In 2009, the relatively unknown developer, Rocksteady Studios, did something unusual. They released a comic book video game that was truly outstanding. Its name was Batman: Arkham Asylum.
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Asylum wasn’t the first good superhero game ever, but great titles based on comic books were so rare that it was always a surprise to see one. And even more impressively, it wasn’t just the one. The series consistently delivered high-quality games in the following years.
By this point, there’s been a bunch of good titles – and a few mediocre ones – released under the Arkham banner. Which begs the question, how do they stack up against each other? Well, Metacritic can help figure that out as they have an average reviewer score for each one.
10 Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate – 61
With Blackgate, Armature Studio attempted to bring Arkham to handheld consoles. To do this, they made certain changes to account for the less powerful systems, the main one being the switch to a 2.5D perspective.
The end result isn’t perfect. Combat and stealth feel shallow compared to the main Arkham games. Whereas, the environments are very repetitive and uninteresting. At least the game recounts the first meeting between Batman and Catwoman.
9 Batman: Arkham Origins (Mobile) – 63
Despite having the same name, Arkham Origins on mobile is a completely different game to the one on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. Primarily because on iOS and Android, the game is a brawler, not an action-adventure title.
It’s also a freemium game, so expectations for it were never high. The fighting is simple, and the lack of variety to Batman’s opponents doesn’t help. Although, the restrictive stamina system means players can’t brawl for long periods anyway unless they want to spend money.
8 Batman: Arkham Underworld – 64
Underworld is a different sort of mobile game to Origins. It’s also a freemium title, but instead of fighting villains, players control them.
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The goal is to build up a criminal empire using management skills. Players also get to partake in a little bit of fighting during missions. But mostly the game is about strategy. It’s fine, but aside from the voice actors, it’s an Arkham game in name only.
7 Batman: Arkham City Lockdown – 69
Any game that followed Asylum and City was going to struggle to live up to their excellence. Arkham City Lockdown, however, has avoided any comparisons to those classics because it’s nothing like them.
The title has more in common with its successor, Arkham Origins (mobile). It’s an iOS and Android fighter, where Batman takes on various goons. The brawling is simplistic and repetitive, but at least it’s fast-paced. In comparison to most mobile fighters, it’s fine; compared to the best of the Arkham series, it’s mediocre.
6 Batman: Return To Arkham – 73
Once a popular game is around long enough, it’s bound to get remastered in some form, and that’s what happened to the first two Arkham titles in this collection. They aren’t the most inspiring remasters, though.
All Return To Arkham does is give both Asylum and City slight visual upgrades. It didn’t even improve the frame-rate of the two games. Still, it’s nice to have them both on new consoles. Plus, it’s a great package for people who never played the originals.
5 Batman: Arkham VR – 74
The chance to feel what it’s like to be Batman is enticing, and that’s close to what Arkham VR offers. Although, it’s mostly the detective side of the Dark Knight’s crusade that players get to experience. They have to solve compelling puzzles to find out what happened to Nightwing and Robin.
It’s an engaging and imaginative game that makes good use of the PlayStation VR. Nevertheless, it doesn’t match the scale and depth of the bigger entries in the series.
4 Batman: Arkham Origins – 74
This prequel could’ve easily been a disaster. Rocksteady wasn’t the developer, and Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill weren’t on the voice cast. Yet, all of their replacements did great, especially WB Games Montréal, who proved they could make a solid Arkham game.
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The only downside to Origins is its lack of invention. Besides some shock gloves, it doesn’t do anything that its predecessors didn’t. Although, more Arkham is always a good thing, especially when it delivers a compelling story with fun boss battles like Origins does.
3 Batman: Arkham Knight – 87
Arkham Knight presents the end of a story that started with Asylum. And it’s a truly captivating last chapter as Batman has to deal with his own mental instability caused by The Joker. Not every aspect of the narrative is amazing, though, as the titular villain twist annoys more than it amazes.
Gameplay-wise, combat and predator sections are just as fluid and fun as ever. Yet, they’re constantly intruded by dreaded Batmobile sequences. Controlling the fancy car isn’t awful, but the game forces players to use it too often. Overall, though, Arkham Knight’s positives heavily outweigh its negatives.
2 Batman: Arkham Asylum – 91
Nobody knew what to expect from Arkham Asylum before it was released. Comic book games didn’t have the best track record, after all. When it hit the shelves, though, it blew everyone away.
Fighting mechanics, stealth sections, tone, everything about the game fits The Dark Knight perfectly. Likewise, the voice acting is spectacular, with Kevin Conroy’s Batman and Mark Hamill’s Joker being arguably the best adaptations of those characters. And they were assisted by the game’s wonderful writing. Fans will never forget the time they first strolled around the Joker-ran Asylum.
1 Batman: Arkham City – 94
It was a lot to ask of Arkham City to match the quality of the near-perfect Asylum. Against the odds, though, the sequel managed to surpass its predecessor by delivering an unbelievable open-world adventure. Rocksteady succeeded by enhancing things the first installment established instead of replacing them.
For instance, the wonderful combat added lots of new gadgets and attacks. Whereas, the confining Asylum has been replaced with a full city that’s filled with things to do. And the larger area leaves room for more of Batman’s friends and foes, including Two-Face, Penguin, and Catwoman. Each new character joins Batman in an incredibly engaging story, which has one of the best video game endings of all time.
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