Batman: Arkham Knight

Genre: Open-World Action-RPG

Players: 1

.

Review:

(Note: This game is included in Batman: Arkham Trilogy, along with Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City.)

When Batman: Arkham Trilogy released on Nintendo Switch in 2023, it was a long-awaited port of three beloved games that was nevertheless also disappointing, both because the first two beloved installments in this series were lumped in with the underwhelming third installment, but also because that third installment had a pretty rough port job in its Nintendo Switch release. However, now in 2024, we finally have the ability to get these games separately. And while the trilogy bundle still represents the best value if you want to get all three games, players who would prefer to get one or both of the two earlier games now have that opportunity.

Of course, the series’ fourth main installment, Batman: Arkham Knight, got a separate release too. So… let’s talk about it. First, let me be clear, that wasn’t a typo above – despite being released as a part of the Batman: Arkham Trilogy, Arkham Knight is actually the fourth main game in the series, after prequel Batman: Arkham Origins. Often overlooked due to being created by a different developer than Rocksteady Studios, the makers of the previous Batman Arkham games. And honestly, I think Arkham Origins has aged much better than Arkham Knight has.

First released in 2015 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, Arkham Knight is widely agreed to be the weakest entry in the main series. It’s not all bad – Arkham Knight widens the scope of the Open World we saw in Batman: Arkham City multiple times over with its bigger world, expands Batman’s abilities even further, and gives us full control over the Batmobile. That last part is one of the biggest new focuses of this game – you can summon the Batmobile at any time and speed through to your destination, complete with a guiding line to help you find your way through the labyrinthine city, and with the press of a button the Batmobile acts as a versatile tank, strafing and moving freely.

However, as freeing as the Batmobile can be, it’s also a hassle – steering the thing often feels like you’re barely in control, and the focus on the Batmobile takes focus away from the great navigation on rooftops that was so liberating in Arkham City. Furthermore, the Batmobile ties into what is generally seen as one of the worst changes in this game – where prior games had “Riddler Challenges” that required you to search for hidden pickups nestled away in the map, or required you to make clever use of your gadgets, Riddler challenges in this game are just obstacle courses you have to race on in your Batmobile.

It’s an odd choice for a villain who prides himself on his intelligence, and an aggravating element of the game that has little to do with anything else here – you don’t feel like completing these challenges is a sign that you’re growing in your mastery of the environment and of what it is to be Batman, you just feel like you repeatedly did a frustrating thing until you finally completed it.

In addition to the mix of good and bad that the Batmobile brings, there were other things I just thought were bad. I don’t like the new mission system – it’s needlessly aimless and confusing in my opinion. While I think that Jonathan Banks’ depiction of Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul is superb, I think having him suddenly voicing Commissioner Gordon in this game is a jarring change, as he sounds nothing like the previous voice actors who took up that role. And the fact that Paul Dini wasn’t involved in this game’s story (unlike the prior two games) is noticeable.

This game’s story, taking place after Arkham City’s surprising ending (which I won’t spoil here), Gotham City experiences a period of peace until Scarecrow threatens the city with his fear gas, causing a city-wide evacuation. And… what? Scarecrow is always threatening to unleash his fear gas on the city, why would doing it this time suddenly cause everyone to evacuate?

The answer is, of course, that when you inevitably lose control of the Batmobile and run someone over, you can be rest assured that it’s only one of the criminals that are now the only remaining people in the city and not an innocent pedestrian. You know, as if that’s okay, or something Batman would do because he likes to torment presumed criminals just for kicks. It’s a clunky way to try to twist the story to fit the needs of the gameplay, and it strains credulity.

All of these problems are not to say that Arkham Knight is bad. Despite all the questionable gameplay and story choices, it’s still an enjoyable game, but most of what makes it enjoyable was already done in Arkham City, and done much better, too.

However, even beyond the problems this game already had in earlier releases, the Nintendo Switch version of the game suffers even more due to a slew of nasty performance issues. While I wouldn’t go as far as many others who have called Arkham Knight on Nintendo Switch “unplayable”, wow it is rough. Horrible aliasing, noticeable pop-in, framerates that frequently chug, and sometimes the game will even freeze up for a moment. In addition, the lower resolution on Nintendo Switch really makes it difficult to discern what you’re looking at times, especially when the screen is frequently busy, and when the frequent use of the Batmobile means it’s all blasting by at high-speed. Where the other two games released as a part of the Batman: Arkham Trilogy collection are solid ports, this is a game that definitely feels like it had to make severe compromises to fit on Nintendo Switch, and even then it absolutely struggles to keep up on a regular basis.

So why didn’t WB Games port over Arkham Origins instead, when that game would have had a much easier time making the trip over to Nintendo Switch’s limited hardware? Whatever the reasoning, it’s not what we got here. What we got here in Batman: Arkham Knight is the worst game in the mainline Batman: Arkham series, in a release that is the worst version of the game due to a sub-par port. And while there are still things that this game does well, they’re all things that Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City did better. Unless you plan on getting the Trilogy bundle and buying all three, play one or both of those other games instead.

tl;dr – In Arkham Knight’s attempt to transform the series’ gameplay by adding the Batmobile, they unfortunately dilute it instead, and multiple other new elements added here simply do not work. Not only is this game already a big disappointment for the series, but the Nintendo Switch port is really rough, with massive graphical problems that affect the gameplay. While there’s still some enjoyable gameplay here, most of what works well here was what already worked, and much better, in Arkham City. Series fans may still want to play this, but be prepared for possibly the worst game in the series, and if at all possible play it on another platform instead.

Grade: C+

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}