Opinion: The Next Batman Game Can’t Just Be Another Arkham Game

For Batman to survive as a game franchise, it must move away from the Arkham formula

There is another Batman game in development right now. It hasn’t been officially confirmed, but the Arkham series of games (Asylum, City, Origins, Knight) has been so tremendously successful that even with primary developer Rocksteady moving on to other things, it would seem insane that Warner Bros. would just let the franchise rest from any kind of business perspective.

But hopefully that doesn’t mean that rumored current developer WB Montreal, who worked an Arkham Origins, the least well-recived entry in the franchise, can just do yet another Arkham game with another bloated open world. We have now had 4 entries in this series in less than 8 years. And while the worlds have gotten larger and elaborate with each entry, the core gameplay hasn’t actually drastically changed from the first game, Arkham Asylum.

And for the series to date, that was probably a wise move. The combat system as introduced in the first game redefined how fighting in 3D action titles worked. Most games in this genre copy this formula now to varying degrees because it works so well and can be immensely satisfying. But because of that, we’ve certainly see way too much of this formula in the following years.

Traversal is also a key aspect of the Batman Arkham series. Getting around the city by using various tools and gliding is incredibly cool, but hasn’t really evolved since the second entry, Arkham City. Rocksteady tried to add some more variety by making the Batmobile a major focus of their last entry, Arkham Knight, but I think most people would say that was the worst part of that game.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

I mean, look at the above picture. At a glance, could you tell me which Arkham game it is from? I bet the majority would say no. The best solution might be to just let the franchise rest a few years and then release a game with the same formula in say 2019 or 2020. I really enjoyed the most recent Ratchet and Clank game even though the formula was largely unchanged from previous titles because it had been a good 3 or 4 years since the last game.

But that is not what Warner Bros. is reportedly doing. What we maybe know at this point is that WB Montreal is at least looking to drastically change up the setting of the next Batman game. It would take place a decade in the future from the last one and Bruce’s biological son, Damian Wayne, would be the one under the cape and cowl.

Is that enough though? A different protagonist and a slightly futuristic setting? I seriously doubt it if the gameplay is still the same thing we’ve experienced in the last several titles. And that could be the death knell for a franchise that is in need of something fresh to keep going, which this new Batman game is supposed to sort of serve as both a sequel and a soft reboot.

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I’m not saying I have some magic solution as to what would need to be done in order to not make the next Batman game just feel like the last several. Maybe an actual detective element, which the Arkham games have never really done well, could be useful. An all-new fighting system could certainly help but if it’s not better than the previous one, what’s the point? What I do know is that WB Montreal releases what at best is a middling entry in the series, that could easily be the end of Batman games for awhile besides the Telltale series, which I am not a big fan of. We’ll just have to see whatever they have in store for the Dark Knight when they finally unveil their game, most likely at the next E3.