Batman: Return to Arkham Review
Batman: Return to ArkhamBatman: Return to Arkham AsylumBatman: Return to Arkham City
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By Lucy O’Brien
Updated: Jun 26, 2022 6:46 pm
Posted: Oct 18, 2016 4:00 am
With their sense of freedom and loving grasp of the Dark Knight’s comic universe, 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum and its 2011 sequel, Batman: Arkham City, are two of the best superhero games ever made. Batman: Return to Arkham brings both games — and all their DLC — to the current generation of consoles, but an unremarkable graphical upgrade doesn’t do them justice.
That’s not to say it’s not noticeable. Textures in Return to Arkham are much sharper: Batman’s suit, for example, looks much more detailed. His cape in particular stands out beautifully, pebbled, catching the light. Virtous, the studio that’s upgraded Rocksteady’s original games, has ported both games to Unreal Engine 4 from Unreal Engine 3, making for a much brighter aesthetic overall.
Batman’s cape in particular stands out beautifully, pebbled, catching the light
“
But in many instances, ‘brighter’ does not mean ‘better’. The original Arkham games were dark for two reasons: one, because deep blacks add to the atmosphere and two, to disguise the graphical shortcomings of 2009-era consoles. Here, every PS3 plant, rock and puddle of water is thrown into stark relief, and as a result Gotham often feels quite blocky and theme park-esque, which breaks the romantic illusion.
More, some of the detail in faces has been smoothed out in this much lighter version, and some of the intricacies of expression are lost as a result. This isn’t a deal-breaker — characters can still emote — but to remove such nuances is another example of illumination where it’s simply not needed.
LoadingThe bigger issue is performance. For a remastered version of older games, it’s disappointing that neither Asylum nor City runs at 60 frames per second — they’re both targeting 30. In fact, Asylum suffers from some odd stutters when Batman runs through a corridor or turns a corner. The issues aren’t bad enough to interrupt combat flow, but occasional chugging is a noticeable distraction.
Outside of the two campaigns, all the DLC challenge maps and additional skins are here, so you can play as 1970s Batman — or even better, animated Batman — from the get-go. But there’s nothing to differentiate the extra content from what was included in the Game of the Year editions, and the lack of making-ofs or behind-the-scenes details is a missed opportunity.Loading
If you’ve never played Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and own a current-gen console, Return to Arkham is a fine place to start. But for those who already own both on PC or last gen, there’s no real reason to pick this up beyond a rather uninspiring and technically disappointing graphical upgrade.
In This Article
Batman: Return to Arkham
Virtuos Games
Rating
ESRB: Teen
Platforms
PlayStation 4Xbox One
Batman: Return to Arkham Review
good
Two amazing games get updated for current-gen consoles with an unremarkable port in Batman: Return to Arkham.
Lucy O’Brien
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Batman: Return to Arkham for PlayStation 4 Reviews
PlayStation 4
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Publisher:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
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Release Date:
Oct 18, 2016 -
Also On:
Xbox One
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Summary
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Critic Reviews
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User Reviews
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Details & Credits
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Trailers & Videos
Metascore
73
Mixed or average reviews
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based on
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Critic Reviews
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User Score
8. 6
Generally favorable reviews- based on 462 Ratings
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Summary:
Return to Arkham and experience two critically acclaimed titles from the last generation — Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Batman: Return to Arkham includes the comprehensive versions of both games and includes all previously releasedReturn to Arkham and experience two critically acclaimed titles from the last generation — Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Batman: Return to Arkham includes the comprehensive versions of both games and includes all previously released additional content. Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them into the depths of Arkham Asylum -Gotham City’s high security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Use Batman’s legendary gadgetry, strike from the shadows, and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious super villains. Batman: Arkham City sends players soaring into Arkham City — a heavily fortified sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City. Batman Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that draws together an all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe. … Expand
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Developer:
Rocksteady Studios, Virtuos
- Genre(s): Miscellaneous, Compilation
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# of players:
No Online Multiplayer -
Cheats:
On GameFAQs -
Rating:
T - More Details and Credits »
Trailer
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Batman: Return to Arkham Announcement Trailer
Score distribution:
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Positive:
17
out of 28 -
Mixed:
11
out of 28 -
Negative:
0
out of 28
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If not for some graphical and framerate issues, Batman: Return to Arkham would be one of the best remasters out there.
