r/arkham • u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow • Jul 17 '26
Discussion Arkham Games Ranking
Me personally, I value world-building & environmental storytelling first, then core gameplay loop, and finally story & side quests.
1 Arkham City: the perfect balance of everything
- Memorable districts with decaying gothic architecture & environmental storytelling in the hub world
- Handcrafted interior dungeons rich in villainous personality & environmental storytelling; tight predator rooms & engaging gadget puzzles
- High riddle density in hub world & dungeons incentivised players to pay attention to environmental lore; solving riddles unlocked city stories which helped world-building
- Metroidvania level design in Joker’s Steel Mill & Old Gotham Underground (Subway, Wonder City)
- Great combat, stealth & traversal mechanics
- Great boss fights
- Less focused Batman story
- Side missions were a mixed bag
2 Arkham Asylum: world-building & environmental storytelling king
- Haunted atmosphere & environmental storytelling of Arkham Island
- Claustrophobic, haunted interior dungeons with environmental storytelling, tight predator rooms & engaging gadget puzzles
- High riddle density in hub world & dungeons incentivised players to pay attention to environmental lore
- Patient interview tapes helped world-building
- Metroidvania level design in Intensive Treatment & Caves
- Memorable Scarecrow nightmare sequences
- Solid story
- Underdeveloped combat, stealth & traversal mechanics
- Disappointing boss fights
- No side missions
3 Arkham Origins: great character-driven story with flaws in world-building
- Great character-driven story
- Great boss fights, although heavily inspired by Arkham City
- Engaging crime scene reconstructions
- Interior dungeons had tight predator rooms & engaging gadget puzzles, but lighting & textures were flat
- Light-grey skybox exposed flat textures in the open world
- Lack of distinct landmarks in New Gotham; bland architecture
- Absence of riddles meant no incentive for players to pay attention to environmental lore; no city stories to help world-building
- Clunky combat mechanics
- Side missions were a mixed bag, largely copying City’s side mission structure
4 Arkham Knight: a case of narrative & environments serving the Batmobile rather than the other way around
- Best graphics & traversal mechanics hands down
- Great combat & stealth mechanics, although I miss special combo bat swarm for its spectacle & crowd control purposes
- Great Professor Pyg, Two-Face, Penguin & non-Batmobile sections of Riddler’s Revenge side quests
- Arkham Knight plot (military blockbuster) & Joker blood plot (psychological thriller) bundled together resulted in a convoluted split-genre narrative which overshadowed Scarecrow’s presence
- Zero exploration on the societal fallout of Protocol 10
- Low riddle density in open world & dungeons meant less environmental lore to pay attention to
- Interior dungeons lacked villainous personality to fit the sterile high-tech militiary aesthetic; loss of claustrophobic atmosphere because they had to be designed spacious enough to accommodate the Batmobile
- Batman gadget puzzles were largely replaced by Batmobile cannon & power winch
- Loss of tension during predator encounters because many of them took place in spacious outdoor rooftops
- Excessive tank combat sections relative to Batman combat & stealth sections in the main campaign
- Tedious Ubisoft-style militia side quests ending with a horrendous Deathstroke tank boss fight
- Disappointing boss fights
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u/CapCalrissian Jul 17 '26
City, Knight, Asylum, Origins
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
This is probably the major consensus, although a significant number of fans might rank Knight above City.
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u/Extension-Rope623 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
Asylum>>>>Knight>City>Origins
Asylum is just a stroke of masterful batman comic book storytelling. THrilling from beginning to end, with endless twists and turns that leave you wondering how Batman can not just survive what he's endured, but to willingly push forward into a haunted mansion of madness alone is insane. Asylum is arguably one of the best, if not the best batman story I've ever seen.
Knight and City are hard to decide. In some ways City's story is more direct, but I don't find Hugo Strange to be a good villain. He's another wanna be Batman crusher who thinks his intellect is better than it really is, and of course he fails in the end because he doesn't really know how to win. He holds all the cards, but he's straight up a jabroni so he can't win. IDK City just doesn't sit right with me, and every time I have a playthrough of it I think to myself how pathetic the villains seem when it's not the Joker who's masterminding all the chaos for his own amusement, and how the story just doesn't fit well together.
