Arkham Knight Critique - Legacy of the Bat

one two what is going on inside your head wave you can change all of what we believe makes a man with chemicals if something happens to you if you get older bored or die then what do you not consider the world that revolves around you you'll die here and your Legend dies with you Batman Arkham Knight is about Legacy how it's created how it can haunt us how it's destroyed how it can be reborn how it can hurt how it inspires and how it consumes how the legacy of a small UK development team can transform them from c-listers to Titans in just two games and how the weight of that Legacy could be a burden when trying to create their magnum opus from The Game's first words telling us we're going to play the death of the Batman to its closing seconds where it shuts the book on feeling like Batman Legacy beams into Gotham sky so clearly you can almost touch it even the title Arkham Knight is a signifier that Legacy is the focus it might be the name of the titular villain a ghost crawling out of Batman's Legend but it's also a statement of ownership by Rocksteady this Batman this universe these stories this ending they belong to Rocksteady they made their Batman feel so particular that for a lot of people myself included Arkham's Dark Knight isn't just a Batman but the Batman that feeling started way back in Arkham Asylum but Arkham Knight feels like the moment when Rock said he finally felt confident enough to acknowledge that their contribution to Batman's Legacy has been Monumental because let's not beat about the bush here the series is Monumental despite the wreck calling by contrarians unlike any Monumental moment in a superhero's career it's been stretched by fans and critics into something very different than what it originally was I haven't seen a Batman story that generated this much discourse or grew this many arms and legs since Jason Todd was killed in 1988's death in the family with a development cycle that took twice as long as Arkham City Rock City went back to the drawing board they used the time WB Montreal bought for them with Arkham Origins they ripped out every system re-examined every set piece redesigned the combat the stealth the gadgets to give them a new lease of life in an open world that is proudly designed to be played not just wander through the feeling of playing Arkham Knight is very different from the feeling of playing Asylum City or Origins and that's not just because of the Batmobile but with that shift in feeling comes a shift in Praise any compliments about the game always seem to carry a caveat it's one of the most beautiful open worlds ever made but it ran like [ __ ] on PC at launch the combat has iterated so much that a skilled player can make Batman dance around an arena but there aren't any decent boss fights there are a million things to do in Gotham the city has never been so busy but the Batmobile is in the game too much the story serves as an emotional send-off to Arkham's bat but anyone with a passing knowledge of comics will see the twist coming a mile away eight years later that is Arkham Knight's Legacy a predictable twist and an over-reliance on the Batmobile but the game is so much more than just those two things obvious from a mile away Arkham Knight no really listen the game is so much what fans didn't ask for was that the majority of the game take place in a vehicle that is essentially an 18 ton shut up the game's so much more than just those two things you've heard the criticisms a million times I've heard the criticisms a million times and they are worth criticizing but reducing Arkham Knight's Legacy to a Twist and a car is unfair to it for the past eight months I've drowned myself in Batman critiquing Arkham Asylum Arkham City Arkham Origins and the accompanying DLC links are below beneath the like button together we alluded how Arkham found its bat broke him explored his Vengeance and now with one final critique let's look at his Legend and the legacy of the game that said goodbye to him a bunch of you were disappointed that I didn't look at any specific comics in the city and Origins videos like I did with a series House on serious Earth and Arkham Asylum so considering this is the final video I'll make in the Arkham games I want to tell you the story of death in the family not just because it was clearly in his inspiration for Arkham Knight but also because just like this game a collective memory of it has become so reductive the story of Jason Todd's death is so much more than remember that time Joker hit a child with a crowbar just like how Arkham Knight is so much more than predictable twist and too much Batmobile there's a good chance if you're watching this you know all about Jason Todd's fate because it's entrenched in the legend of the Batman Snyder's bat referenced it Jeff John's retconned it completely in the story three Jokers one of the most famous back Tales of all time The Dark Knight Returns talks about it a game that released just last year Gotham Knights clumsily hinted to it but I also think there's a good chance you don't know the full story outside of Jason's murder and it gets wild the story surrounding Jason's death has become so muddied that the 1989 documentary holy bat Mania claimed it was Dick Grayson not Jason Todd who was murdered by The Joker holy due diligence Batman so considering how death in the family's Legend has been reshaped him mangled the same way Arkham Knight's Legend has been it might be pretty cool to walk down that Alleyway together while looking at the game so take a puff of that fear Toxin and hook up your utility belt one last time this is a commentary and critique of Batman Arkham Knight and its DLC [Music] calendar man once said that life is just death's opening act as the game opens with the incineration of the Joker it's hard not to wonder what the clown Prince of Crime would think of that we are given proof categorical proof that the Joker Is Dead curtains closed exit stage right we even push the damn button ourselves all here to set up a Twist of his later return and to establish what this Batman's Legacy is bats might not have killed the Joker at the end of Arkham City but he did fail to save him there's a weight that that entails the death of the monster he created is just one in a long line of tragedies for Bruce but it's the one that stings the most when the game opens because it's so recent hey I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner officer Owens there's a guy smoking over there in the corner Booth Knight's opening is weighted lengthy with shifting perspectives to set up the finality of what we're about to play by the time the credits roll will have played as Batman a crematorium worker Jim Gordon Catwoman Nightwing Robin asriel Thomas Elliott and Joker but here in this opening where gcpd officer Scott Owens fated to experience scarecrow's new fear talks in first hand in Polly's Diner Rocksteady are framing their game as a Batman epic with tendrils stretching out past the Dark Knight and touching every corner of Gotham it's not just a deeply personal game about Bruce it's a vast game about the city itself and the darkest night it's ever seen of course there's another reason we're playing as Owens the first person view lets us see how God damn sexy all of this looks even eight years on is one of the prettiest games out there rain splashes off of Batman's cape Gotham City is cloaked in Anarchy and darkness but is also densely lit the facial animations border on The Uncanny Valley but thankfully avoid it through Dent of being a hyper fantasy comic book game nothing feels like a placeholder Everything feels meticulously placed for us to drink in we glimpse a missing poster for Henry Adams a character who will later become important and newspaper headlines telling us Bruce Wayne has pledged 300 million dollars to the Arkham City Redevelopment fund this is a project the less Arkham's Bruce put his money where his mouth is he's investing in Gotham he believes in it he's using his wealth and power not just his fists to pull it back from the brink after the last game the Arkham City fund signals to us that Bruce is already thinking about a Gotham without Batman as he's known today but whether or not the city is ready for that is another story bats cape has wrapped itself snugly around it for over a decade now he no longer operates in the shadows he's basically a celebrity Gotham's protector he was a leading news story before scarecrow's Attack cartoons of him quote electronic Billboards the city is using him for merchandising opportunities for God's sake evidenced by the fact a couple of the people in this Diner are dressing up as him for Halloween those of you who watched my Arkham Origins critique will recognize the name Travis Langley particularly his book Batman and psychology a dark and stormy night in it he talks about Batman's wider impact on Gotham and especially his impact on its villains quote Batman's daunting presence might be a deterrent for criminals who are scared of him but the kinds of cognitive weaknesses he exploits when he decides to prey on a criminal superstitions are not present in many of his costume fools they create new superstitions and expectations when they commit crime because they're used to Batman many of them expect to be caught some of them even count on it and a lot of them commit crime in response to Batman's presence bats might strike fear into the hearts of your low-level criminals even when Gotham shops are selling Halloween masks of his face but after 10 years how many of his villains fear Him enough to deter them from crime the Takeover of Arkham Island by The Joker the creation of Arkham City they were both a response to the Batman Joker wanted his attention and strange wanted to prove he was better than him Riddler's death traps are all for the sake of him Two-Face was created because the mob couldn't get their true Target the bat today it's still to say that Batman creates his villains because it's so true especially in the Arkham verse Batman's Evolution from urban legend to Gotham protector has evolved your typical mob bosses like Oswald cobblepot or Roman Sionis into the Penguin and black mask tonight scarecrow's plot has been set up for Batman while Bruce Wayne's identity might still be secret Batman the Caped Crusader is a part of Gotham by the time Arkham Knight kicks off air support saw turn into some kind of tank nice because Gotham has embraced Batman the hero it's given him a face a name recognizable characteristics he's not Vengeance or the Knight anymore he's Batman he's not hiding in the shadows he's become the face of Gotham and while that might have inspired everyday gothamites to push back against Crime and Corruption it's inspired Gotham's criminals