When it comes to superhero video games, many come to mind. When it comes to the best superhero games, that field gets narrower. But many are in agreement that the Batman Arkham franchise holds that title. This series created the bar, elevated the bar then became the bar. Each new game introduced something to the franchise so the culmination – Batman: Arkham Knight – became and remained the standard. But each game has something that makes it the favorite among fans. Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight are considered the trifecta. But there is another game that tends to be left alone. A game that is acknowledged but not awarded. This is Batman: Arkham Origins. As the name suggests, it’s a prequel that takes place before the events of Batman: Arkham Asylum. Although the game shares much of the same DNA, content, and theme of the rest of the games, many corners of the gaming community tend to leave this Batman game out of the conversation. There is no reason to why. This game is great! Batman: Arkham Origins deserves to be praised a whole lot more.
The game is a prequel. It showed the beginnings and early days of some of the characters in the Arkham universe. In Arkham Origins, Batman was younger. Batman was also more aggressive. Instead of a quiet storm gamers saw in the other Arkham games, this version of Batman was a wild storm. He used that aggression as a weapon. A way to terrify criminals. Used as fuel to fight harder hitters. Used that as a motivator to get the job done. It wasn’t honed in just yet. That aggression was a wild fire. It’s a side of Batman’s character, no matter the avenue his story is being told. That aggression is as a part of him as his gadgets are, as the Batcave is, as Alfred is. Fans and gamers get small traces of it in the other Arkham games but not to the degree of Arkham Origins took it. It helped Arkham Origins stand out. And gave another layer to Batman in the game. And also set the foundation of Batman’s evolution as a vigilante. It helped create a character arc for Batman off screen. He started out as an aggressive Enforcer then became a more precise hunter.
That’s all because he was a younger Batman. Which meant he was early in his tenure. And that means the legend, the myth of Batman was very much alive. During the later Arkham games, Batman was a known figure. The events of Arkham Knight revealed his status has gone past Gotham. But Arkham Origins kept him as that terrifying urban legend, that horrifying boogeyman. During the course of the game, it was up for debate whether Batman is real or not. That is another core component of his character. Of course, as the years go on, Batman’s existence is a real thing. But in Arkham Origins, he was debated. That was another layer of the game. Another way that this game immersed gamers not just into the world, but immersed them in the feeling of what it’s like to be Batman. Batman is meant to be this terrifying thing. The other games were able to achieve that by Batman’s actions. Summoning and driving the Batmobile, defeating an army of thugs solo, the Predator modes and so on. But Arkham Origins was truly the only game that made Batman terrifying just by existing. Both sides of the law were terrified of him. By having a younger Batman meant his name alone, his shadow provokes a spine-chilling terror.
Arkham Origins not only introduced a young Batman, but an early day Joker as well. This version of The Joker, unhinged from another area. While The Joker in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City had complicated but dangerous plans in mind, this version of The Joker is a little bit simpler. Instead of doing what he can to please Batman or elevate his villainy, he simply wanted to kill Batman by hiring eight assassins. But after Batman saved The Joker from falling to his death, that’s when something changed inside The Joker. That’s when The Joker became obsessed with Batman. Arkham Origins gave that moment, that point of origin it’s time to shine. The Joker has an attraction toward Batman and this game allowed that moment to come alive and breath. The game gave that relationship an origin. It also gave The Joker somewhat of a character arc because of The Joker’s perspective on Batman. It went from viewing Batman as a threat to seeing Batman as an equal. Although some fans rolled their eyes seeing another Batman story with The Joker as a big player, the game at least showcased something a bit fresh for The Joker. It was THAT turn. THAT change of perspective. And allowing the obviousness of it play out for a large section of the story. Arkham Origins showed a different side of The Joker’s origin.