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Batman: Return to Arkham includes the first two episodes of the franchise, of course with all the DLC and content released so far. The graphical improvements are impressive, with new models and animations.
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Return to Arkham contains two fantastic games, with a visual upgrade. Both games are still fantastic, but Asylum has lost some of it’s charm. Also both games suffer from occasional framedrops, but nothing drastic. So this is definitely worth your money!
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This was the 4th time I’ve played Arkham Asylum and it still holds up. I’m not crazy about the $50 price point for two last gen games with no new features, but that’s a slight nitpick.
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Two excellent games, but sadly not so well remastered. The character models and their suits look very well, unfortunately the rest of the game looks fewer dark than the original release and we don’t have any improvements on the framerate. If you never played the Arkham series before maybe you should look at this collection, the rest of us not.
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Two classic games made to look notably worse than they did over five years ago, which is one villainous masterplan even Batman can’t foil.
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Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City are amazing games, but this collection doesn’t stand up to the same quality. The visuals have been improved, but at a loss of the dark ambiance of the originals. The 30 fps frame rate isn’t locked, with the occasional stutter marring the experience. Worse, there’s no new content available here. If you own either game on PC, there’s no reason to get Return to Arkham.
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Score distribution:
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Positive:
47
out of 65 -
Mixed:
15
out of 65 -
Negative:
3
out of 65
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Enserio, los gráficos son fenomenales, solo lo único que es el brillo, pero dejandolo de lado, es un juego increible, te lo recomiendo a pesarEnserio, los gráficos son fenomenales, solo lo único que es el brillo, pero dejandolo de lado, es un juego increible, te lo recomiendo a pesar que diga IGN que solo para los que quieran iniciarlo, sé que te va a gustar si eres fanático de Batman Arkham, el Joker, Batman, Gordon, Joker enfermo, entre otros, las definiciones todas detalladas, si quieres comprarlo, no lo dudes. ..… Expand
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7
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11
users found this helpful
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Better stories than the films, great combat and plenty of side quests. I am a massive batman fan and these games kept me occupied over lockdown.
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Mi juego favorito de todos los tiempos Batman Arkham City y mi 8 juego favorito Arkham asylum vuelven más increíbles más brutales con BatmanMi juego favorito de todos los tiempos Batman Arkham City y mi 8 juego favorito Arkham asylum vuelven más increíbles más brutales con Batman listo para dar puñetazos a diestra y siniestra con mejores gráficos, una obra maestra es la única forma de describir estos dos juegos, si nunca los jugaste en consolas de la generación pasada así como yo tienes que darle una oportunidad si o si… Expand
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I’m just writing at least 150 characters because I wanted to save this review in a more convenient way to look back at scores that I had givenI’m just writing at least 150 characters because I wanted to save this review in a more convenient way to look back at scores that I had given stuff as a user… Expand
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Very good but unfortunately not great. I will talk about each game seperately.
— Arkham Asylum is a HUGE improvement from the PS3 title.Very good but unfortunately not great. I will talk about each game seperately.
— Arkham Asylum is a HUGE improvement from the PS3 title. The graphics are very good, some minor issues from the PS3 version are also fixed, and in general, I had great fun with it. Even if I played the gamemany times, I couldn’t stop playing it till I make it platinum!
— Arkham City on the other hand is a bad bad port. Seriously, there are hundreads of bugs and glitches, the cinematics are problematic and seem to run in 15 fps and even the graphics sometimes seem really weak. I don’t know how on earth did this happen! City is my favorite Arkham game by far and I cannot comprehend how did they manage to make it look older than Arkham Asylum. I hope they fix the problems. Luckily, it contains all the DLC.