too for every victim Batman saves there's a corpse at his feet because he's become so well known and soon one of those corpses will be up and about in a suit of armor is this Legend really what Gotham needs or have things escalated Beyond it with scarecrow's first attack we get our answer he gasses the diner Owens the waitress everyone and it falls into chaos he declares to Gotham that he'll detonate a chemical weapon before the Knight is over and the city tears itself apart to evacuate all of this is because of Batman Scarecrow wouldn't have concocted such a detailed plan if he didn't have a grudge to settle with us this isn't just a winter storm like in Origins this is something worse something deadlier a population of 6.3 million drops to a few thousand in hours the pre-show is over it's time to feel like Batman you still know how to make an entrance how's the evacuation going last bus crossed the city limits an hour ago I'm just glad my little girl got out when she did now the real work begins there's something classical about how Batman's story opens Commissioner Gordon and bats meeting on a rooftop in the Rain the bat signal shoots into the sky behind them a great threat Broods out in the city Jim is stressed just as always but Comforts himself with the knowledge that his daughter Barbara has evacuated nobody knows where scarecrow is hiding out but Jim thinks he's got a lead it's verging on the nostalgic and all this could be kitschy if the stakes weren't so high there's a surprising switch up in voice actors in night Kevin Conroy is still Batman Mark Hamill is still Joker greater Lyle steals Hearts as Catwoman and Tara Strong whips up a frenzy as Harley Quinn but some key figures are different now Oracle is played by Ashley Greene Matthew Mercer replaces Troy Baker As Tim Drake but the really notable changes are in scarecrow and Jim Gordon John Noble who played denethor in Return of the King replaces Dino andradi from Arkham Asylum an experience he described is quote a great honor because I get to work on my monster voice Jonathan Banks best known for playing Mike Herman trout in Breaking Bad is now Jim Gordon the doughy tones of Tom Kane's version have been left behind I've gone on the record that I usually hate stunt casting with this being the final piece of the Arkham Legacy Rock said he clearly wanted his main characters to bring a certain authoritativeness to their performances so they brought in two award-winning actors but Noble scarecrow rumbles with monstrous intelligence and Venom he's calculated a multi-stage plan not to kill Batman but to devour his Legend because we let him get eaten by Croc a couple of years earlier I regret nothing I love Asylum scarecrow because of his wispy rawness and how Rock City modulated his voice to sound otherworldly but I don't think it would have suited what Knight is going for scarecrow is just a man the same way Batman is and his entire goal tonight is to prove that to the world the Ethereal scarecrow of Asylum just wouldn't have fit with this story it's the same tale with banks as Gordon he's exhausted he's had too many nights like these and is tired of feeling powerless running around trying to put out fires according to the Arkham Knight comic which covers the events leading to tonight he's even preparing to run for mayor after Babs and Bruce talked him into it he doesn't look ruffled like an asylum or city now he looks schlubby a man who's got a nine hours of sleep in the nine months has passed since the Joker died his ties tucked into his belt a small pot belly shows he's got his own personal journey tonight in the tired mechanical groaning the banks gives him couldn't be more in keeping with how Rocksteady has evolved his character but even with these little changes our opening follows all of the classic Batman beats with a Vengeance she lying I'll break the other one the other one huh this seems familiar where have I seen this before a little more pressure and I'll Crush her larynx what's it going to be he's in his office oh Cat's fun isn't it I'm not going to say any of this is purposeful but seeing as we're overthinking everything let me just say how cool it is that our first interrogation has a parallel in Arkham Origins there it was the first sign that Bruce was learning on the job he wasn't being blind and rageful he was being particular in his threat the same happens here and it's so similar it's hard not to think that someone at Rocksteady wanted us to interrogate who Batman is by now he's grown colder and angrier since Joker died this grunt tells him what he needs to know scarecrow is in Chinatown he says and Batman breaks his arm anyway we learned that Lucius Alfred Tim Jim and Barbara noticed a change in Bruce he's been behaving like a man running out of time over the past few months the reason why is a mystery tourist for now and he is still clearly a hero his First Act is to literally save someone after all which means every single Arkham game opens with a rescue but there's already a sense of unease bubbling under each line of dialogue the sunnies is carried into his interaction with poison ivy it turns out the Scarecrow isn't in Chinatown it was just a ruse he's captured Irene as planning to use his fear toxin on her displaying an unprecedented level of Showmanship just so he can formally say hello bats threatens to burn every planting Gotham if Ivy doesn't tell him what she knows a real elevation in his threat to her in Arkham Asylum there he was dismissive of Ivy but tonight his ruthlessness is on Full display even with that threat Ivy doesn't take him seriously oh sure she tells him her story how scarecrow gathered his biggest villains together and laid out his plan but she's distinctly unthreatened by him just like Travis Langley said Batman's daunting presence doesn't deter his villains anymore but it's not all bad Batman's Legacy isn't limited to tragedy it's inspirational as well Rock said he have always known that and woven it into their presentation but in Arkham Knight it's solidified through the gcpd well look who it is Ivy that's one less thing to worry about the gcpd lockup is a hub a war room a trophy room a stronghold a respite from the violence outside by the time we reach here the players had it knocked into their head over and over that Gotham has been turned into a war zone and the cops are preparing for war in here the environmental storytelling does all of the talking with splashes of the past 10 years all over the walls but scarecrow's attack has shaken its foundation a quick and dirty infirmary has been put together the officers are armed with assault rifles we overhear a lieutenant briefing his men for the long night ahead with one clear priority stay safe stay alive it's the only things they can control if Batman fails this is the last line of defense and I love every inch of it morale is low in the gcpd but when we arrive to drop off poison ivy we see the spirits of the cops lift a bit they feel comforted by being here some of them will wish us luck some of them will even complement our new look other like our old hook-handed friend Aaron cash will even try to banter with us but he Chuckles all around for you cash you've earned it pal the lockup will change as the game goes on filling with looters scarecrows militia Penguins Thugs and more it's a really clever way to let us feel order and balance restore across the city without literally ridding the streets of bad guys to punch because bunching bad guys is fun and if they're all gone Gotham would get empty real fast a containment unit in the main lobby holds our major villains and every time we come to visit we can hear them bickering or grumbling it's a weird comparison but I think it feels like a coloring book here at the start of the game the gcpd is like the outline of a drawing just cops and a couple of Medics cluelessly clinging to their Weaponry but with every mission complete every villain arrested every hostage rescued we color it in with the game's many colorful characters we can track our progress diegetically and it is satisfying to fill these cells not just because number go up but because of the ever-present contextual dialogue from the criminals the gun we interrogated earlier Will Mock bats through the bars and we can break his other arm an entirely optional interaction we could smash some glass to grab a Riddler trophy and one of the cops will just shrug his shoulders and say hey man I didn't hear anything you do you there's a riddler informant hanging out in here later who he can smash up against the bars and lock away Jack Ryder isn't here deepening his investigation into the mysterious cult leader Deacon blackfyre we see officer Owens starting to come off his fear Toxin and contrace his recovery slowly as the night goes on Arkham Asylum gave us the feeling of a knight progressing through color shifts and Poison Ivy's plants Arkham City had small changes take place like a bridge blowing up or a chopper being downed Arkham Knight doesn't just regulate his changes to the gcpd but it's definitely where the most detail is by the end of the game this is a bustling hot spot a reminder of our hard work proof that Batman saved people tonight and it hasn't all been for nothing the gcpd is a living diorama of his legacy and I haven't even talked about his best bit yet I'm sorry the narrative's hyper focus on Batman's Legend gives a room full of Easter eggs a firmer thematic presence it's a trophy room in a trip down memory lane for any fans who stuck with a series from the very beginning it even solidifies Arkham Origins place in the Canon referencing the electrocutioner and Anarchy as a neat nod to WB Montreal's contribution to the lore this room too will shift and evolve as Gotham City does new items will appear here but it's the stuff from the past that will stand out most the events of Arkham City still weigh heavily on Batman when he sees talia's sword he even takes a moment to mourn her to apologize for failing her and letting her die cash will sardonically fill us in on the events of the past carving out the Arkham versus lore for idiots like me to slaver over is it just a Nostalgia box full of member berries Batman this is a shrine to the Arkham games to Batman's journey and it feels like a fond Farewell by the designers to the universe that they established and what a journey has been for both us and the bat because this room is situated as a reminder of the older Arkham games it also acts as a reminder of the parts of those games that were missing classic Batman elements like rock city had a checklist of stuff they wanted to do before waving goodbye to Gotham the creative director Sefton Hill basically said as much in an interview with unleashed the enemy when asked about any new inclusions he said quote we