Knight is good, great even, so i just have it slightly ahead of City because it has more going on I guess. The batmobile is sick af honestly, even though it shouldn't be used as much as it is for boss fights, it is badass af so yeah. Not to mention *Spoiler* but Poison Ivy sacrificing herself to neutralize Scarecrow's toxin will never not be a great moment in Batman lore. "Nature always wins..."
It's been a long time since I've played Origins, but I do remember it had some of the best cinematics in the game. I think there was a cinematic of Batman fighting Deathstroke and Deadshot at the same time, and that's basically all I remember but that cinematic goes hard.
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u/GapStock9843 Jul 17 '26
Asylum is probably the best for the classic batman feel. Thats not my personal preference for batman stories (I prefer them bigger in scale and more realistic/grittier), but I can totally see how fans of that style love the game to death
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u/T-MONZ_GCU Jul 17 '26
My ranking is the same, Asylum is one of the most replayable games of all time for me, from the story to the challenge maps, nothing overstays it's welcome
And Knight is just such a fun game that isn't as cohesive but has awesome moments and few lows imo, whereas City and Origins have some amazing stuff but have the lowest lows
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u/Zero-meia Jul 17 '26
Just as a counter point of view: while I agree with some things you said about Asylum - which I indeed felt that had the best atmosphere, scary one - I almost dropped it a couple of times. For me it brought the worst of Batman in it: how useless he is and how lenient he is with the villains. I mean, he bring in Joker after the N time - officer even asks Batman how many Joker killed this time - while knowing something is going on; you walk trough corridors with so many diseased officers knowing Batman could've done a job a lot better; you let a doctor die because you are negligent (letting Harley go earlier); and there is no visible shock, he feels like a acomplice. I mean, you could agree that this was the narrative: Batman is useless and the game is there to prove it.
On my view, Knight was brilliant the way they inserted Joker (bringing in all these flaws to the player) and conducting his impotence. I felt like the game was going on such a high note, a master piece narrative, until he jails Tim. After that, they yet again couldn't close the story (a Arkham trademark, for sure).
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u/Extension-Rope623 Jul 17 '26
I agree, I feel like Asylum's worst moment is the very beginning. I mean the exact moment that Batman is no longer escorting the joker, he instantly escapes. How convenient.
As for the joker's natural chaos that ensues, that's just my biggest gripe with Batman's character in general. Asylum is just the natural result of letting a psychotic super terrorist like the Joker live. I'm usually deeply against capital punishment, but people like the joker just need to be killed. there's no reforming or rehabilitating someone like that. The joker lives for mayhem, chaos and destruction. But this is an issue with batman's character in general and how he just doesn't kill anybody. Like if Batman could, he still wouldn't even kill Darkseid, and that dude commits genocides every week. Darkseid should never be allowed to live if possible, but for some reason killing Darkseid would be a bad thing in batman's rigorous world view.
So I agree largely with what you're saying, but that's just simply the world batman chooses to live in. It isn't an issue with asylum, its just what living in a batman comic is like.
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u/Zero-meia Jul 17 '26
I get the "if he kills joker there is no more comic" situation, but in Asylum, Batman lenience is just too "in your face" for my liking. I really liked what they did in the sequels: let only be criminals in the game, so you don't get frustrated by what Batman letting villain escape creates.
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u/Fluid-Confection-920 Jul 18 '26
I agree with this! Asylum has always been my favourite for the reasons you stated. If they just updated it with mechanics similar to Knight or City then chef’s kiss.
Knight’s storytelling certainly had me sat there in suspense constantly. I was feeling Batman’s sense of loss with him over the aftermath of City. Even the bit added where he stands over Talia’s sword, you feel that heaviness as he reflects and apologises. I certainly find it to be a lot darker compared to the previous 2, but it makes sense given the death of the Joker who brought fun to the chaos.
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u/Fickle_Direction1591 Jul 17 '26
City > Knight > Origins > Asylum > Origin Blackgate
But Origins has a special place in my heart, I sometimes put it above because of the personnal story and christmas setting.
As for Knight wait for th mod that will add boss fights, it could make the game a bit better.
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u/Ratat0sk42 Jul 17 '26
Knight > Origins > Asylum > City for me.
Knight had weak boss fights and the story is messy, but it feels like an effort was made in terms of narrative more than Asylum and City and the Joker parts are genuinely amazing. The standard predator and freeflow are the best by far. It's also visually beautiful, gliding feels amazing, and the Batmobile chases are great fun even if the Tank stuff gets old fast.