Having this info in mind, the bundle is a MUST for those who haven’t played the games, but whoever owned them in previous gen consoles, Arkham City’s problem’s won’t go unnoticed. … Expand
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Batman: Return to Arkham bundles the first two entries in the critically acclaimed Batman Arkham franchise and remasters the two to next-genBatman: Return to Arkham bundles the first two entries in the critically acclaimed Batman Arkham franchise and remasters the two to next-gen systems. Overall, this remaster is pretty weak. The games only look marginally better than their last-gen predecessors. I would only buy this if you are a big Arkham fan. For the rest of us, though, we’ll give Return to Arkham a pass.… Expand
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These are the worst game i’ve ever played now the bar is low considering I use reviews to judge most of my purchases but these games areThese are the worst game i’ve ever played now the bar is low considering I use reviews to judge most of my purchases but these games are BEYOND overhyped. I purchased this game after I was done finishing the excellent Spider-Man PS4 and desperately chasing anything similar and in my research I have found that it runs in comparisons the most with this game, WHICH IS AN INSULT. Arkhams combat is boring as long as you mash triangle you can beat this game no problem. This game should be called Batman Triangle there are no punishments for mashing triangle. You will never miss your counters and it will always do damage. Now what is the story in all of these games. Put simply lazy, Batman only seems to not even acknowledge in all of these games what is happening around him with zero emotion. I was desperatly waiting to play as ANY OTHER CHARACTER cause then I would actually have the slightest amount of emotion. If there is any good thing about these games it is the art stlye but thats it. I fell asleep 4 times while attempting to play arkham asylum and i really bullied myself to finish it after spending $30 dollars on a collection that I tried to lie to playstation too to get some kind of money back. I feel like I should have been paid to finish any of these. This game really makes you feel like an idiot for paying money for this game… Expand
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See all 65 User Reviews
Trailers
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Batman: Return to Arkham Announcement Trailer
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Batman: Return to Arkham — Launch Trailer
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Awards & Rankings
58 |
#58 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016 |
69 |
#69 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016 |
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Batman: Arkham Knight Review | GameMAG
Overview
0
Batman: Arkham Knight should appeal to fans of the series, but obviously weaker than the first two games in the franchise
Authors:
Alexander Loginov (xtr)
Editing:
Mikhail Shaginyan (ACE)
aka_opex
Alexey Sarafanov (ASarafanov)
Date:
07/06/2015 16:31
the article has not caused any emotions yet
Platforms:
PS4
ONE
PC
Developer:
Rocksteady Studios
Publisher:
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Genres:
action
Adventure
There are a small number of companies on planet Earth whose games are considered masterpieces with millions of fans even before they are released. Studio Rocksteady managed not only to revive the whole direction of games based on comics, but also to become the flagship of the industry, where strong single-player projects have already begun to be considered something archaic against the backdrop of multiplayer hysteria.
Naturally, after the amazing Batman: Arkham Asylum and City , everyone expected that Arkham Knight will be a resounding conclusion to the trilogy. The creators themselves gladly fueled expectations, promising three times more space, a powerful car, strong villains and fixed bugs. Struggling between the desire to please die-hard fans and try out new gaming ideas, the Rocksteady has given birth to a child of compromise that, although similar to its older brethren, does not live up to expectations.
Batman: Arkham Knight takes out the ghosts of the past from mothballs, which, although they build scary faces, remain just sad shadows of themselves. And although the game is called Arkham Knight , the main official villain in history is not a secret admirer of Batman, but the same Scarecrow. The predictable villain goes to various tricks to unmask the defender of Gotham, getting entangled in intrigues and tricks, forcing the authors to repeat hackneyed tricks and explain rather strange plot twists by the influence of gas on the weak psyche of the hero.