never hold ideas back because you never know what's around the corner so I guess you could describe that as a kitchen sink approach but I'd prefer to say it's more of a live-ever game as if it's your last approach mainly because that sounds more poetic there is no drivable Batmobile but now there is an open world Gotham created by Rock said he didn't exist now it does the genius Lucius Fox wasn't even referenced but now he's a key member of the team Oracle was in Batman's ear but we never got to see her in action and as we wrap up our walkthrough of the opening that in particular is about to change Bruce I spoke to Dad I hate lying to him he'd kill me if he knew I was still in the city he still blames himself for this we'll stop scarecrow Barbara is more pivotal in Arkham Knight she sits as a reminder of Batman's failure to protect her all of those years ago even when The Joker Is Dead He's haunting the game's script she lied to her father she didn't evacuate instead she's headquartered at The Belfry her base of operations we don't learn how Batman feels about her staying behind but their time together has an unspoken understanding that how bats feels doesn't matter she would have stayed in the city whether he wanted her to or not believing herself to be safe in her high-tech Clock Tower of course the Belfry isn't the only advanced technology that the game gives us so let's rip off the Band-Aid early and talk about Arkham Knight's most polarizing addition foreign death in the family begins with the worse the Gotham has to offer Batman and the second Robin Jason Todd burst into a warehouse by the harbor the criminals inside are trafficking legal pornography the kind that would make even the Joker wince Batman prepares for a quick and clinical takedown but Jason leaps him without thinking putting both of their lives in danger the traffickers are smashed into concrete quickly but as the dynamic duo catch their breath Batman whirls on Jason what the hell was that didn't I tell you to wait Batman barks yeah I heard you Jason Sparks but we had the goods on those little lives there were only eight of them there are procedures even we have to follow Batman growls he's Furious he promised to let Jim Gordon in on this bust and worst of all Jason nearly got himself killed what do you think we're doing here playing some game of course Jason looks around the room all of life's a game that evening in Wayne Manor Bruce gives a long heavy sigh Alfred pour some tea and looks at him with the grave concern that's weathered his face for years I think I've made a terrible mistake Alfred Bruce says Jason's losing it he dived into those thugs like someone looking to die I may have started him as Robin before he had a chance to come to grips with his parents deaths being your partner is not exactly the best situation for a teenager adjusting to loss Alfred admits I've got to rectify the situation Bruce mutters effective immediately Jason is going off active duty and I don't have a thing to say about it huh Jason's voice Echoes from the doorway Bruce stands up a person's got to have his head screwed on right for this line of work you're hurting kid you've got a lot of pain and anger in you let's work through it together we can start by talking about your parents you want to talk Jason's Fist clenches and shakes talk to Alfred the next day Batman visits Arkham Asylum a city-wide Manhunt has begun to find the Joker using chemicals from the janitor's storage room he whipped up his lethal laughing gas and used it to escape I've put an APB out and alerted the Justice League and Titans Gordon grumbles good Batman says his face darkens the memory of Joker's vicious attack on Barbara Gordon Echoes among the dead everyone's going to want a piece of him after what he did to Barbara but I hope I come across him first The Joker rattles a set of keys and enters a gloomy Warehouse he's frustrated the authorities have seized all of his assets after his latest stay at Arkham Asylum but they didn't get everything there's a toy he's been holding on to for a rainy day his very own cruise missile he planned to fire it on City Hall someday but plans have changed crime hasn't been all that good to me of late he cackles I'll sell this missile to the Middle East and then I think it's time to get into a new line of work some Endeavor where my special talents will be properly appreciated something like International politics foreign Rocksteady know just how cool the Batmobile is its introduction is gratuitous in all of the best ways from the zoom ins when we first get inside it to the fact or trigger to summon it is labeled even the odds with some rye wit like an 80s action punchline the game is confident in its presentation of the mean obscene driving machine from the get-go but when the credits roll in Arkham Knight especially if you go for the true ending that confidence could be mistaken for brashness because yes the Batmobile is used too much it's not just a means of transportation like say the bat cycle and Gotham Knights it's been designed intrinsically to feel like an extension of the bat it can be used as a combat takedown that guy's dead by the way you can summon it in at a moment's notice so it's always on hand when you need it bringing it into range as you leap off a building and Landing straight into the cockpit simulates how calculating Batman can be with one tap of the trigger button it can swap between driving mode and tank mode for increased control but there's a risk reward during chases and time trials because you'll lose a hell of a lot of beat the afterburner a kind of nitro boost fills up with every powerslide and using the tail end of the car to careen through the insane amount of destructible assets doesn't just make Batman feel like the brutal force of nature his fear determination and grit have transformed him into but it also makes us feel bloody cool and that was always the priority for the Arkham games canonically this is a new vehicle for him we saw the original car in Arkham Asylum the criminals lament that it's still not around and the prequel Comics Trace Bruce's determination to upgrade it into a war machine the environment crumbles underneath it trees lamps cars it doesn't matter what it is it will melt away in the wake of the Beast attaching the winch to various parts of the environment like upturned roofs and slowly pulling back to bend metal like rubber is a sort of power fantasy dreams are made of it uses non-lethal rounds in the panels and tires shock goons backwards a silly hand-wavy way to keep up the illusion that Batman doesn't kill but honestly it's the same suspension of disbelief necessary for drowning Bane punching penguin through the floor blowing up killer croc or stomping 95 kilograms of muscle in a henchman's head it all looks fantastic and feels fantastic and sounds fantastic with a monstrous Roar that Heralds Batman's arrival on his own criminals like the penguin might see him as just a man but inside the machine he's something greater Vengeance and an iron skin but the Batmobile is used Too Much ace chemicals shows this off best we learned that scarecrow is producing his new and improved fear toxin at the factory which comes as a real shock to the world's greatest detective and one of the game's more conceited reveals there are a lot of elements that Arkham Knight needs to tutorialize before the plot can truly begin so we're playing for about an hour before we finally get to go after scarecrow and so that the narrative has an excuse to distract us it dumbs Batman down forcing him to go on a wild goose chase around Gotham while we get to play with all of our new toys like the Batmobile true to form we see that bats is keeping Robin at arm's length not letting him out into the field to help he's busy at the panessa movie studios working on something more important mysterious this means that Batman is going into ace chemicals without backup we have to rely on our wits and the Batmobile but even there no match for our new villain the bloodthirsty Arkham Knight die young man if he has nothing left to fear him away from ace chemicals or Legend the Knight wants to kill us but we hear Scarecrow on the comms stopping him both villains are united in their Mutual thirst for vengeance against Batman but who exactly the Arkham Knight is is a mystery for now as he looms down on us in his Chopper the bat brazenly stepped forward without the protection of the Batmobile and stares him down like he's got a Death Wish we'll see the sort of erratic Behavior crop up a few times as the story progresses in fact Bruce is ready and willing to sacrifice himself at four key moments he's scared of what he might become and he's trying to find a way to stop it by any means necessary but let's get back to his chemicals it's a Batmobile dungeon here to truly showcase the potential of this new ambitious addition to Batman's Arsenal there's a bit of free flow a bit of stealth but 76 of this dungeon revolves around the Batmobile that's not a number I just pulled out of my ass by the way I calculated that by breaking down each beat of this dungeon and so there isn't any room for doubt here's the order of events that happen in Ace a quick stealth Arena combat driving the Batmobile more combat Batmobile combat Batman combat driving the Batmobile operating a crane for the Batmobile putting the Batmobile upper ramp operating a crane for the Batmobile again putting the Batmobile up a second rank Batmobile combat Batman combat a Batmobile puzzle a gadget puzzle another Batmobile puzzle and another Batmobile puzzle combat yet another Batmobile puzzle a Batmobile boss fight Batmobile cream puzzle Batmobile combat stealth driving the Batmobile combat Batmobile stealth drink every time I said Batmobile ace chemicals isn't the only time a dungeon will be structured around the car the level design of these dungeons like the Arkham Knight's headquarters later puts blockades in place that require you to go out of your way to let the thing pass through in fact there's a lot of missions where we're in a tunnel need to get out of the car unlock a fuse box and get back in the car really feeling like Batman here generally those moments will flow much better mainly because the blockades are often long tunnels that let us feel speedy and flashy driving up walls but ace chemicals is much more plodding in its structure and as the final blowout before the game truly kicks things up a gear it's more a wet fart than a loud bang and that stutter in the pacing will return more often than we like before the credits roll because the Batmobile is used too much but here's the thing the Batmobile is extremely impressive it might be used too much but I wonder if someone who played Arkham Knight before any of the other games would say that