Is Arkham Knight really as Bad as People Say?
Many Pc Gamers won`t want to play this game and will advise you not to even try the game because it is a disaster. Only because it had a disastrous PC port or because their favorite reviewers said the game was so bad that it wasn`t even worth playing.
But what is the truth? Is Batman Arkham Knight really that bad? Does it deserve all the hate? Let`s embark on our journey to find out if the game is really as bad as people say, in this Batman Arkham Knight Review of 2016.
Storyline
*Major Spoilers Ahead
I will save Gotham City
Nine months after Joker`s death, crime rates in Gotham have declined, but Batman anticipates a new threat. He is proven right when Scarecrow forces the people to evacuate Gotham city by threatening the release of his new fear toxin. All the criminals have joined Scarecrow`s army except for Poison Ivy. Batman saves her from Scarecrow`s imprisonment, to enlist her help in defeating Scarecrow.
Meanwhile, Oracle pinpoints Ace Chemicals as Scarecrow`s hideout. Batman assaults the hideout and confronts the Arkham Knight’s thugs. He then finds out that the Ace Chemicals has been transformed into a toxic time bomb. Scarecrow escapes but exposes batman to the toxic gas while Oracle is kidnapped by Scarecrow`s thugs.
Before dying, Joker had injected his blood into 5 people, to give birth to new jokers and continue the legacy of Joker. Batman had found 4 of these people. And after being exposed to the fear toxin, finds out that he is actually the 5th victim.
Meanwhile, Scarecrow manages to form a Cloudburst that will cover the whole city in fear toxin. Batman sets out to destroy the Cloudburst. Seeing an opportunity, Harley Quinn seizes Batman’s base along with her goons in order to rescue the new potential jokers.
Batman manages to find Oracle in Scarecrow`s hideout, but she has been exposed to the fear toxin and shoots herself and seemingly dies. Batman blames himself for Oracle’s death and returns to the bat cave to find Harley Quinn.
After defeating Harley and her gang of thugs, Batman sets out to destroy the Cloudburst, but it’s too late. The mysterious villain, Arkham Knight activates the Cloudburst, covering Gotham in fear toxin.
Batman asks Poison Ivy to clear the toxin, which she does but at the cost of her own life.
After the Cloudburst is destroyed, Batman confronts Arkham Knight, only to find that he is actually Jason Todd, the former Robin who was apparently murdered by Joker but was actually left alive and traumatized by torture. Batman offers to save Todd, but he escapes.
Batman and Officer Gordon confronts Scarecrow, and discovers that Oracle is still alive. Batman saves Oracle but in the process Scarecrow kidnaps Gordon. Using the remaining militia of criminal thugs, Scarecrow attacks Batman`s base and kidnaps Robin. And due to excessive fear toxin exposure, Joker starts to take over batman`s mind.
To save Gordon and Robin, Batman surrenders to Scarecrow, who then reveals Batman`s identity to the whole world and injects Batman with heavy amounts of fear toxin. Thus, the struggle for control starts, in Batman`s mind, between Joker and Batman. Batman triumphs and Joker is caged in Batman`s mind to be forgotten forever. At the same time, Todd arrives and saves Batman and injects Scarecrow with his own fear toxin.
Although the threat to Gotham city has been prevented, the true face of Batman has been revealed and Batman must trigger the “Knightfall” protocol to erase his face from everyone`s minds.
Review starts here
Story
“You can`t kill me. I am the Joker”
“This is how it happened. This is how Batman died“
~Officer Gordon
When you hear these words start off the story, you know something fantastic is coming your way. The story starts with an amazing display of joker dying and it is one of the best opening sequences we have seen in a long time. If you`ve read the whole story above, you`ll know Batman Arkham Knight has a pretty fantastic story. There are quite a few twists in the story. And the sudden changes in the story keep players on the edge.
The story emphasizes heavily on the teaming up of Batman villains, but keeps the spotlight basically on Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight. While mostly forgetting about Penguin and Two Face. The fact that many of the main villains of the batman franchise are forgotten is the only thing that can be a disappointment in the story of Batman Arkham Knight.
Apart from that, the characters are well developed and the dialogues are beautifully written and narrated. The story has a fast pace and compels you to uncover the whole plot.
Score 9/10
Graphics
“Gotham is mine to protect”
It is a sin for any next gen game to have bad graphics. And Arkham Knight stays away from such a sin. The game delivers what was promised in the graphics department, the graphics are some of the best looking in any game. From the design of the Batmobile to the Batsuit, almost everything looks spectacular.
