I see Batman Arkham City GOTY is on sale on Steam. Is that one objectively better than the others?
I think it depends on what you’re looking for. Arkham asylum and Arkham city are definitely the best ones but I’ve always liked the more linear story/gameplay of Arkham Asylum more. They’re both great though.
When it comes to the secondary characters, while most of it can be fine, a lot of stuff in Knight is made better by having played the first two.
So I’d personally choose City. That said, Knight is fun. My only real problem was that to get the “true ending”, you need to complete every. single. Riddler challenge, which can be… not fun.
Arkham Collection as a whole is worthwhile purchase IMO. It nails the mood and atmosphere of Gotham. While emphasizing on Batman’s ability as a detective as an important factor to the gameplay.
Arkham City is a sequel to Arkham Asylum. I say go in order.
I think that’s my favorite overall. Arkham Knight is still worth a playthrough imo if you enjoyed Arkham City and it also closes the story
I’ve seen a lot of discussions on the batmobile being a let-down in the third game!
The thing is, the Batmobile isn’t terrible, at times it even feels cool to drive. But it’s forced on you SO. MUCH.
By the time you finish the game, what felt like a pretty neat addition feels like a chore to use. I didn’t buy a car game, I bought a Batman game. Let me be Batman >:(
Ye-es, pretty much what I worried it would be! A shame, since I love how it looks, but car-drivey-Batman doesn’t seem too much of a winner to me :(
If you can get it cheap, it’s worth picking up after you’ve played the other 2 mainline Arkham games; so long as you go in knowing what to expect. There are worthwhile moments in the game, so long as don’t expect the quality to be as high as City or Asylum.
I bounced off Knight despite loving Asylum and City exactly due to the Batmobile. Admittedly driving sequences are a hard “meh” for me at the best of times, but they felt much worse here because they forced me away from the batsuit traversal.
Might be a little unpopular, but my personal ranking:
- Arkham Asylum:
It’s the most linear, but that plays a lot in its favour. In my opinion, it has the best setting and story. The linearity allowed for a more tailored experience, and it was very well tailored.
- Arkham Knight:
The biggest world, the most polished gameplay, the most beautiful looking, and has a new mystery villain. If you’re a big Batman fan you might guess who it is early on, but it’s still very cool. I think it also has the longest story as well, as well as the most villains.
- Arkham Origins:
It’s a bit short, but it might have the most villains other than Arkham Knight, and great boss battles. The game takes place over Christmas, and I’d say it’s a nice Christmas game. Gotham looks beautiful in the snow. I think you also get to hand around the Batman cave and with Alfred more than the other games.
- Arkham City:
Not bad by any means, but I played it last year for the first time and I felt underwhelmed. There’s nothing it excels at over the other games, and it feels a bit outdated. At least, according to myself.
Na, Batman on the NES is where it’s at.
Arkham City was for a long while considered the best, but age has arguably been kinder to Asylum (thanks to storytelling) and Knight (thanks to streamlining/modernization).
I don’t think there is any question on how to answer the literal post, though. If you could only get one of them, it’s Asylum.
Also, I would not recommend binging these games unless you are REALLY feeling it when you finish Asylum. The chief complaint about them was always that they did not change the formula around enough between games. I have to think playing them back to back exacerbates that.
Actually looks like I’ll only be playing through Asylum and City. Bought all three on my Steam Deck, but for some reason Knight is unsupported on there.
But, I’m happy to start with the original and enjoy it from there!
@followthewhiterabbit I’m not sure if it’s out of your price range, but the whole Arkham Collection (all 3 games) is on sale for $9 right now. It’s definitely worth the extra $4 to get two more games. And they’re all great for different reasons in my opinion.
Hey, somehow I didn’t even notice this?
I think you saved a lot of pondering, and made this whole post a bit pointless! Thanks so much, I just got it!
Now, I might as well start at the start!
@followthewhiterabbit glad I could help. Enjoy! And it’s still a good comparison thread.