in fact when I ran a pole to find out only four percent of you said Arkham Knight was your first game and the Batmobile pissed you off the distinct contrast between an Arkham Fan's expectations versus the reality of a new game might be to blame here what did we expect from an Arkham game in 2015 well Rocksteady thought they knew in an interview with God as a geek gazdeves the social marketing manager said quote when we started to create the Epic conclusion to our Arkham Trilogy we really wanted to go out with a bang and make sure there was a really cool Innovative very New Strand to the gameplay people kept asking for it and we wanted to do it the kind of obvious thing for us to do was ask what does the Batmobile look like in the Arkham Universe when I think Arkham I think Predator mode I think charismatic villains I think free flow combat and yes I think Riddler trophies after four critiques was damn things haunt my dreams but Arkham Knight changes that perception the Batman and the Batmobile do feel like a unified force in this game the entire experience is built around that Synergy right down to the mission structure and some of the Collectibles Rocksteady could have given us Arkham City but bigger I think a lot of people would have enjoyed that a lot but for one final power bang crack into bow they wanted to create something unique something different so what does the Batmobile look like in the Arkham universe here I'll send someone to pick you up what are you doing evening the odds let's talk combat first battle mode or tank mode forms a slower paced 3D bullet hell dodging and Blasting are two primary forms of interaction in fact with the exception of a couple of power-ups there are only primary means of interaction what else would you expect from tank combat but the oversaturation of this gameplay does transform the experience from marveling at the Glorious explosions to sighing the more and more it creeps into the game this is mainly an issue with the structure of the side missions which we're saving until later but I don't think the problems stop there watch for the lines Dodge the bullets shoot the gun rinse and repeat there are options here for example you can use an electromagnetic pulse to momentarily disable other tanks nearby you can line up heat-seeking missiles to obliterate a few at once you can use a drone hack to bring other tanks onto your side and you can um oh that's it actually the blasting does feel fun there's been an obvious attempt to bring the Rhythm and Cadence of the sound design into how the tank sounds to keep up the tempo of fights the Chug of a Reload the boom of a gun going off but just because the fundamentals are fun it doesn't mean that's necessarily enough in a game of this size and scale the enemy variety needs to complement those little extra options a player is given and in Arkham Knight they don't the EMP the missiles and the Drone hack are great additions but the only answer one type of threat being overwhelmed there are six enemy types but only one of them the cobras force a different kind of strategy in Judd winix under the Red Hood there's a really cool moment where Jason Todd back from the dead explains how Batman's vehicles add to his stealthy nature the Bat Plane goes beyond stealth he says it absorbs and amplifies the natural sounds in the environment first off sick second I wish Rock City loot deeper into the comics to add some mechanical complexity to stealth maybe there is a time divisibility power up the Cobra fights stand out because they're deadly but all you need to do is sneak around them and shove a missile up their ass and outside of these fights the only way Arkham Knight UPS The Challenge and complexity of his battles is by making the number of drones go up which is a dull and tedious way that a game can change gear despite totally sucking at Arkham's combat I go back to it again and again because it's fun to try out Batman's many toys with its many types of bad guys I am forced to use the gadgets to stun the special moves to survive but in the Batmobile all I need to do is stay out of the lines and press the right trigger if the numbers are overwhelming then I'll push a button to use an EMP and then press the right trigger if anything those options remove a mechanical complexity because these are drones created by the Arkham Knight the enemy dialogue isn't nearly as entertaining either his men don't really Panic they don't quip like the regular henchmen speeding around Gotham do beating up thugs is fun because of how they verbally react to our presence but the militia are clinical focused on the job shouting orders and coordinates to each other when we're mashing them with our fists they'll be Cocky and Confident so there is vibrancy but they lack that vibrancy during the tank battles if even looks like he's planning to leave that room open fire oh and avoid the bat symbol let's say yeah it's a little trick that's where his arm is the strongest when you're not blowing drones to Kingdom Come speeding across the city and waging a one-man war on Gotham the Batmobile also acts as a new Gadget to Batman the power winch doesn't just let us tear up parts of the environment it also lets us deactivate bombs abseil down long drops climb up buildings and charge up generators not all of these moments are based around the Riddler some of them like the puzzles we see in ace chemicals are story based it's less about how effective each of these puzzles are individually and more about what they contribute to the hull it adds to the Synergy between Batman and the Batmobile Predator mode is the only gameplay element not affected by the batmobile's inclusion hand-to-hand combat is Explorations individual puzzles are gliding around the city is many of the side quests require it and because of that it means that the car doesn't feel bolted onto the game it feels like the entire game has been built around it whether you think the Batmobile is used too much or not that in itself is incredibly impressive it's like rocks that he looked at every aspect of the Arc of design and asked okay but where does the Batmobile fit into this I reworked those systems around the car rather than the other way around the city itself has been designed with the Batmobile in mind with numerous parts of buildings to blow apart ramps long stretches of road to give us room to blast out of the thing and transition into gliding like a rocket from space some militia checkpoints need us to break in stealthily and deactivate a blockade to hold Christine over here can come careening in to wipe out some drones lying in weight when it acts as a variable of the gameplay here to speed something up or make something look cooler it's one of the best parts of Arkham Knight in an interview with connected Digital World my favorite marketing man dark skin said quote with Arkham Knight we wanted it to be an explosive conclusion to the trilogy it's an opportunity for us to create the ultimate and complete Batman experience from the forensics and crime scene elements of Arkham Asylum to the grapple and glide elements of Arkham City Arkham 8 brings all of that full circle and completes it with the Batmobile that is exactly what the Batmobile does it completes the Batman experience it doesn't take away from it I'd be more annoyed by the damn thing if combat and stealth sucked because of it but they don't free flow Predator mode gliding and gadgets feel better than ever before the Riddler still has plenty of brain teasers they're not replaced with the race tracks they're in addition to them with the exception of the story's structure it feels padded in the backhand with tank battles nothing is spoiled by the presence of the Batmobile well except for one part and the base game Arkham Knight gives us seven traditional boss fights I'm not counting stuff like Firefly or Two-Face because they're not bosses not really they don't have boss health bars they go down in one hit Etc out of those seven four of those are in the Batmobile the Arkham Knight's Chopper the cloudburst tank the Arkham Knight's drill and deathstrokes tank the Deathstroke fight hurts most of all his inclusion in Arkham Origins was one of the game's standout moments there he tested particular aspects of the combat system so Along Comes Arkham Knight where after waves of tank battles we're rewarded with another tank battle it's a pure show when the Riddler in a mech suit has a better boss fight than the world's deadliest assassin at the conclusion of your Trilogy Where the boss fights have evolved from crap looking at you Joker to some of the series best moments looking at you freeze it's a real let down the fire to rank all of the Arkham bosses in the entire series the bottom of that list would almost entirely be made up of Arkham Knight's big bads table I am in complete control reaching the inside of ace chemicals we witness the breadth of scarecrow's plan he lured us here threatening to set off a bomb that would coat Gotham in his gas but this was a trap his men have taken Barbara Gordon and this was just one big excuse for him to gas us with his new and improved toxin Batman quickly prepares a neutralizing agent to stop the bomb but he and Alfred both know that it won't work the best he can do is reduce the blast radius to ace chemicals he's prepared to sacrifice his sanity to protect Gotham I've talked about Tom King's Batman run before in these videos you might have guessed that I really really love it but the way it opens is really special and that it shows us how vulnerable Bruce is when the Story begins there he chooses to sacrifice himself as well steering a plane into the Gotham Bay to save a part of the city as he does he asks Alfred with mother and father be proud is this a good death Alfred sadly tells him that it is and together the two friends hold their breath preparing for Batman's end it would be a good death he would go down in a blaze of glory saving the people of Gotham in a spectacular fashion befitting the name of the Caped Crusader but this moment in ace chemicals this wouldn't be a good death if this did kill him this would be horrible this feels like scarecrow's cruelty at its peak he couldn't possibly do anything worse than this right Batman's mind will dissolve under the fear toxin he'll die mad and alone in ace chemicals but of course he doesn't die the fear toxin doesn't dissolve Batman's mind but it does fracture it leading to Arkham Knight's first big twist miss me Jason Todd absolutely walks Gotham streets just as Bruce expected he passes through Shanty towns Crime Alley and eventually ends up outside his old apartment the one he once shared with his now dead parents he thinks how his mother Catherine died of a terminal illness of how his father was a gangster who shot by Two-Face as