Although, I would love a day night cycle, the dark, gloomy, night environment does suit a Batman game and brings the best out of it. The sky is also beautifully portrayed, with dynamic clouds and a changing weather system. In short, the world is a spectacle to behold.
Score 10/10
Gameplay
Street thugs are no match for Batman
The gameplay department was the one which made the game receive bad reviews and all the hate from PC gamers. Not that the gameplay itself was flawed or bad, it was just that the game had one of the worst PC ports ever.
If we talk about the core gameplay, it is quite well done. Combat is fluid, with smooth transitions between combos. Driving mechanics of the batmobile are quite polished. From the grappling hook to Batman`s flying mechanics, everything is up to the mark.
But what destroys the gameplay, are the bugs. Rocksteady, instead of porting the game to PC themselves, decided to hire a 5 man team to port the game to PC. The result being a disastrous port which was almost unplayable when it first launched.
The combat mechanics are fluid, but the constant stutters and framerate drops tend to make the combat tedious and un-enjoyable. The driving may be fluid, but it becomes quite annoying when you can`t hit a target due to constant stuttering of the game. These problems, though, are only present on the PC port.
I also dislike the fact that the gameplay heavily relies on the batmobile. From normal street fights to boss battles, most of them are fought in the batmobile. This can become quite annoying.
Thankfully most of the bugs have been dealt with by fixes and patches. But we can`t just let this game breaking mistake slide by.
Score 6/10
Main Characters
The three heroes
The main character of “Batman Arkham Knight” is, yes you guessed it right, “Batman”. No one needs an introduction to Batman. But we will judge the character development as if we played any batman game for the first time, and don`t know who batman is.
Character progression and development in the game is quite good. The characters are developed using conflicts among different personalities which gives a unique aspect to the story. Character deaths are dramatic and adds frosting on the cake.
Villain character progression is also quite good. Especially Arkham Knight, whose character adds a whole new aspect to the game. The mysteries surrounding Arkham Knight do remain mysterious until the last moment. I do, however, dislike the fact that some of the major villains in the Batman franchise, like Penguin and Two Face, had too little screen time or were left out completely. They had little to no impact on the story.
The dialogues are generally well written and narrated. And the voices of each character are well suited and overall add depth to the character.
Score 9/10
This video shows all the characters in the game :
Sound Effects
Batman vs Arkham Knight
The soundtrack of the game is decent at best. It tends to have some intensity in a few bland scenes. But nothing epic. As it was a batman game, everyone had high hopes for the soundtrack, as previous titles had proven themselves up to the mark. But Batman Arkham Knight just doesn`t make the cut, Not only because it doesn`t create the feeling of excitement but it also lacks the enticing nature of the music of the previous titles.
Soundtrack video
The action sequences do have a bit better soundtrack than other areas of the game. But most of the music is just too bland for my liking.
Score 7/10
The World
Justice will be served
Gotham is bigger, better and more beautiful than ever. But it is also a lot quieter and I say this in a good as well as a bad way. The city is evacuated at the start of the game. So there are hardly any civilians in the city. This gives Gotham a quiet and gloomy character, just perfect for any Batman game.
But as there are no civilians, the NPCs are mostly rogues or criminals roaming the streets. You rarely interact with these criminals. You might hear a scream or a call to run from any criminal after seeing Batman, but that’s it.
This makes the world in Batman Arkham Knight feel empty. Sure, there are quite a few side quests in the game which increases your interaction with these criminals but only a few of them are worth completing. Most of the time, you`ll just stick to the main story and just ignore the side quests.
Score 8/10
Price
“Can you really kill me, Batman?”
The game currently retails for 29.99$ on steam. Along with another version for 49.99$ which includes the season pass. I think 30$ for a game this good is a steal. But if you wait for the right time you can get the game in steam sale for as low as 15$.
50$ is just not worth it, even if it includes the season pass. I don`t mean to say the game isn`t worth 50 or 60$. But the bugs in the game still aren`t smashed completely, and to pay full price for such a game is not wise.
Overall Score
The Arkham Knight: “Batman dies today”
This game receives an overall score of 8.4. It may have got 9 if it wasn`t for the bugs in the gameplay and the not so compelling sound track. Apart from that the game has a mind blowing storyline, awesome graphics and great gameplay.
Pros Cons
Amazing Storyline Stutters and framerate issues
Stunning graphics Average sound track
Smooth Gameplay
So have you already played Batman Arkham Knight? Did our review help you in making the purchase? If you have played the game did you like it? Be sure to let us know in the comment section below.
The 3 sides of justice