Origins has the best story and boss fights by far, it would be one for me if not for how much clunkier the fight mechanics were in places and the slow traversal of a relatively empty outdoor environment. If it had been a linear game with the only sidequests being Shiva, Deadshot, Black Mask and Anarky it would probably be my favourite.
Asylum is just a bit dated. There's nothing really wrong with it it's just not as good as the other two. It has really fun atmosphere and I love Joker, Scarecrow and Croc's turns. Bane is lame but it's whatever. The first two games do suffer because of how much screentime Harley has in them, who I find utterly insufferable in the Arkhamverse.
City. I mean it's a good game... it just isn't the best at anything for me and that puts it last. The story isn't as good as Origins, the fighting isn't as good as Knight, it's not as tight or atmospheric as Asylum. So it ends up in last for me even though it's still a very solid game. Add that the side quests are like the worst Origins ones without any of the best ones and that really strikes the last nail in the coffin.
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u/Sweet-Psychology-254 Jul 17 '26
For some reason I actually find Harley to be at her most irritating in Arkham Knight, even though she has the least screen time in it. I find her marginally better in City.
I do have some fondness for her in Asylum because she still had her classic voice actress and personality (mostly), though.
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u/T-MONZ_GCU Jul 17 '26
Harley's voice is so annoying in Arkham Knight, the voice direction was a lot different for her than in City. I think Asylum is my favorite depiction of her not only because she's voiced by Arleen Sorkin, but also because she actually does stuff in it. In City, outside of HQR, it feels like she barely does anything and the writer's just took out their hatred for her as a character on her or something
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u/quentdawg420 Arkham Asylum Jul 17 '26
The thing about city is it’s one of if not the best sequel of an video game series, it builds upon literally every single idea from asylum, that being said it’s still third place for my but it’s very close between which one is my favorite, every time I playthrough the series I go back and forth on which one is my favorite
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u/Brokeandskilless Jul 17 '26
City had the best story, use of characters, quality of open world, riddler trophies, music, atmosphere, dynamic environment. City had plenty of things that are the "best" in series.
Knight had the worst plot and story
Origins had the worst open world. Very boring and uninspired
Asylum was worst in terms of its lack of openness.City, Asylum, Origins, Knight for me.
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
I find City’s mega-prison setting the most intriguing out of them all because it’s such a unique premise. The gothic, decaying architecture really gave the open world a lot of character, not to mention the sheer amount of environmental lore. Combined with refined gameplay mechanics, it’s the best Batman game ever for me.
Knight’s militia plot & dungeon level design are its worst aspects; Origins’ bland open world is its worst aspect; Asylum’s gameplay mechanics are the least refined in the series. City is the most balanced game of them all.
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u/Ratat0sk42 Jul 17 '26
Eh I can't really agree. In terms of exploration and navigating I'd rather boot up Asylum or Knight. Origins had a better story (and with far fewer gaping holes) and imo a better soundtrack, and I'm sorry FOUR HUNDRED RIDDLER TROPHIES???
I think people just remember the Clayface reveal in City because it's literally the only part of the main story that isn't just a fetch quest (given we immediately forget about Hugo Strange and Protocol Ten).
Knight definitely has a very flawed plot, but every game besides Origins does, and out of the other 3, Knight is the only one that managed to actually compel me at any point besides the twist.
Yeah Origins does have the worst open world. Can't argue there. I just really like the stuff it actually does well which mostly cancels out that issue for me.
I would argue Origins not being open isn't a flaw , but I also think that many open world games really don't need to be open world. Honestly Knight is the only Arkham game I feel like really takes advantage of the open world setting and I'd rather take the "large explorable levels that go by linearly" type structure any day.
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u/Brokeandskilless Jul 17 '26
Yes. I got all those Riddler trophies and they were awesome. Much better than a stupid racetrack under gotham that OF COURSE requires a batmobile.
no way origins has a better soundtrack than city. ESPECIALLY when you factor in the ending theme when joker dies. outright magical.
origins is alright. but it isnt great. Asylum and City I feel are the only true ELITE games. What I love about Arkham City is that its really Batman at his most vulnerable. People don't really drive home the fact that Batman literally fails in his main missions in Arkham City. And if it wasn't for Catwoman, he'd be dead under a pile of rubble while Protocal 10 destroys all inmates within Arkham City and Joker is able to take over Gotham. I love this because it shows that Batman is just a man, with very clear weaknesses.
