on some very outdated hardware. Back in 2017 when the Switch first launched the console was considered inferior to both the Xbox One and the PS4, and with no internal hardware changes since then, the Nintendo Switch is feeling vastly underpowered when compared to the Xbox Series X and PS5. And while first-party games like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom have managed to run fairly well on the Switch despite its age, third-party games don't usually fare too well.
The Batman: Arkham Trilogy, as the name implies, collects all three of the mainline Batman: Arkham games and their respective DLCs. With Batman: Arkham Asylum being a 14-year-old game at this point, it seems pretty likely that it'll run just fine on the Nintendo Switch. Batman: Arkham City might be where the trilogy runs into some problems. Transitioning to a bigger open-world format and larger levels, Batman: Arkham City might struggle to run on the Switch a little, likely leading to some compromises with the game's graphics and performance, with the former already being visible a little during the announcement trailer, especially when characters' faces are on show.
But Batman: Arkham Knight, the third and by far the biggest game in the series, might run into some serious issues on the Nintendo Switch. Back when Arkham Knight first launched in 2015, it had an infamously disastrous launch on PC, with frame rate issues and near-constant crashing. While Arkham Knight will probably at least run on the Switch without crashing, it's likely going to be a severely downgraded version of the game, with the visuals probably taking the biggest hit.
Already, the Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch is facing an uphill battle, but that only has the potential to get even worse with the current state of Rocksteady. Though these games are widely loved, Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game hasn't received the same warm reception, with the studio having to delay the game by almost an entire year to try and fix the numerous issues fans found in its gameplay reveal trailer. This disappointing reveal has left some fans a little soured on Rocksteady as a brand, and if the Batman: Arkham Trilogy doesn't end up running well on the Nintendo Switch, then that could be enough to put the final nail in the coffin. But on the complete other end of the spectrum, if Rocksteady pulls this off, then the Batman: Arkham Trilogy could completely restore faith in the developer, reminding fans of the reason why the studio was so well-respected in the first place.
Batman: Arkham Trilogy will launch on Nintendo Switch in Fall 2023.