While the game showed an angrier Batman and a Joker who went on a bit of a character arc, Arkham Origins also respected another iconic character in the Batman world; Bane. Many consider this version of Bane the best out of the books. One could even argue that this version is the best overall. Arkham Origins was able to capture everything that Bane is. A powerful brute. A terrifying intellect. And Batman’s equal. Bane was able to get the best of Batman in different ways. He did it through physical force. He did with intellect and mind games. Bane was even able to attack Batman emotionally by killing Alfred…momentarily. All this while Bane had to share time with seven other assassins and The Joker. Every moment that had Bane in it was powerful and a bit intimidating, regardless who he shared that scene with. He even had The Joker a bit frightened for a quick second. Not to mention that Bane has one of the best, underrated, and under appreciated boss fights in all of the Arkham games. In the last confrontation with Bane, players were forced to move through vents and crawl spaces because Bane was supersized due to a concentrated version of Venom called TN 1. Fighting him head on would result in immediate failure. If spotted, Bane will rush Batman. Players had to lure Bane to generators to weaken him in order to land in some hits. What made it even more tense was toward the end of the fight, Batman’s detective mode would go down. Which meant players could not use the x-ray function of Batman’s Detective Vision to spot Bane. Players had to rely on sound and instinct to avoid but to also lure Bane to those generators. No moment with Bane was a wasted moment. Everything about Bane in Batman: Arkham Origins was memorable due to the writing, the intensity and gameplay.
But where the game truly shines is the story. Arguably and boldly, Batman: Arkham Origins has the best story of all the Arkham games. At some point in the other games’ story, it seemed to get off course in some terms. In Arkham Asylum, fans called out the moment where The Joker became a gigantic brute. In Arkham City, the fact that Hugo Stange knew Bruce Wayne was Batman went nowhere. Plus, the ending when Protocol 10 was put in use, it seemed to be a quick way to end a great story. For many when it came to Arkham Knight the reveal of Jason Todd being the Arkham Knight was underwhelming. And the game took a generic villain plot by having them inflect as much emotional and psychological pain on the hero before killing them. Of course, this leaves the door open for the hero to come out on top. There came a point in each game where the story took an offbeat step that dropped the atmosphere a bit. With Arkham Origins, the tension, the stakes, the atmosphere, the conflict, the energy was persistent throughout the game. From the opening cutscene with the beautiful dramatic score to the final confrontation between The Joker and Batman in the church, nothing felt flat. The story felt different. It felt more like a comic book story. A story you might see in a mature Batman graphic novel. It feels as if this story debuted in a book and not a game, many movies will look at it for inspiration in the same likes as The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One, Batman: The Long Halloween. Shades of Arkham Origins’ story could be scene in Batman: Hush. Both saw Batman run though a gauntlet of villains. And speaking of villains…
This game had the best boss fights in all the Arkham games, maybe the best among superhero video games. With a huge selling point of the game being eight assassins being hired to kill Batman, the game had to deliver and it did. Deathstroke, Bane, Deadshot, Lady Shiva, Copperhead, Electrocutioner, Firefly and Killer Croc played big parts to why the game became the one with the best boss fights. Why? Because each fight was different gameplay. Bane and Killer Croc was the classic method of wait for your openings, hit, evade, repeat. Lady Shiva and Copperhead was another classic boss fight where players had to fight the main boss while fighting henchmen or minions. It was a battle of projectiles, hiding and waiting when it came to Firefly. Deadshot relied on the franchise’s iconic Predator Modes to take him down. Electrocutioner was a quick and amusing fight. And Deathstroke was not only the best in the game but the best in the franchise. It shifted the camera by being closer to Batman’s shoulder, making the fight tighter. Which meant it was fight of close quarter combat where timing and another feature of the franchise, countering, came into play. Batman: Arkham Origins had no other choice to make these fights memorable. And since the follow up, Batman: Arkham Knight had underwhelming boss fights because of quantity or quality, Batman: Arkham Origins reigns as the one Batman game that has the best boss fights. No naysayer of this game can’t argue with that.
Batman: Arkham Origins has left a legacy. At launch many were dismissive of the game for precarious reasons. It being a filler game, different developers, poor graphics. Whatever the reasons, it was unwarranted. It seems that recently the page is starting to turn for Batman: Arkham Origins. Fans are taking notice of the quality of the game, in all matters of it. It’s a game that had and still has a lot going for it. What it really needs is a remaster. But Arkham Origins was a game that launched with mixed reception. A bit odd to think when it’s a game that delivers on many fronts of what any Batman story should have. Right now, it’s a game that’s a bit buried. Hopefully, things align just right for it to get a second life, because it has a lot of the components for a second chance.