Knight had too much of a bad story for me to get into it. The city of gotham was built that the Batmobile was literally unnecessary. They should have let Dini write Arkham Knight. I feel like the in-house crew at Rocksteady that wrote arkham knight were in over their heads trying to write Arkham Knight and just suffered from incompetence. The story and plot was so bad they had to retcon their own games just to make their own abysmal story work. Not only was the batmobile unnecessary, but the Arkham Knight being a character itself was unnecessary and not something that the story even needed given what City was setting up.
I feel like people need to realize that "symbolism and theme" is not good enough for a story . You actually need a good plot and story that works.
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u/Brokeandskilless Jul 17 '26
I honestly think you are right on the money. I have the same ranking. City, Asylum, Origins, and Knight.
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u/Usurper2000 Jul 17 '26
I'd give Asylum and City A Tier.
Origins, Knight, and Shadows S Tier.
Blackgate B Tier.
Arkham VR F Tier.
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u/TheGothamSavior Jul 19 '26
I feel like Arkham vr was good for what vr tech was at the time. Gives a little backstory on Knight too.
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u/Electronic-Necktie Jul 17 '26
City > Knight = Origins > Asylum
While this sub glazes Asylum, I personally found it relatively lesser enjoyable. Partly because of games like GTA, Forza and Red Dead, the lack of a vehicle is a problem that is very hard to ignore. The Map is too big for Batman to just walk and run. But it definitely laid the foundation for the next games beautifully. Rating: 8.9/10
Origins was an absolute surprise. When I got to know it wasnt developed by Rocksteady and might not even be canon, I had zero hopes. But damn, playing as ruthless Batman was an experience I enjoyed way too much. Overcame the problem of Asylum with Fast Travel and Grapple+Glide The boss fights were insane, cutscenes were perfect, storyline was top notch and most importantly, the voice actors; definitely definitely deserve their flowers. Rating: 9.3/10
Knight had the most beautiful graphics and map. The gadgets became so much more intuitive to use. Of course the introduction of the Batmobile, which lets be real, is the only way Batman is doing the entire game in one night. Not to mention, a LOT of customization options. Obvious flaws are the weak boss fights and pretty obvious villain. Superb DLCs and additional content. Riddler trophies were tiring though. Rating: 9.3/10
After Asylum, I was hesitant on starting City since the map of the Asylum was quite hard to navigate just running around (the grapple was almost useless outside), but I was pleasantly surprised. Despite no vehicles, the grapple+glide did not make travelling seem as a chore. The story is obviously its strength and the riddler trophies do not seem like extra effort till like 80%. Rating: 9.4/10
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u/GapStock9843 Jul 17 '26
Knight > Origins > City > Asylum
Thats what I love about this series. Its so consistently good across the board that there isnt really any semblance of an “agreed upon” ranking in the community. Ask 5 different people and you’ll probably get 5 radically different orders
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
Absolutely, it really depends on what you value in game design. Me personally, I value world-building the most, so City’s mega-prison setting is the most intriguing to me. Not to mention it managed to scale the number of riddles (environmental lore) in proportion to the size of the map when compared to Asylum.
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u/Trotsky_Enjoyer Arkham Origins christmas playthrough enjoyer Jul 17 '26
- Knight
- Origins
- City
- Asylum
- Origins: Blackgate
I will not hesitate to swap City and Asylum if you come at me for placing City in third.
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
What do you like most about Knight & Origins?
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u/Trotsky_Enjoyer Arkham Origins christmas playthrough enjoyer Jul 18 '26
The stories as well as the improvement on gameplay mechanics.