Batman watches Jason from the rooftops he thinks once again how stupid it was to rush the boy into training so quickly Batman's not the only one watching Jason though his family's old neighbor Mrs Walker waves at the boy from a window your Jason Todd aren't you I've got something for you it's an old box photographs personal papers belonging to his parents Jason's face lights up he never thought he'd find a physical connection to his parents after their deaths he doesn't know why but he feels like this is what he's been waiting for as he rifles through the boxes back at way Manor he finds something strange all of his father's papers make sense each one is labeled correctly Willis Todd but his birth certificate has a smudge where his mother's name should be all he can make out is that it starts with an S but that can't be right Jason thinks his mother's name was Catherine right well wrong it takes Jason some time to let the realization Dawn on him but he eventually accepts the truth he never knew his real mother he decides to find her Batman taught him to be a detective he uses those skills using his father's address book he finds all of the women with names starting with the letter s there are three of them the back computer tells him that they're all in the Middle East and Africa what do I do Jason thinks take this to Bruce no his face twists bitterly he wouldn't care all he gets off on is catching Crooks this job's all mine I can't depend on anyone he steals some of Bruce's credit cards and gets a stab of guilt they have been kind to him especially Alfred but if he's going to find his real mother this is the only way Batman doesn't come home in time he's been following the Joker's Trail he tracks him to his Warehouse finds evidence of the cruise missile papers for a flight to Lebanon The Joker has a nuke when he does return to the bat cave Alfred is waiting for him a farewell note from Jason in his hand master Bruce he gasps Jason has run away the air fills with silence Batman doesn't know where Jason's gone but he wrongfully assumes he's still in Gotham does he stay in Gotham live up to his responsibilities as the boy's guardian or does he go after the madman with a nuclear weapon he knows what he needs to do but the choice hurts he wonders how he'll ever be able to live with the decision how the hell did you guys Hide Mark Hamill being in that game for so long it is one of the greatest Feats of the industry I think to keep that a secret until the game launched right it was just as strict as that like everyone on the team knew you cannot let this leak out because it's it's everything like it's the game it's the frame it's the trilogy the Batmobile was everywhere in the marketing material for Arkham Knight the gameplay trailers the teasers the interviews they all focused heavily on the Batmobile that wasn't just because it was the core attraction of Knight but it was also because Warner Brothers marketing team weren't allowed to talk about what would surely be Knight's biggest selling point if they advertised it the Joker returns to Arkham with a sickly chuckle and peeling handshake Batman got a concentrated blast of scarecrow's fear talks and so for the rest of the game he will hallucinate his old foe the clown Prince will be there every step of the way creeping out and in of shot when we want him least joking that we're the new dynamic duo not here to save Gotham but to raise it to the ground Batman's prepared for anything but he wasn't prepared for this Alfred asks if we're okay if we're feeling the side effects of the Toxin and Batman lies to him saying he's all better now he never tells Alfred the truth in fact he never ever tells anyone the truth he and the player are haunted by The Joker and it's something Bruce will keep to himself terrified of what that says about him and the Legacy he might leave behind but none of this was in the marketing so instead Warner Brothers had to double down on how technologically advanced bats would feel this time around so that's what we're going to look at here our focus is on finding Barbara the next hour forces the detective to come out of hiding making the most of his gear to find her and the Batman is more high-tech than ever did Activision's Basics remain the same we can still use it to feel empowered during stealth sections for example but it's also been stretched quoting a lot more of the game for example the Batmobile comes equipped with a forensic scanner that Hearts back to the classicism of Arkham Asylum we equip it and follow tracks through Gotham streets to a particular destination slowly rumbling around corners and through tunnels our search for Babs is an extensive piece of gameplay taking us to the gcpd The Belfry in the harbor while it's broken up with a bit of stealth and a punching this is really Arkham Knight's final deep breath the investigation before the storm with Joker's arrival acting as a demented spiritual guide we've been let off the leash so with that in mind let's look at all new All-Star technological Batman come on you're scaring me it's Barbara she's been taken no no I spoke to her she said she got out she left hours ago stay calm we'll get her back what feels like years ago in my Arkham Asylum critique I find a really interesting quote from the senior gameplay programmer Paul Denning he told us that during prototyping detective mode went through a whole host of iterations but in the end Rock said he decided to make it do one thing really well rather than bringing lots of detective stuff that was only surface level Arkham Knight adopts a kitchen sink approach breadth is the focus not depth feeling like the world's greatest detective is all about variety this time with the batcave's worth of unique scenarios that hardly ever repeat themselves using the Sonic batarang to identify hostages isolating mambat's DNA scanning azrael's Memories the deep tissue scanner monitoring Roots underground deactivating bombs aligning satellite dishes analyzing CCTV footage recreating crime scenes it's all here to Showcase Batman's technical Acumen at this point in his career and keep things fresh the deep tissue scanner used in Professor Pig's side quest doesn't add complexity we're still hunting for the thing but at least there's an extra layer to our hunt we physically need to search a body for scars and injuries the CCTV Recreations forces to witness a sequence of events play out and detect what happened tracking someone or abusing a mirror to piece together fingerprints to a keypad we even get to reconstruct a crime scene a personal highlight from Arkham Origins bats learns that Oracle was taken in the Arkham Knight's transport so we need to use the CCTV the forensic scanner and the Reconstruction Tech to track it down investigation might not have mechanical challenge that gets deeper the further into the story we go but what it does do is lay out a sequence of events that can actually be identified as detective work rather than vignettes like in past games while The Belfry is more Barber's domain than Batman's the Slick transition from Clock Tower to Super Fortress is a really cool I mean look at this and B an obvious indicator that Knights Batman is high tech as if since Joker's passing he's doubled down on the gadgetry on the planning desperately pooling his resources so he can be better prepared to something like Arkham City happens again his suit his armor plated Now new upgrades fall from the sky like gifts from the gods parts of the city have been mechanized with secret garages for the Batmobile and a gadget POD at Wayne headquarters focusing on The Belfry I don't believe Arkham's version always looked like this I get the feeling that after the Joker died bats gave Babs an upgrade it's in here that Batman's guilt starts to bubble and overflow but he's not alone he and Jim Gordon come here to look for Barbara Jim beats himself up thinking that scarecrow must have taken Babs to get to him the same way Joker did years ago when he shot and paralyzed her like an almer's famous story The Killing Joke oh don't pass out just yet come on show a little spine in that story Joker's attack was purely an attempt to twist and corrupt Jim Gordon he wanted to give him one bad day to show that anyone could go a little mad Batman's involvement was secondary Joker wasn't a character who cares who batses under the Kell that might have been his motivation once but those days are long gone in that story Barbara is shot in the stomach and stripped naked lying helplessly while Joker takes pictures of her to torture gym with it's arguably the worst thing he's ever done prior to Arkham Knight it was inferred that this happened but it's in this game under a cloud of fear toxin that we see rocksteady's interpretation of it this is key for a couple of reasons the first is that we need to see how messed up Joker was before the events of Arkham Asylum in all of the Arkham games even in Origins he Sinister and evil but he's also camp and at times legitimately entertaining some of his jokes are honestly funny the feather gets me every time so Rocksteady need to be explicit yes Joker is in this game yes he's as charismatic as ever yes at times he even roots for us but we should be afraid of him just look at what he did in his prime even better the game simulates that fear it's not predetermined how long we'll be in this room alone with a terrified traumatized Barbara Gordon in fact the game tracks how many buttons we press as we desperately tried to find a way out we literally need to show the game we're confused and concerned about how to leave here before the vision peels away as always rocksetti's Batman doesn't verbally acknowledge the pain he's in but the player's actions do all the Talking for him Jim Gordon is vocal enough for the two of them though and in a really somber moment for the series Batman opens up to him he reveals Barbara's secret her Alter Ego is Oracle [Music] she works for you this is all your fault I will find her [Music] she's my family my daughter she's all I've got I never should have trusted you never God damn this is Bleak but not as Bleak as the upgrades in the UI well okay fine bleak's a little strong it makes me sound like that guy from The Daily wire had a good long cry when Jonathan Kent came out as gay but I hammered on the presentation changes in Arkham Origins and I'd be a hypocrite if I held back with Arkham Knight see this scene from Arkham Asylum see how it transforms the main menu into a drawing making you think of the comic books that Batman was born from what about this screen in Arkham City look how gorgeous the sketched view is well say goodbye to all that this is next gen Batman baby you're here to bask in the futurism and a gadgetry the screen no longer carves itself into a comic book page it