Batman’s inner troubles add spice to the story through his companion’s sarcastic comments. Trying to somehow diversify the league of local criminals, villains from the past parts enter the arena, pushing them to complete a dozen special tasks. Unfortunately, instead of the luxurious boss battles from past games in the series, you are offered several types of chases, one investigation with a fight in the arena, different types of races and clearing the area. Penguin, Two-Face, Firefly, Harley Quinn, Professor Pyg, Deathstroke, Flyer, Riddler — a great team of supervillains. You just catch up with half of them by car. The second — you finish off in a couple of blows, like ordinary gopniks. Moreover, you do not experience any pleasure from the monotonous tasks of rescuing two dozen firefighters or capturing roadblocks.
It seems that the authors have already forgotten about Deadshot’s missions, turning the detective mode into a search for one piece of evidence. Demining in general can be considered a mockery of the psyche of the players — perhaps the latest games about transformers were more diverse and interesting. The plot bosses in both cases of the two involve the use of a Batmobile. Endless racing and stealth in cars, which we laughed at five years ago, is an everyday reality here.
Project History
-
01/23/2023
Mark Hamill talks about returning to voice the Joker -
11/11/2022
Actor Kevin Conroy has died — he voiced Batman in the animation and games Batman: Arkham -
26.10.2022
Rocksteady founders leave studio — WB Games releases statement -
03/19/2022
Kevin Conroy: New Batman Arkham is not in development -
06. 02.2022
Batman: Arkham Collection for Nintendo Switch appeared on the website of the French retailer -
view all
Batmobile, which has become the formal center of the gameplay, causes the most mixed feelings. On the one hand, this is a new and very effective gadget that allows you to interestingly interact with the environment, solving spatial puzzles, quickly move around the city, destroy obstacles and participate in stunning chases, where even columns and fences will not become an obstacle. On the other hand, the developers forcibly push their new toy anywhere, turning the fun into a dull routine.
As I mentioned above, tasks with a car, such as demining, are reminiscent of games about transformers. You transfer the car into combat mode and destroy enemies emerging from the air. A few seconds ago there was no one behind, and now there is a whole army of drones, tanks and combat installations behind us. In fact, this turn-based system, where you see the laser sights of enemy vehicles and then try to dodge the projectiles, is too monotonous and boring. The ability to improve armor, the strength of damage to various parts of the enemy and missiles (analogue of a super shot), which are charged as the enemy army is destroyed, do not make this part of the game more fun or interesting. Leveling up other skills, like combat gear or the Batman suit, only makes the gameplay easier. Hand-to-hand skirmishes have become more casual. Therefore, having a fully upgraded hero, you become virtually invulnerable, which may even be a plus for someone.
Nightwing, Catwoman and some other characters will allow you to use paired moves in specialized tasks. The player will be allowed to switch between them during co-op combat, and this is a good refresher for the gameplay. Due to the fact that each hero has his own set of abilities and attacks, such battles will be to your taste and seem like a good rethinking of the combat system. It’s a pity there aren’t many of them.
Electric blasts, freezes, bombs and ultimates activated by replenishing the combo counter make any battle a walk in the park.
In addition, you can now take control of drones, block turrets and machine guns, and use the environment to smash lamps, crates, and baseball bats on enemies’ heads. Against this background, calling a car as an additional blow looks no longer so casual.
As for the predator mode, although it is present in the game and even recommended in tasks with Two-Face or one of the bosses — this part is all about action, so using brute force, you can go through these missions significantly faster. For example, in the fight with the Arkham Knight, you only need to hang on to the ledge to trigger the cutscene, so the stealth mission goes through faster and even earns more experience points.
Visual overview
Addictive gameplay
Atmosphere — it envelops and absorbs
boy themes
Cool hero
cinematic gameplay
fucking graphics
Jerk off allowed
Girls
Bleeding
difficulty due to the number of enemies
Open world
Puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, riddles
Popular series — this game already has millions of fans
Famous developer — we love and respect him
the wow factor blooms and smells
The visual overview is based on the main features of the game and
is
addition to the main review.