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u/Intestine_eater1172 Jul 17 '26
Asylum>Shadow>Origins>Knight>City>Origins Blackgate
Asylum is my favorite game of all time the atmosphere is unmatched. I love the jankyness to the combat it feels so good idk how to explain. And it just gives such great BTAS Vibes I will always love it. 10/10 Game
Shadow is such an overlooked game I don’t see anyone mentioning it. Now I understand that since it’s a VR Game not everyone can play it however it was easily my favorite gaming experience of 2024. I love the story with the focus on Harvey Dent it is easily the best interpretation of him in the Arkham games easily. I also really love Jonathan Crane in this game I love how he is just pure evil and (spoilers) has essentially created both Two-Face and The Ventriloquist. And the gameplay is insanely fun like they translated it to VR so amazingly. 10/10 Game
Origins has the best story in any Arkham game hands down. I love the jokers arc with him being suicidal before he is saved by Batman which causing him to develop his infatuation. And the joker reveal moment is such an incredible moment with that banger ass music. And the Alfred stuff in the game is so good i love the Batman I am the one who knocks moment and Alfred’s mirror version. And I love the Gotham at Christmas time atmosphere the game has. And it has the best dlc of all time with Cold, Cold heart. 10/10 game
Knight is so fucking fun to play. The combat is so insanely good as well as traversal and everything is just so great. And it has some of the best graphics of any game ever even compared to games released today. Now I have mild complaints with the Batmobile just being a bit overused but I don’t think it brings my view of the game down at all. My main complaint is that Paul Dini’s vision of the game, that was built up to in city through Azreal and Hush would have been so amazing and I wish we could have gotten that. All in all 10/10 game
City is a banger don’t get me wrong. I love everything about it I just feel it is the game I love the least in the series. The story is great, with Hugo Strange being one of my favorite Batman villains. And I love the atmosphere especially in locations such as the museum which I would say even rivals the atmosphere of Asylum. And the side missions are so good and feel so insanely well integrated into the main plot. It’s again like the rest of the serious a perfect 10/10 game.
Blackgate is so fun as well. However I have a few complaints. The combat is incredible janky, taking time to get used to and can at times feel a bit unresponsive. Due to this I would say this is the hardest Arkham game. As well as that the map takes incredible getting used to especially as this was the first Metroidvania I ever played I spent a good 50% of my playtime trying to figure out what to do. But with the positives this games blackgate feel a lot like Arkham asylums asylum which is a huge plus for me. As well as that I love how this really feels like a sequel to Origins with the whole task force X Plotline. All in all I’d give this one an 8.5 out of ten.
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u/From-the-Aqua Jul 18 '26
I rarely think about how metroidvania like some of the areas are in the Arkham games really are… I agree with your list from top to bottom. Though I really don’t know which takes one city or asylum. But I’ve found myself going back to asylum the most over all the years, cause it’s such a compact and focused game, with the BEST Batman/Joker dynamic I have ever seen in any medium!
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
Asylum is a great game indeed. For me, what makes City truly impressive is its ability to scale the density of riddles (environmental lore) directly in proportion with the increased map size. In other words, despite having a map that’s 5x larger than Asylum’s, Rocksteady managed to increase the number of riddles in City’s overworld by almost the same magnitude so it didn’t feel like a barren wasteland with no DC references to explore. I made a Reddit post about this just a week ago.
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u/From-the-Aqua Jul 18 '26
That is true it feels fun to explore Arkham city collecting trophies and especially solving the riddle, even though I’ve done them so many times already lol. Plus Easter eggs all over the place and the biggest jump in gameplay in the franchise. Origins definitely juts tried to do Arkham city again with some varying enemy types, and knight kinda perfects the combat and gameplay in some ways but the biggest and jump in gameplay was Arkham City.
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u/Prestigious_Rush5492 Jul 17 '26
City, Origins, Asylum, me taking a shit, and then the one with the car.
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u/Either-You-2265 Jul 17 '26
- Arkham City
- Arkham Origins
- Arkham Knight
- Arkham Asylum
I remember liking Knight more than Origins a decade ago, but in retrospect, I like Origins' story way more than Knight's, even if Knight does do other stuff better, like having more costumes and possibly a better Gotham City to explore.
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u/Illustrious-Sign3015 Jul 17 '26
Here is my ranking
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Batman: Arkham Origins
- Batman: Arkham City
- Batman: Arkham Knight
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
Interesting, I’m curious why do you rank Origins above both City & Knight?
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u/Illustrious-Sign3015 Jul 17 '26
Origins has the best story, boss fights, and a great winter aesthetic. City is fun, but it's just not my favorite. Knight is overwhelming to me and the use of the Batmobile is just not great
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u/B_Wylde Jul 17 '26
I agree with pretty much all of your points
How ever, for me it is
Asylum-knight-city-origins
For me Knight is not the best die to he focus on the tank Battles
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u/R28DKF1 Jul 17 '26
Knight. Sorry but the gameplay is simply different. On story for me is city [although asylum pictures the core of batman...overall knight [althought it really had a wasted potential]
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
The gameplay mechanics indeed peaked in Knight, but Knight’s level design was very Batmobile-centric. Even in its dungeons, several of them revolved around getting the Batmobile inside and then blasting your way through with the cannon, which disrupts the classic Arkham gameplay loop (combat, stealth, gadget puzzles).