transforms into a blurred photograph to remind you how sexy and Hyper realistic all this looks next gen is here the front of your controller lights up different colors now I know it's hardly something to get annoyed about after all this cold clinical digitized look does remind us that we're playing as a Batman at the peak and end of his career he's prepared for anything thematically it fits but that doesn't mean I have to like it or the damn grading numbers [ __ ] that flashes up on the left hand side of screen after a fight overall the screen isn't as busy or obnoxious as Origins was that game wouldn't shut its Yap sometimes it was so overflowing with icons that it looked like a Jackson Pollock painting but is still here and we still can't turn it off thankfully Rock said he haven't brought over the god-awful Dark Knight system that Origins used to lock off certain upgrades behind particular sets of challenges but our upgrades are still locked into a tree-like system some upgrades will cost numerous skill points capping at eight others will just cost a couple and they're broken down into different sects like the Batmobile the bat suit combat Etc it's a personal thing I know some of you might love a tech tree system it gives you a gradual progression after all but I'm a much bigger fan of cherry picking because of the tree metaphor example if I want to unlock the disarm and destroyability that's pretty pivotal for trickier fights I need to buy critical strikes the multi-ground takedown and then disarm and Destroy totaling at 11 skill points total just because I wanted that one upgrade you can earn skill points through fighting if you achieve a decent free full combo or for finding Riddler trophies but the experience you get is much less now to avoid grinding so instead you need to rely on mastering challenge Maps the main story or your side missions each stage of a side mission like saving a firefighter Awards One skill point and there aren't enough side missions or main story missions in the game to give you enough skill points for all of the upgrades I did two playthroughs for this video and at the end of my first despite doing absolutely everything I didn't have enough skill points to build a better hero meaning my Batman retired without reaching his Peak the economy is kind of broken lucious Oracle left me the Scrambler device at the scene of the crash decrypt the data so I can pinpoint the Arkham Knight's location this kind of thing was more Miss Gordon especially our hunt for Barbara leads us to a Scrambler that she left behind for us to fight it might be able to tell us where she is but for that to happen we need to lean on our old pal Lucius Fox he needs some time to decrypt it he says so while he does let's look at the last element of our high-tech hero the gadgets there are 11 this time around on paper that's less than Arkham City but they become multifaceted so each one feels impactful and versatile for example the freeze grenade and freeze cluster have become one the disrupter incorporates the Mind Detonator now to just be one Gizmo with a bunch of new features the Sonic batarang has been tossed out the window replaced with the ever entertaining voice synthesizer the cryptographic sequencer has been split in half stamped on spat on and set a blades replaced instead with the remote hacking tool I'll talk about them a lot more when we turn to stealth but while we're looking at them purely as gadgets brah [ __ ] Vol Rocksteady seriously almost all of the gadgets in night simultaneously build a better hero and open up the world a measure we've used for assessing all of Arkham's gadgets across the series a lot of these are carryovers from Arkham City's improvements but if we just no I mean it just look at this no really hold your wish to just look I mean just look just look how cool this is no really we just look look at the remote hacking too look at it oh boy the world mechanics are still here but they've been reduced substantially now the cryptographic sequencer has a new name and a whole host of new abilities from making sentry guns go blind to Turning drones against bad guys it unlocks areas and Powers Batman up so he doesn't just need to be a stealthy assassin anymore he can empty your room without even entering it if he's smart the same goes for the synthesizer it can distract enemies and open up locked off areas combined these can transform a classic Predator Arena into some of watchdog's best moments it's not a comparison I ever thought I'd make but the way it builds Batman up is a technical Warrior a genius tactician and a terrifying presence is the stuff the phrase feel like Batman was made for but that but the mapping makes using gadgets feel more sluggish than in other games as mainly because a lot of the buttons have been remapped because of the inclusion of the Batmobile detectivision is no longer a bumper button it's now a directional button and because of that the gadgets can't be mapped to those directional buttons anymore instead they're in a wheel that forces the world to pause while we slowly scroll up to our next weapon meaning you're going to be jumping in and out of this radial dial a lot when working through levels or rigging stealth Arenas that's a controller specific issue for all of you PC players it won't be a problem but here's here's the issue with that at launch the PC Port was a bloody disaster it's a cash 22 for whoever the hell had to configure this I don't envy them at all anyway Lucius are you done scrambling that Scrambler all right buddy well I'm gonna go do some side missions and I'll give you some space [Music] within a day Batman makes it to Lebanon he tracks the military plane that joker hijacked learns he's meeting with someone called Peter Brando and sees that the missile is leaking if Joker's not careful he's going to end up with radiation poisoning Batman grimly thinks that he should be so lucky he's struggling to concentrate on the job his thoughts keep wandering back to Jason through tracing the use of credit cards Alfred tells him Jason has caught a flight to Israel that's only a short liked away from here if you can stop Joker fast enough Bruce might be able to intercept him he follows the trail to beiru and uses his unfamiliarity to interrogate some gun cells with fear and surprise they don't even know the Batman exists his shape terrifies them more than muggers in Gotham nowadays there's a man staying at the hotel blue offering to sell the object you seek his prey says his name is Brando Peter Brando meanwhile Jason has made it to Beirut himself he's here to track down the first woman on his list Charmin Rosen an agent for the Israeli Secret Service he stands outside the hotel blue and thinks about what he'll say when he meets his mother his feet won't let him move he's terrified what are you doing here Bruce Sparks grabbing Jason and pulling him into an Alleyway I'm looking for my mother he says he explains everything the box of photographs and papers the list of women two of them are here in Beirut the third is in Ethiopia but with you here to help me we'll crack the mystery in no time he says unaware of how much he wanted Bruce by his side this whole time I'm I'm not here for you Bruce says Joker has a nuclear missile I have to deal with that first you understand that don't you sure Jason says quietly nothing glamorous about hunting a runaway right Bruce goes to speak but Jason Cuts him off it doesn't matter he says there's Charmin Rosen she's there Bruce Squints she's walking arm in arm with Peter Brown looks like we're working on the same case after all Jason grins foreign [Music] the Halloween of 2015 is the Blackest Night Gotham has ever seen blacker than the war of jokes and riddles blacker than the Gotham Cold War black or even than the night of 1993 when Bane released all of the inmates of Arkham Asylum to break the Batman scarecrow has United many of the bat's greatest Rogues under one Banner its open Warfare in Gotham with each villain carving out to their own corner of the city Two-Face has the banks Firefly has the fire stations Riddler has the orphanage penguin has the warehouses Man-Bat has the skies because of the context with this being Batman's last night as a hero we know every side quest has an unspoken gravity associated with it it's Bruce's final say on what his legacy will be what their memory of him will be and his last chance to set the clock back to zero so that Gotham can wake up tomorrow and start to rebuild if we include the DLC missions there are 14 Most Wanted cases that end with us bringing a criminal mastermind back to the gcpd lockup and to further four the letters fight the the Arkham Knights militia in a variety of ways interestingly a lot of the side quests that let us tackle these villains have a connection to the overarching theme of legacy and knight's attention to Batman's history but just like in the other games they're not all created equal so let's break them down before this night is through that fire will consume you Gotham will need a new savior a new Guardian a new Batman azrael's quests begin with the bat symbol in Flames dark days are here he says the prophecy has come true and according to the Order of Saint Dumas we are fated to die tonight Azrael wants to take over the mantle of the bat if we do and Batman tests him to see if he's worthy their combat challenge Maps where we get to play as Azrael which is really neat if you're an Azrael fan but for those of us with good taste sorry it feels like there's a missed opportunity here because he plays identically to Batman asriel doesn't have any unique gadgets unique strategies or hell even a couple of unique animations would be enough his speed and damage output match Batman's exactly despite tricking you to thinking he's faster because his combat maps have less complex enemies after a few of these tests bats does a background check to see what motivates sazriel and we learn shocker that he's a sleeper agent sent here to gain our trust and eventually kill us the moniker of Azrael has been given to many people in the comics the most famous one is Jean-Paul Valley from the Nightfall storyline a guy trained by Batman to cover for him but eventually goes on a killing spree and needs to be taken down but Arkham's asriel is someone different Michael Washington Lane an ex-cop who's inspired by Batman to become a vigilante himself but has been warped by a religious cult curiously the player is given a choice at the end of this Quest kill Batman or leave him there's a chance that you might have picked the kill Batman option in the hopes that we get a boss fight and if you did you would be disappointed bats takes him down in a cutscene and he spends the rest of the game in lock-up no matter what you choose azrael's ending is