Arkham Knight Review
by Koushik Paul
Edited by Anthony Zangrillo
“This is how it happened, this is how the Batman died.” Through these first lines of dialogue, the entire game attains a dire sense of finality in its presentation. This is the last chapter in developer Rocksteady’s exceptional Arkham series, and the developers leave Gotham City on a high point.
Picking up from the ending of Arkham City, players begin the game by physically cremating the Joker using your game controller. This intro is shocking and sets the tone perfectly for the nightmarish Halloween that Batman will have to endure. Immediately following this shocking scene, the game makes you experience the lethal effects of the Scarecrow’s fear toxin through the eyes of a defenseless cop. Scarecrow is in his best and scariest form yet. He has emptied the streets of Gotham City by threatening to release his fear toxin, and the only people left in the city are the police and the most vile criminals of Gotham. Undoubtedly, this is the best setting to show off the new gameplay mechanic, the Batmobile.
The Batmobile races through the streets, chasing down bad guys, even stunning them when they hit the car. We are then introduced to the Arkham Knight and his massive army of tanks and drones that patrol the city streets. When confronted with this army, the Batmobile must enter tank mode and blow the combat vehicles to smithereens. Unfortunately, this is the part that feels the least like Batman, and at times, can feel very forced and annoying.
Besides the Batmobile, the other two pillars of gameplay include hand-to-hand combat and the stealth predator mechanics. The combat feels as good as ever in a Batman game. Finally, Batman can continue his relentless combos by punching criminals who have already been knocked down. There are some fights where so many henchmen had tools that are difficult to counter. Only slightly did these encounters feel like it was too much to handle. Having an inordinate amount of attackers slows down the fast and fluid combat leading to a less natural experience.
Predator mode feels absolutely perfect in this game. The “Be the Batman” tagline is not just a marketing gimmick. Large open maps outside with all of Batman’s gadgets allow you to strike fear in all of your criminal prey. The new “fear” takedowns also make these missions somewhat easier, although the premise fits perfectly with the Scarecrow inspired pot. However, for every tactic that you can use, the enemy has a way to counter it. This makes for some of the best cat and mouse play in a game.
Use the highpoint too much? The militia will put a mine on it to prevent you from climbing up there. You like using detective mode to see where everyone is? Well now certain enemies have suits that cloak them from being visible and some that can track you when you use detective mode too long. Don’t forget that drones need to be dealt with first, before any henchmen can be taken down. The game provides you all the tools to disrupt these tactics, but they are in short supply. It becomes more of a strategy game where you need to manage your resources when taking out these large groups.
While the actual Arkham Knight reveal won’t be enough for most fans of Batman lore, the finale with Scarecrow will satisfy both the biggest fans and the newcomers, alike. The presentation in this game is top-notch, with many thematic elements played rather than shown, such as a choice between obeying an ally or fighting them and fighting a psychological foe due to the fear toxin. This game artfully relives some of the most traumatic moments of Batman’s comic book history, which all gamers should appreciate.
In every way, Rocksteady has improved the gameplay we love, while only slightly adding a bit too much in certain areas. Although the tank battles seem really out of place for a Batman game, this mechanic still does not greatly take away from the gameplay. If this is the final Batman game from Rocksteady, it will be remembered highly.