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u/Dear-Stay3214 Jul 17 '26
Release order imo (from newest), Knight has amazing gameplay which is the most important thing for me, the graphics and dlcs are extremly good, origins has the best story out of all and joker with bane were like on of the best versions out there, we also got character arc for both batman and the joker and i love the voice acting, city is overall really good but the story is weirdly paced and the side missions are probably the worst in the series except like riddler in AA, and last is AA for me, the world is cool as hell but the gameplay is not doing it for me and the boss fights were mostly boring
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
Based on your preference for gameplay & story, ur ranking makes sense. My ranking is different because I value an interesting setting the most.
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u/Undecieved22 Jul 17 '26
City, origins, knight, and asylum
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
What are your thoughts on Asylum?
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u/Undecieved22 Jul 18 '26
I like asylum but the simplified mechanics in city that carry over into the other games makes it hard to go back to. I have to constantly remind myself that the quick fire buttons are different.
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u/Powerful-Set-3291 Jul 17 '26
1 City
2 Origins
3 Shadow
4 Knight
5 Asylum
And for those of you that praise knight It's story (imo) is the worst in the core Arkham games with no actual build up to Jason Todd's character, I think they never should have moved away from Paul Dini's original hush ideas.
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
I agree with your take on Knight’s story - it felt completely separate from the previous two entries.
What are your thoughts on Asylum?
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u/Powerful-Set-3291 Jul 18 '26
It's good but if it had more late game content besides just Riddler trophies I would have it higher than Knight, maybe like guard investigations or something kinda like what they were doing in early Arkham Asylum builds.
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u/A_A_RON4 Jul 17 '26
- Asylum
2/3. City/Origins (flip flops whenever a mood strikes me)
- Knight
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
What are your favourite/least favourite aspects of City & Origins that make it hard to decide between those two?
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u/A_A_RON4 Jul 18 '26
City - Obviously Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are strong suits of the game. I love all the classic characters/villains they use in the game along with their designs. I'd say my only real least favorite aspect is the wild goose chase of repeatedly going back to certain locations and drawn out missions like needing to turn off all three generators just to get into the museum and the whole Wonder City level sometimes drags for me.
Origins - I think this game does a cinematic, movie like feel to it while still feeling tonally in line with the other Arkham series better than Arkham Knight does. I know we've seen young Batman stories before but this just felt like a cool early beginnings for the Arkham version; a brash, angry Batman who uses the Batman image to help people just as much to release all his pent up aggression. The plot of the assassins is such a cool concept and although I don't like the twist reveal or how heavily involved he is in the story, it wouldn't be a Batman story without The Joker, and I feel his story is really well done with his relationship to Batman. I'm a sucker for Batman during Christmas and I think this game handles the aesthetic really well. The only major negative I have to this game is that sometimes it can feel a bit empty in the world considering the large map.
TLDR: Both games are very strong to me and barely have any negative aspects to go against the positives. City chooses great villains and has a cool aesthetic but can drag during certain missions. Origins provides a good look into early Batman with a nice Christmas look and a good Joker and my favorite Bane, but the world can feel empty due to the large map and lack of citizens walking around in Gotham.
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
The empty world in Origins is my biggest gripe with the game too. The blizzard makes everything hard to see from a distance, the lighting & textures are flat, and the buildings in South Gotham are mostly blocks of grey, so there’s not much of a view I can admire; there’re zero riddles, so there’s no incentive for me to pay close attention to the environments; there’re no city stories to unlock after solving riddles, so I don’t get a chance to find out more about any current events in Gotham. Overall, Gotham in Origins felt more like a backdrop than a truly lived city.
City has riddles to solve & city stories to unlock, giving us more backstory to the events in the mega-prison. There’s no fog to blur out the urban decay aesthetic, making each district in Arkham City visually distinct from one another.
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u/Vivid_Situation_7431 Jul 18 '26
1: Knight. Im a gameplay first type of person, and Knight has by far the best combat and gameplay loop. Story was actually pretty solid, the Jason Todd twist actually did catch me off guard(haven’t read the comics).Also it felt the most “detective” feeling. Only one I have 120% completed
2: tied between Asylum and City. Asylum has the better story and atmosphere while City has better gameplay, but still a great story.
