Batman: Arkham Knight is celebrating its 10-year anniversary right this moment, June 23, 2015. Beneath, we have a look at the way it raised the bar for not solely superhero video games, however for the third act in online game trilogies.
There’s an outdated adage that good issues are available in threes, and that is an concept that applies completely to Batman: Arkham Knight. Rocksteady’s closing chapter in its Caped Crusader saga turned 10 years outdated this week, and it is nonetheless a masterpiece of superhero motion that has stood the take a look at of time. There’s loads to like concerning the recreation, from its darkish storyline to its surprising twists–the Arkham Knight was a crimson hood herring–and extra, however the lasting legacy of the sport is that it solved the issue of online game trilogies a decade in the past.
Right here’s a well-recognized situation: You fireplace up the third recreation in a beloved sequence, able to be wowed. It’s good. You are having enjoyable. However you possibly can’t shake the sensation that you just’ve finished all of it earlier than. “Extra of the identical” is a typical criticism in opposition to online game trilogies’ closing chapters–but it is one Arkham Knight skillfully sidestepped.
If Arkham Asylum laid the inspiration, then Arkham Metropolis was the stately Wayne Manor constructed atop it–bigger, bolder, and extra refined. However by the point Arkham Knight got here round, there have been fears of fatigue. It adopted the discharge of Batman: Arkham Origins in 2013 by Warner Bros. Montreal, which wasn’t a part of Rocksteady’s trilogy however acquired significantly much less acclaim. Might Rocksteady maintain the momentum going?
It did–by pushing each thought of its Batman to the intense.
Arkham Knight is a finely tuned energy fantasy constructed on three pillars: detective work, stealth, and bone-crunching fight. One second you’re reconstructing crime scenes with high-tech forensic instruments; the subsequent, you’re a silent predator stalking armed militia; and then you definitely’re diving into balletic brawls that sew devices and combos right into a brutal symphony of chaos.
At this stage, Rocksteady trusted gamers to know how you can be Batman. And in return, it gave them the instruments to interrupt previous the boundaries of earlier video games. Fight flowed with swish brutality as you weaved via enemies utilizing freeze grenades, shock rounds, and precision counters. In stealth segments, the concern mechanic hit new highs, as nothing fairly matched the frenzy of trapping a squad of militants with a smoke bomb cloud after which rapidly eliminating them one after the other utilizing new gameplay mechanics.
However the recreation did not simply empower players–it challenged them. With the Arkham Knight and his non-public military escalating the risk degree, gamers needed to evolve. Rocksteady walked the razor’s edge between energy fantasy and overpower fantasy, and by no means misplaced its stability alongside the best way.
Then there was the Batmobile. What if Batman have been a automobile? That’s the query Rocksteady answered by remodeling Gotham’s most iconic automobile right into a game-changing mechanic. Not only a strategy to transfer throughout the town, the Batmobile grew to become an extension of the Darkish Knight himself–solving puzzles, charging into battles, and even taking up tanks. There’s one thing surreal and satisfying about sneaking up on Deathstroke’s armored convoy in a 1,200bhp crime-fighting machine that would in some way nonetheless meet strict European noise-pollution necessities.
Ultimately, Batman: Arkham Knight is extra of the identical, however pushed to its absolute excessive. It is a becoming finale to the Arkhamverse–especially for those who select to disregard Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League–and a celebration of Batman that also shines a decade later.
Should you’re trying to seize the sport and have fun its anniversary, then now is a good time to take action. The Arkham Knight Premium Version usually sells for an absurdly low price–GOG has a DRM-free model for simply $6 as a part of its 2025 Summer time Sale–and it is extremely good worth for cash. Not solely do you get the bottom recreation, however there’s a Batcave of DLC to dig into that ranges from problem maps to standalone episodes specializing in Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, Pink Hood, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn.
Should you’ve picked up a Change 2, the sport has additionally been considerably improved on the Nintendo platform as a part of the Arkham Trilogy. According to Digital Foundry, it is not fully good, however it does run at a locked and principally secure 30fps when in comparison with the sluggish efficiency on the unique Change.