But you can’t say that the creators of Batman: Arkham Knight didn’t try. Some of the car problems, as well as some of the Riddler’s puzzles, are really awesome. Using a tether and pulling up a car to interact with the environment, like creating ramps and moving objects, the combination of abilities and physics is really amazing. Some puzzles will take you a long time to think about, others are quite simple, but still interesting, like those where you need to recreate a three-dimensional crime scene, “rewinding” events in search of answers. The study of video camera recordings also looks conceptual. True, tying side missions to get a real ending is not the best idea. You won’t be thrilled to learn that you need to get all 300 Riddler trophies to get the true ending.
There are Batman: Arkham Knight and their special moments in the world. The karaoke-singing boss fight or near-final scene with the city and the events leading up to it are some of the highlights in video game history. If the authors hadn’t fallen into stupid moralizing and ended the game right there, then Batman: Arkham Knight could have been forgiven a lot.
Another strong point of the game is the graphics. On the PS4 and Xbox One , the game looks amazing, especially given the large open spaces, complex graphical effects, and multiple enemies on the same screen. 3D rain that reflects lights and environments, spectacular destructibility, advanced background blur, very beautiful water and small details look unforgettable, reminiscent of the demo « Samaritan » by Epic Games .
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Batman: Arkham Knight should appeal to fans of the series, but obviously weaker than the first two games in the franchise, «thanks» to faded villains, the same type of tasks that force the player to complete them to get the full ending, an endless number of boring tank battles, and also a ragged story about a city abandoned by the country’s government in the outskirts. Stunning graphics, the return of a beloved character, interesting puzzles and some really strong game scenes can keep you interested, but unable to pull the game to the level of a masterpiece Arkham City .
Game completed on:
PS4
Correct topics:
Yes
Duration:
15
1-2
evil shit
3-4
not necessary
5-6
public catering
8 7-8
just right
9
very cool
10
masterpiece!
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers] — Batman: Arkham City — Games — Gamer.ru: social network for gamers At the heart of the game deck is still a series of spectacular fights, silent eliminations and riddles of the Riddler.
And speaking of cards, the good old Joker is back with us.
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
At the same time, almost every one of the previous components of the game received a keg of «Titan» in the vein. I can’t help but say a couple of affectionate words about scuffle — the most enjoyable part of the game, having become even richer and more diverse, has not changed its principle. You don’t have to be Batman to play. And you can also eat a sandwich right during the battle.
Of course, this does not mean that new tricks are not needed — for example, you can send victims of a triple counterattack to Morpheus with one button.
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
Stealth rooms have become more complex and interesting — thermal imagers, jammers and mines interfere in every possible way to move towards the goal. Batman’s arsenal has also expanded — with the help of a smoke bomb, you can arrange an «execution» on several opponents at once, or spoil a weapon from a distance, or undermine an enemy on his own mine.
However, for the most part, all these devices help with riddles, not knockouts. The disgusting console game “collect a hundred eggs” thanks to Nygma looked very organic before, and now it has also been supplemented with logical motivation. This is not to mention the fact that the puzzles have become more diverse. There were also «tactical» ones — how to eliminate the Riddler’s informant last in order to shake a couple of secrets out of him.
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
It’s all wrapped up in a big map that you can really fly around without touching the ground, and sprinkled with extra tasks. Don’t let the vague wording fool you; usually the extra task is an extra broken collarbone of some bastard in the entourage of holiday madness.
If we talk about how it all looks, then the work of the artists and, in particular, the attention to detail are worthy of special mention. Viewing the exhibits of the local «museum» can distract from the storyline for a long time. And all those scratches, abrasions and cuts? By the end of the game, you want to wash the same Cat.
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
The Dark Knight Returns — review [no spoilers]
Unfortunately, not everything is so radiant, and if the disgusting optimization of the game on dx11 can still be corrected, then the story is much sadder . Too often, the poor fellow’s legs are cut off and transplanted into «god from the machine» prostheses.
Another sad thing is the «detective mode»; it remains the same dreary blue, and although the phrase “augmented reality” is pronounced in the game, it is pronounced in vain. There is a way out — for the first time to go through the game without spoiling the colors, but to look for riddles and others like them after completing all the tasks or starting a new game.