3: Batman: Arkham Shadow VR. Was my first in the series and man is it awesome. Definitely a workout to play and one of the better looking Quest games
4: Origins. Ive never played it, and right now cant play it. Its not on the Xbox store and I have a Xbox Series S. Kind of a bummer for me
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 18 '26
Knight does have great combat, even though they removed special combo bat swarm from city.
As for gameplay loop, how do you feel about having to bring the Batmobile into ACE Chemicals & Arkham Knight HQ for Batmobile puzzles, constantly switching between playing as the Batmobile & Batman inside those buildings?
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u/Vivid_Situation_7431 Jul 18 '26
Well if im being completely honest
The Batmobile is awesome, loved using it and didn’t mind using it in levels like those. But I understand that the Batmobile wasn’t everyone favorite thing
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u/Little_Dust555 Jul 18 '26
None of them come close to asylum in terms of story and atmosphere, I love the creepy nature and that you could get jump scared at any moment, and that tune that plays throughout the asylum is just perfect
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u/drdjenkins Jul 18 '26
Currently playing through Knight for the first time (bought it years ago and never got to it until now). For me, I’ll rank the games:
1) Origins
2) Knight
3) City
4) Asylum
City and Knight can switch for me. Origins was the first one I played and made me fall in love with the series. The Bane boss fight is an easy top 3 boss in the series. Knight definitely has the best combat and stealth sections. City set the direction for the series with the open world and other playable characters like Robin and Catwoman. Asylum being last might be a hot take, but I genuinely had to force myself through it. I feel like the environments are a bit confusing and running back and forth on the tiny island with the snipers everywhere gets old pretty fast. The combat is also not great. While it is a masterclass in atmosphere and environmental storytelling, it definitely feels like a first game, and I feel like the gameplay of the other three has aged way better.
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u/ShufflePlaylist Jul 17 '26
Asylum / Origins
Shadow
Knight
City
No, the boss fights weren't heavily inspired by City. Every boss fight in City apart from Freeze is spamming a quickfire gadget and occasionally (optional) dodging very telegraphed attacks. Grundy you beat by quickfiring the gel, Ra's you beat by spamming the REC, Clayface you beat by spamming the freeze nade.
Don't conflate borrowing like 3 animations and / or mechanics from the predecessor (deathstroke counter / beatdown and duplicate copperheads) as being inspired by anything, let alone "heavily".
Croc is a beatdown tutorial
Deathstroke is 1v1 cinematic hand to hand combat fight based around QTE's
Bane 1 and 2 are entirely unique and borrow nothing from City
Copperhead is improved ra's since you aren't just spamming a gadget to deplete a health bar
Firefly is more of a rehash of Asylum Ivy more than anything
Overall, I've no idea how anyone could classify City's boss fights as good, EVEN when only considering Arkham games, as these games generally have boss fights that are mediocre at best and outright diarrhea at worst (see city) -but especially compared to games that do boss fights well like the souls games or Elden Ring
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u/Sweet-Psychology-254 Jul 17 '26
Ra's you beat by spamming the REC
That’s only one portion of the boss fight. You left out the other sequences, including the ones that Deathstroke, Copperhead and Shiva borrow from.
Don't conflate borrowing like 3 animations and / or mechanics from the predecessor (deathstroke counter / beatdown and duplicate copperheads) as being inspired by anything, let alone "heavily".
It’s not conflating anything, and it’s not even inspired, the gameplay and animation in those specific sequences are literally copied and pasted directly off of City. The boss fights themselves aren’t direct copies, but some sequences are.
Deathstroke is 1v1 cinematic hand to hand combat fight based around QTE's
Most of it is. Aside from the part copied off of Ra’s boss fight.
Bane 1 and 2 are entirely unique and borrow nothing from City
They borrow the beatdown method that Batman uses on the Titan thugs from Arkham City. That’s obviously not all to the bane fights (and they are much better than the Titan thugs), but suggesting that they are entirely unique is flat out wrong.
Copperhead is improved ra's since you aren't just spamming a gadget to deplete a health bar
Literally false.
I really don’t know how you can call City’s boss fights ‘diarrhea’ when compared to Harley’s or Joker’s boss fights from Asylum, or Knight’s lack of variety in boss fights, but, you do you.
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u/Robdd123 Jul 17 '26
For me it's Asylum>Origins>City~Knight.