concerning Batman was this close to handing his legacy over to a brainwashed Zealot can you trust anyone to carry the mantle after he's gone lock him up no no and then on your feet lens all of you Firefly's missions are quick dirty and fun as hell it's a Batmobile Chase through the streets avoiding the Flames of our deranged arsonist after months of calm he's mysteriously back in Action setting Gotham's fire stations Ablaze his ramblings as we pursue him reference Arkham Origins directly particularly his terrible boss fight on the Pioneer Bridge the complexity of firefly story won't be found in his missions though that's saved for the side quest line of duty that challenges us to find 15 firefighters who have been taken hostage across the city with each one saved they'll go back to catch their breath from the gcpd lock-up and tell us pieces of an overarching mystery Arkham's Gotham isn't just reeling from the Joker's death it's reeling from the politics that came with the shutdown of Arkham City because of the inhumane conditions of Hugo Strange's prison restitution pay was given to the inmates afterwards we even hear a couple of thugs joke that they use the money to pay off their mortgage but because of this massive payout to the criminals cutbacks had to be made and a chunk of the fire crew were going to be laid off while Bruce Wayne was rightfully investing his fortune tying up his legacy with redeveloping and improving Gotham's infrastructure the city had other ideas in an attempt to save the jobs of his colleagues the fire chief Raymond Underhill partnered with firefly the arsonist could keep setting fire to abandon buildings across the city so the five Fighters would have to keep their jobs Underhill status as a villain is as gray as grayscale he betrayed his friends he put them in danger but he didn't do this for power or for money he did it out of loyalty and Desperation locking him up alongside the penguin or Professor Pig feels like the cruelest thing Batman does in the whole series and the cape Crusader seems to know it Underhill needs to face justice but if we return to speak to him after locking him away Batman will ask how he's doing the unspoken empathy is spoken with Underhill this whole situation with the Arkham restoration fund the restitution pay and Underhill is here is an answer to that short-sighted accusation that people Levy against to Batman stories why should we care about any of this Bruce Wayne shouldn't spend his money on the bat suit he should spend it on fixing Gotham well fine okay here's a Bruce Wayne who does just that and in underhill's case it didn't help Gotham isn't Beyond fixing but throwing money at the problem won't go as far as people might think it's a hyper fantasy City where demons have settled the almighty dollar won't fix that and her next Barry shows it off best not happy unless you're sticking that pointy little nose into my business are you you stopped me this time but I'll be out soon enough no amount of money would be able to satisfy Oswald cobblepot Arkham City diagnosed him as a kleptomaniac and a hoarder his desire to become the Kingpin of Gotham is a compulsion he's got a gold statue of himself for God's sake tacky tasteless I'm not matters I'm just disappointed after meeting with Scarecrow and the Arkham Knight his gang war with two face has come to a momentary standstill the two of them are working together in fact with penguins selling weapons to two-faced as men this side quest is here to flesh out Batman's relationship with Dick Grayson AKA Nightwing for the first time in the Arkham verse we get to see the original Boy Wonder in action fighting alongside him in a variety of combat challenges leading to penguin Behind Bars it's a flashback to the sort of Adventures bats might have had in the 10 years between Arkham Origins and Knight taking down big dummies as partners and it all comes to a head when penguin takes Nightwing hostage this is a Batman who is helpless when Barbara Gordon was paralyzed and is constantly reminded of Jason Todd's demise in Arkham VR we learned that he keeps the recording of Jason's death in the bat cave and tortures himself regularly by re-watching it the bat family is his legacy the good parts and the bad so when these missions end with Nightwing's life being put in danger it puts a button on this more introspective Batman so so here's the part where you tell me off I'm proud of you dick are you feeling okay This Is the End this is the last time we meet don't talk like that all right this won't stop you Nothing Stops you keep bloodhaven safe promise me Nightwing wants to help us in our final hour but after defeating penguin Bruce still keeps him at a distance just not as coldly or clinically as we'd expect he's sentimental Joker in the fear toxin kicks off a ticking clock he doesn't expect to see mourning and he's mourning the future that he won't get to see real life is meaningless a charade not meaningless satisfying satisfaction is short-lived enjoy it while you can because the next time we meet you die Harvey 2 faces melancholic in his criminal Rampage as time has passed he's become more and more obsessed with his appearance and his bitterness towards Batman has grown-like bacteria the mob burnt his face off with acid because of his legacy is Gotham's White Knight he's another friend that we failed the actual missions are Bank heists a set of Predator Arenas are scattered around the map but always in various Banks there are two phases phase one has us tried to stop two faces goons from stealing all of the money Phase 2 gives us a lockdown where we need to clean them out as quickly as possible the really cool part comes from how unique these stealth Arenas are we can set off die packs overload escalators set off shock panels the options given to us here won't be found elsewhere so they stand out as memorable but when Harvey finally arrives he is the ultimate disappointment Arkham City's Catwoman episodes gave us a two-faced boss sequence where we had a health bar and it felt substantial but in Arkham Knight he's just some guy with a big gun the Batman Harvey relationship has to be built up in the Arkham verse so there's a serious missed opportunity here to make Two-Face feel ingrained in Batman's story before saying goodbye to him forever hello world now let's go on just be yourself just like hell the path to Kirk langstrom's mutation is paved with good intentions he and his wife Francine wanted to cure chronic deafness with genetic splicing and what better animal to use than a bat it's not an outlandish idea numerous medicines and treatments have come from scientific study of little fuzzballs but langstrom's testing went a step further and following a haunting path of Destruction through his lab where recordings of his final experiment play on forever we see the langstrom tragedy for ourselves Kirk turned into a monster and that monster killed his wife Francine whilst the manbat Mission has an obvious thematic tie to Legacy Kirk is carving out his own legacy with a fascinating discovery that goes wrong there's a meta textual tie as well Man-Bat was the first bad guy Batman battled in the animated series season 1 episode 1 on leather Wings in it langstrom's transformation makes gothamites think he's Batman he's not motivated by curing any diseases is just a mad scientist splicing genes together we need to fly through the night sky listening out for langstrom's echolocation when we do Batman needs to angle himself above manbat and inject him with the antidote just like Firefly's Mission it's quick and dirty challenging our traversal abilities because sometimes langstrom will be very high up so we need to rely on Gotham skyscrapers to get us into the air just like with almost all of these side quests the lack of a final confrontation Waters down the whole mission but as individual vignettes catching glimpses of manbat in detectivision while we Glide around is kinda thrilling and we're not even going to talk about that Bloody jump scare [Applause] sure Batman is that you get me out of here this is sacred ground Heathen you do not belong here Jack Ryder Spends His Halloween researching Deacon Blackfire a charismatic cult leader who seems to mysteriously date back hundreds of years he's taken over the homeless shelters of Gotham brought people in off the street giving them a hot meal and slowly sown seeds of descent in the city's underbelly in Batman cult he even plans and executes an assassination attempt on Jim Gordon putting him in the hospital blackfire's cultish Devotion to his cause even makes him beg bats to kill him in that story believing it would transcend him into martyrdom but hey none of that is here the quest is literally less than three minutes long something we know because of the timer counting down Intrepid reporter Jack Ryder gets kidnapped by Blackfire and we need to fight some brainwashed cultists to save him unless you're paying close attention to writer regularly checking in on his tape recordings that we don't even get to listen to in full blackfyre's presence in the game doesn't feel like an afterthought it feels like a fart in the Sahara all messed up inside out Pig make her a pig make oh better I actually introduced in Batman 666 Laszlo Valentin AKA Professor pig is a standout in Batman's new modern Rogues Gallery in the words of his co-creator Grant Morrison he's quote really only motivated by his art there's no Vendetta or plan or higher purpose pig doesn't follow a pattern or even build up to a punch line he's not really angling for Pure chaos like the Joker but he's also not systematic like Victor zaz he just wants to spread his own Twisted idea of perfection in his work no matter the cost his dollar trons his brainwashed and mutilated victims are his legacy he's on an eternal quest for Perfection taking on the role of this game's demented serial killer he's strung up bodies around Gotham not for us to find he doesn't particularly care about Batman but because he thinks they're not good enough to be transformed and because he erases all physical identity fingerprints teeth traditional samples of DNA he's also erasing the physical Legacy of his victims the end is Stellar by far the most satisfying conclusion to any of the side missions there's a unique confrontation for a start his dollar trons don't feel pain because he's cut out their nerve endings so we can't beat them into submission we have to knock them out instead using the remote electrical charge doesn't even shock them which is a really neat detail for such a brief part of the game I wouldn't change a single part of his inclusion he proves that with enough love and care even the most obscure bat villains can be slaughtered into these games we are just negotiating aren't we Mr Fox I have a job for you