Things I love and hate about… Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman Arkham Knight has been out for quite a while now but here is your SPOILER WARNING. After the first two points we delve into some spoilerish and then full spoilery territories so you have been warned!

I didn’t hate Batman v Superman when it came out recently, it certainly wasn’t a great film and a lot of it was just pure nonsense. Constantly breaking its own in universe rules and often times feeling more like a ramshackle mix up of visually striking scenes with a lot of brooding and talking thrown into the shakeup. A masterpiece it wasn’t, but one thing it did do is make me want more Batman. I missed the boat back when Batman Arkham Knight first launched, all I really remember from that period is the PC controversy and a lot of chatter about the Batmobile. Having now played it through to completion I can say with confidence there are still issues with both of those, but I can’t help but feel that overshadowed what is fitting ending to the Arkham series and a game that puts Rocksteady in a comfortable place moving forward. What are some of the main things I love and hate about Arkham Knight, let’s see.

Love – Gliding over Gotham

Pre-release there was a lot of chatter about the Batmobile and how that would change the way players traversed Gotham as the Dark Knight and we’ll certainly talk more on that particular aspect later. It has to be said though that grappling toward the nearest towering building and propelling yourself above the city is truly the best way to enjoy the sandbox that Rocksteady has created. The visuals are stunning as you swoop across rooftops with rain lashing against Batman’s cape and the backdrop of Gotham itself is often a breath-taking experience.

Whilst playing the much maligned Arkham Origins one problem I had while sweeping through that world was the permeating feeling of emptiness and generally a sense of quiet, as though you were really just dropped into a map with markers to head toward and nothing going on in the space between them apart from the occasional groups of goons.  Knight rectifies this by having police chases throughout the city, a much denser population of enemies and constant radio chatter to really instil that chaotic atmosphere as though the city has really gone to hell in hand basket so this time around flying through Gotham feels special.