The Batman: Arkham series, which began in 2009 with Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham Asylum, is considered the greatest superhero video game franchise of all time. It's often considered one of the best adaptations of the Batman mythos, with each installment evolving gameplay while ramping up the scope of the series' story. The series is set to continue with Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Despite the success of the franchise, there does exist a black sheep. Arkham Origins is the third game in the series, and the only one not developed by Rocksteady. This prequel adventure was instead developed by WB Games Montreal, and many fans criticized Origins for its numerous bugs and recycled gameplay. However, despite these drawbacks, there are several aspects of the game that could easily be considered superior to Rocksteady's own installments and make it worth revisiting before the studio's next title, Gotham Knights.
Boss Fights
Despite featuring fascinating and fresh versions of Batman's many villains, the Batman: Arkham series has been criticized for its uninspired boss fights. Arkham Asylum features only two traditional bosses, and a majority of Arkham Knight's bosses are fought from within the Batmobile. Arkham City features a tense stealth encounter with Mr. Freeze and some fun traditional boss fights like Solomon Grundy and Ra's al Ghul, but these are still few and far between.
In the boss fight department, Arkham Origins reigns supreme over its Rocksteady-developed cousins. It features an iconic hand-to-hand duel against Deathstroke which brutally tests the player's ability to counter-attack the assassin's strikes. There are also a number of other fun boss fights throughout, such as brawls against Bane, a complex stealth scenario featuring Deadshot, a poisonous fight against Copperhead and a cinematic encounter with Firefly.
Detective Work
Batman is referred to as the World's Greatest Detective, but the Arkham games rarely let him live up to this title. Detective work has been present in the series since Arkham Asylum, but investigations are shallow in the first two installments. Crime scenes boil down to searching a small area, scanning a single prominently-placed item and following a marked trail to your target.
Arkham Origins introduced real-time crime scene reconstructions, a mechanic that revitalizes the way in-game detective work is conducted. WB Games Montreal added the ability to rewind or fast-forward through a crime, which makes each scenario more complex and forces players to consider how evidence fits into a crime. There's an entire side-mission that tasks players with solving crimes throughout the world, further highlighting the mechanic. Crime scene reconstructions were so well-received that Rocksteady included the feature in Arkham Knight, though only for one brief sequence.
New and Old Locations
Each Arkham game increases the size and scope of the playable game world. The first game takes place on the isolated island of Arkham Asylum, while the sequel takes players to the expansive walled-off prison of Arkham City. Arkham Knight lets players traverse the three main islands of Gotham City, an open world large enough to necessitate the rocket-powered Batmobile to get around quickly.
Arkham Origins' world stands out among the rest of the series for a few reasons. It incorporates the entirety of the map featured in Arkham City, with shared locations being heavily changed to reflect the different time period. This gives players a chance to explore iconic Arkham City locations, like the Steel Mill or Courthouse, with a fresh twist.
WB Games Montreal added new locations for players to experience. The Batcave, an essential Batman location that was, unfortunately, never featured in the Rocksteady trilogy, is a fully fleshed-out location in Arkham Origins that players can return to at any time. There's also an entirely new part of Gotham, which features iconic landmarks like the Gotham Royal Hotel and Gotham City Police Department.
Bane
While the Arkham series is a fantastic adaptation of the Batman universe, not every character is done justice. Bane, one of Batman's most powerful and intelligent villains in the comics, is portrayed as a hulkish brute who charges into walls like a bull and is defeated with ease. He is consistently bested by Batman and never poses a credible threat.
Arkham Origins finally gives fans a faithful adaptation of Bane, a physically unstoppable and intellectually imposing mercenary who quickly becomes a main antagonist. Origins loosely adapts Knightfall, the iconic story where Bane deduces Batman's identity and breaks him both physically and mentally. Bane is eventually left as a hulking amnesiac, justifying his appearance in Rocksteady's chronologically later titles, but not before serving as the terrifying final boss of Arkham Origins.
Batman
Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy brings the world of Batman to life, but its version of the Caped Crusader was always a bit one-dimensional. Batman shows no emotional depth in Arkham Asylum, and even the most dramatic moments in Arkham City feel a bit disconnected. Even Arkham Knight, a game centered around Batman's fears and psychology, portrays Bruce Wayne as essentially flawless and all-knowing.
Arkham Origins focuses on a young, angry Batman, which makes for a more raw and flawed version of the character. WB Games Montreal's Batman is an angry lone wolf, which leads to conflict with the character's typically devoted allies Alfred and Commissioner Gordon. The conflict between Bruce and Alfred in particular gives the game an emotional weight that the Rocksteady titles lacked. Having a flawed Batman also allows the character to have a strong arc.