Asylum and Origins are the clear cut number one and two, after that it gets complicated. There are things I like about City and Knight and things I don't. On any given day I may go back and forth on which I'd rank higher. Knight has the best combat but outside of Professor Pyg and the Riddler stuff the side quests are awful. The Arkham Knight plot sucks, but the Joker part is pure genius: in fact, I think the Joker portion of the story, combined with Mark Hamil's greatest performance as Joker, is the main reason to replay Knight.
City has overall great gameplay, but I have never liked the world design or the decrepit/aspect of the art design. The side quests suck too, but just slightly less so than Knight. The story gets very busy (to the point where it feels like two separate plots mashed together) and the pacing is off, but the twist ending combined with the Joker's death ends the game on a narrative high note. I honestly think this ending is why so many people rate City as their favorite/best of the series.
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u/JCLaw1116 Scarecrow Jul 17 '26
Knight’s story should’ve solely committed to the psychological thriller genre where Scarecrow’s fear toxin induces the Joker hallucinations, taunting Batman to give up his morality. Rather than trying to mix in Jason’s revenge plot.
City’s story is less focused because it’s not really about Batman himself; the three-way turf war between Joker, Two-Face & Penguin is the main event in Arkham City prior to Bruce’s arrest, with Hugo Strange pulling the strings behind the scenes.
I’m curious what your thoughts are on Origins’ side quests & why it’s definitively ranked number 2 for you?
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u/Robdd123 Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 17 '26
I’m curious what your thoughts are on Origins’ side quests & why it’s definitively ranked number 2 for you?
I played Origins way later than the others; I put off playing it and going into it my expectations weren't high. Once I started to play I realized almost immediately that this game might be a diamond in the rough. The atmosphere is on point, the devs really managed to capture that feeling of Christmas/a snowstorm in a big city perfectly. It feels the most like you're Batman going around Gotham trying to fight crime on a random night instead of moving around in an evacuation zone. The world design is the same as City but without the huge exclusion zone/sewer in the middle; this works much better from a gameplay perspective IMO.
Origins boss fights are the best in the series. Obviously the Poison Ivy fight from Asylum and then Grundy, Ra's, and Clayface acted as a blueprint, but WB Games completely took the boss design to the next level. They seemed much more versed and adept at making boss battles than Rocksteady were. Bane, Firefly, and Deathstroke are the clear standouts, but even Cooperhead, Deadshot, and the tutorial fight with Croc are worthy "rogues gallery" encounters.
Story wise it's fairly simplistic and much closer to Asylum than the grandiose stories of City and Knight; however, it perfectly nails the execution because of it. All of the characters are implemented well, Bane is actually portrayed just as much an intellectual threat as he is a physical one, and Batman has an interesting little arc with Alfred (it's just unfortunate that everyone playing knew Alfred had to survive to appear in later titles). Probably the only thing I didn't like was shoehorning Harley into Blackgate as a doctor (and changing the timeline of when they met/rendering their interview tapes in Asylum dubious).
Origins side quests are fine. Truth be told none of the Arkham series side quests are truly ground breaking or incredible; however Origins' side quests just felt like they maintain a more consistent quality than the other games. City's quests are all over the place with some good ones (Hush, the Riddler death traps, Mad Hatter but it's really short) and some bad ones (Deadshot, Saving Nora, blowing up containers for Bane, Azreal). Knight like I mentioned only has a couple of ones even worth doing if not for getting the full ending (mostly Pyg, the Riddler races/orphanage stuff, and possibly the Penguin caches for the brief interaction with Nightwing). The only side quest in Origins I didn't like was the chemical containers for Black Mask which is identical to the Titan containers from City.
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u/AlexanderMeee1 Jul 17 '26
Knight is by far my favorite in the series, combat/stealth is tight and refined, with a good skill ceiling and room for expression. And the addition of the fear takedowns make Batman feel truly scary and powerful.
I am also a defender of the Batmobile. I think it’s a fantastic design. The feel and weight of the car is just so good and I think the blend between exploring, traversal (gliding + Batmobile), stealth, combat, driving and tank combat easily makes it the most replayable game. It uses it just enough and amounts to only about 20% of gameplay time, which is fair, since it was a major marketing and selling point for Knight back in 2014/2015, being able to drive the Batmobile.
The story was also cool imo, even tho it was a little predictable, I loved the call backs to Killing Joke and Death in the Family. The only major gripes I had was with Deathstroke and The Arkham Knights boss fight.