Batman: Return To Arkham

Is It Knight and Day?

- Kirk Mckeand

Ask any Batfan what their favourite Arkham game is and they’ll probably point to Asylum. Despite Batman: Arkham Knight delivering a more comprehensive Bat-sim – thanks to the introduction of the Batmobile and the chance to tear around Gotham City itself – most say they prefer Asylum’s focus. The overlapping areas of its prison grounds project a claustrophobic feel, forcing you to dance to the Joker’s tune as you navigate his deadly bat-traps.

From a game design perspective it’s the perfect location, providing a narrative justification for all the unreachable places. Yet despite the suffocation of this enclosed space, you still feel like Batman, churning through goons in a whirlwind of limbs and silently picking off armed assailants with terrifying efficiency.