With excitement for The Batman high after its release, there are still several video games worth playing after watching the movie.
After being five years in the making, Matt Reeves’ reboot The Batman has finally hit theaters to great critical and commercial success, surging the Dark Knight’s mainstream popularity even further. DC is already capitalizing on this with its vast and upcoming catalog of comic books, but the iconic superhero has permeated practically every form of entertainment media.
And though, like many blockbuster properties, tie-in video games were not always a point of strength for Batman, the last ~15 years have seen some welcome revitalization for the character in the medium. The Arkham series has undoubtedly been the praised benchmark, but there have been other solid games published by Warner Bros. Games released that center on/feature the brooding hero.
For many fans, what developers Rocksteady did with Batman in gaming starting with Arkham Asylum was akin to Christopher Nolan’s acclaimed reinvention of the character in The Dark Knight Trilogy. After a string of sporadic and mostly subpar games, the English studio put together a game focused on the hero dripping with the signature gothic style of the timeless Batman: The Animated Series. Even after 12-and-a-half years, it still stands as a game worthy of one of the greatest DC Comics heroes, blending in the influential and addictive «freeflow combat» and stealth gameplay systems.
In a modern gaming ecosystem where many games adopt open-world formats simply to say they did, Arkham Asylum is an excellent example of how a tightly-scaled game can be. The Metroidvania elements, story, ominous atmosphere, and the legendary Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill returning to voice Batman and the Joker were also massive boons to the game’s legacy. The game is modernly available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
The main pair of Injustice DC-themed fighting games are arguably the most popular mainstream examples of a dystopian alternate canon within the comic book publisher’s multiverse. NetherRealm Studios’ – also of Mortal Kombat fame – Injustice 2 picks up where the original left off with Batman and his superhero team of insurgents attempting to rebuild society following Superman’s failed authoritarian regime. However, conflicts arise when a new supervillain group poses a daunting threat on the world and the Dark Knight is made to consider releasing Superman from imprisonment to help.
It’s an engaging «Elseworlds» tale worth making Injustice 2 a fighting game for both genre veterans and DC fans looking for a good superhero story. The second game is built off the foundations of Injustice: Gods Among Us with its combo mechanics, character customization, and wealth of single-player content in a genre otherwise characterized by competitive multiplayer. Injustice 2 is available on PS4, XBO, and PC.
Rocksteady’s sophomore endeavor with the Caped Crusader isn’t only regarded as one of the best — if not the best — Batman games, but also one of the most acclaimed superhero games in general. Arkham City took full advantage of the critical goodwill and commercial success of its predecessor and went bigger in every way, but not without purpose. The game didn’t expand to an open-world setting for the sake of it, rather, Rocksteady created a rich, dense, and suitably grimy sandbox that justified its scope with a substantive main story, exploration, and side missions.
Along with the open world, the traversal was both exhilarating and seamless, expertly implementing Batman’s gliding functionality and grappling. The combat both in stealth and freeflow systems were impressively fine-tuned and the story became grander, more grounded, but without losing any of its unabashed love for comic book flair. The game is modernly available on PS4, XBO, and PC.
Though not looked upon with the same level of praise as Rocksteady’s main trilogy, WB Games Montréal’s Arkham Origins was still a solid entry in the franchise. The game follows an unrefined, raw version of Batman early in his career that’s teetering toward the edge of complete unhinged madness. He’s perpetually angry and carrying a massive chip on his shoulder, and hasn’t even accepted the help of James Gordon due to his paranoia and untrusting nature. This story is one that fans will feel at home with after watching Robert Pattinson’s take in The Batman.
It also tells the series’ origins of the vitriolic dynamic of Batman and the Joker, adding great context for these versions of the characters. Gameplay-wise it could be considered underrated since, to many fans, it has many of the best boss fights in the Batman: Arkham series. However, fair criticisms are leveled at its needlessly large open-world Gotham and only mild improvements over Arkham City. Unfortunately, Arkham Origins is only modernly available on PC – even though it’s ripe for a remaster.
Telltale Games are known for their point-and-click cinematic adventure games taking beloved properties and putting their spin on them, which eventually led to a creative rendition of Batman and his world. The team’s first game received a mixed reception for its technical problems and story, but The Enemy Within sequel was well-received for improving upon the original.
The majority of the praises went to its stronger writing and story choices available, as well as flipping conventional Batman canon on its head in a compelling way. Most notably, it managed to deliver an incredibly fresh take on the Clown Prince of Crime that adds a new layer of complexity to the two’s relationship. The Enemy Within is available on PS4, XBO, PC, and Nintendo Switch, as well as in the Shadows Edition bundle with the first game.
Rocksteady’s trilogy ended in explosive fashion with Arkham Knight, garnering a strong critical reception for tying up this universe’s Batman character arc. The game has one of the best open worlds today, with a beautifully crafted neon-gothic Gotham City. Its graphics hold up today, and Arkham Knight also filled its sandbox with a sense of purpose similar to City while providing Gotham with a thrilling degree of verticality when it comes to traversal.
Freeflow combat and stealth were tastefully polished for this final entry, as well as evolving the detective crime-scene investigation sequences from Origins. Though the use of the Batmobile was occasionally intrusive to normal gameplay, what it brought to the table justifies its place as one of the best Batman: Arkham games.
For those that want to go off the beaten path for some more colorful and campy adventures, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes is a great pick. Traveller’s Tales has been delivering memorable family-friendly gaming experiences with their Lego games since the early 2000s, adapting beloved IPs like Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and Marvel, and the second game in the Lego Batman subseries is perhaps the best they have to offer with the DC icon.
The first game received a strong reception, but this sequel’s expansions on open-world exploration, cooperative play, and character selection make this the most charming experience for many fans. The modern platforms the game is available on would be the Xbox 360 version through the recent consoles’ digital store, PC, and mobile.
Guillermo Kurten is a journalism major at the University of Houston. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, he now resides in Houston. He is a fan of pretty much anything involving nerd culture. Video games, comics, movies, TV, anime, manga, you name it. He also has experience writing about soccer, specifically, the German team Bayern Munich.