Batman bring me Bruce Wayne or I bring down this Tower why Wayne the two of you were friends if Professor Pig could pop up in any Batman story and steal the stage Thomas Elliott AKA hush does not work outside of the brilliant story that originated him he barely fits into Arkham City he feels shoehorned into Arkham Knight his inclusion in the Fantastic Batman rip Arc feels unnecessary and the same could be said for his return Arc House of hush and every other time he's appeared as a distraction in the comics despite his gift as a plastic surgeon it seems like no writers can give him a decent plan that doesn't boil down to pretend to be Bruce Wayne for a bit Arkham Knight is no different nine months after he introduced himself to Batman in Arkham City he seizes his chance to break into Wayne Tower and steal both our funds and our Legacy he takes lucious Fox hostage and threatens to kill him unless Batman brings Bruce Wayne immediately the problem is they just kind of squeeze Thomas Elliot's entire backstory into about six minutes of game hush is a huge story with a mystery that snakes around red herrings and and groups in characters from across the DC Universe including one of the best Batman Superman fights ever but Arkham Knight breezes past all of that mystery and without the mystery hush Falls flat but with Thomas elley taking care of Lucius is finally free to finish his work on the Scrambler he traces the Arkham Knight's signal into Gotham's tunnels deep below the city is going to be a long journey in an even longer night and is still a fair few messes to clean up on the whole there is one major improvement with night side quests and one major downgrade when we compare them to Arkham City the Improvement is that for a lot of them we're not just waiting for them to happen now hoping Batman will trip over a clue in the open world manbat has a unique echolocution to listen out for asriel has easily noticeable bat signals for us to find fireflies fire stations are Ablaze so we look for the smoke Pig's murders are heralded by opera music the militia outposts have clear red banners and lighting cast against the night sky so we can see them from miles away if we're struggling with these signals that eventually Alfred or the gcpd will call in with Intel on them so you don't need to aimlessly fly around but the downgrade once again goes back to the user interface there are some legitimately interesting stories playing out in these side missions but the structure of them is undermined by the Milestones that appear telling us how many beats each story has just from this image we know that we've got to grab Man-Bat three times before he'll eventually go down we know we'll need to let Firefly get away twice in a clumsy Shuffle before we can deactivate his jet pack we know that penguin is waiting for us at his fourth Warehouse making the previous three feel like a waste of time the side quests feel predetermined because the game is so blase about how far through them we are and it turns what should be fun romps with Batman's villains in what feel like checklists designed by game developers rather than organic events passing over one Dark Knight laid and I'm on the job it's extra frustrating with Deathstroke he appears in the end game we know he's out there and we know if we can crack his skull the rest of the militia will start to leave Gotham but rather than focus on tracking him down scanning his signal detecting him Batman Works through his open world checklist until Deathstroke Graces us with his presence for the mother of underwhelming boss fights I like the militia checkpoints and the bombs and the tank side quests and we will talk about why when we look at the overall world but purely because of how the UI structures this side mission it feels like Batman's wasting his time with chaff when the wheat is waiting right there and when we turn our attention to the more story-based DLC missions that UI issue really starts to get in the way you will do as we ask because your precious morality compels you to Detective oh my God help me for Italia a classic detective mode vignette leads us to Elliott Memorial Hospital tonight it's a small dungeon in the lair of the League of Assassins led by the Sick and dying racial ghoul After Arkham City they retrieved his body for one final dip in the Lazarus Pit but years of overexposure is rotting his body and mind the Lazarus stream isn't all that's keeping him alive he found nobody to take his place and carry on his legacy and now the Assassins don't know what to do well that's half true a faction of rebels led by Russia's daughter Nissa are trying to assert him it's a lengthy chunky but a DLC taking us through the hospital the dockyard and into the sewers and caves to find a Pure Source of dionysium but because there's a heavier emphasis on plot and lore and story The checklist structure suddenly makes all of this feel predestined there's a choice at the end of this Mission but because we can trace each beat of the tail with our progress literally flashing up every 10 minutes or so it undermines any gravity associated with that choice Nissa being here feels random it's like she's supposed to be a reminder of Batman's failure to save Talia in city but instead most players are likely going to be confused about who she is and why we should care I think Shiva should have taken her place it would be another neat connection to Arkham Origins and Long Time Players already have a relationship with her from that game so it could have been a stronger play on where our Allegiance is lie Nissa wants us to destroy the machine race is strapped into he'll die if we do she promises to lead the league of assassins in a different direction and take her people out of Gotham for what it's worth every time I've played Arkham Knight I refuse to destroy the Lazarus machine race has lost all honor but Batman doesn't kill and my Batman wouldn't bend the rules like this at the end of his journey race lives to fight another day in whatever misshapen form he's bent into his legacy continues and that feels like a punishment in itself oh fragile steak the Batman's here it's time to play Jarvis touches DLC is a trip down memory lane he hands himself into the gcpd and tells the cops that he's planted three Wonderland themed bombs around Gotham deactivating them were exposed to his latest Contraption Batman gets lost in a storybook documenting the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City we see ourselves through Hatter's eyes a monster a villain the antagonist of Hatter's fairy tale that is how he'll remember Batman as a beast that stopped his mad little Adventure from continuing a lot of our recurring villains have gotten worse over the years Riddler is a prime example and will get to him shortly but while the Mad Hatter is as dangerous as ever there's something pathetic about his plan it's not necessarily that he wants to best Batman this hallucination he's concocted feels like an Earnest attempt to make us see things the way tatch sees them it's punchy just like his past to appearances and a fitting end to his pain and arrangement the warden was experimenting on Croc and the other prisoners trying to weaponize his condition looks like Croc wants Payback can't say I blame it Killer Croc side quest gives us another dungeon he's been held captive in Iron Heights the flying Airship prison but it mysteriously crashed into the Gotham Bay in here they were torturing Croc experimenting on him if Arkham Asylum showed us an inhumane side to treatment for the criminally insane iron Heights shows us this sort of Cruelty isn't specific to Arkham's Legacy the environmental artists have obviously had a lot of fun sculpting a torture chamber from Iron and Steel the cells are hanging metal sarcophagi the guards clearly Harbor a shadow of guilt about the treatment of the prisoners but whether or not that's because they still have a moral compass or because Croc's Rampage has scared them half to death is uncertain the warden and his team were trying to take Croc's healing factor and repurpose it the torture has physically changed Waylon Jones into something even more terrifying and monstrous than ever before it's not just Batman that's evolved over the past few games Jones has as well is a whole King's shape his claws his teeth his bones the they've all grown outwards he's kidnapped the warden because he just wants to be fixed the last time we fought him he was terrifying Us in Arkham's tunnels but Arkham Knight does the impossible it makes us sympathize with him there is a boss fight here but it's weak we can't do any damage to Croc because of his mutation so the setup is one big fat flashback to the days of Arkham Asylum where ways of henchmen were thrown at us to distract from how deflating the boss battles were the gameplay conclusion might not be satisfying but locking up the corrupt Warden next to Croc's cell definitely is take that you creeper because of real real they'll die without my care considering freeze has been the most consistently well done Rogue across the series it's fitting we finish off by saying goodbye to him he's refused to work for scarecrow even though crane kidnapped his wife Nora he still doesn't like Batman but he likes old strawhead even less there's a cracking multi-layered stealth Arena aboard a frozen ship an Attack Battle where freeze helps us by icing up drones but the gameplay isn't what's memorable it's the send-off for Victor we help get Nora back but she's defrosted in the fight against the militia free sacrifices his generator so he can't re-freeze her Nora will live but she'll soon die from Huntington's disease Victor chooses to follow her in her fate turning off his suit they'll die together Arkham's freeze might not get a happy ending but he does get a fitting one following on from the empathy that Batman learned in the cold cold heart DLC of Origins his final goodbye suggests an unspoken respect and borderline friendship between the bat and the Iceman they've both played a huge part in the evolution of the other freeze just like Batman faces his inevitable end with grit he and Nora won't have much time days at most but they'll be together and that's all that matters not all of these side quests feel like they're crammed into this part of the game in fact some of them like the penguin missions are definitely set up to act as final tasks to check off the list before Batman faces Scarecrow in the end game some of these stories like her time with Nightwing have weighty emotional narrative beats that are really lovely in isolation but suffer if we don't play them when the game intends for us to play them I'm simply putting them all here as a Warner because there is so much more to talk about as we continue on and I wanted you to bear in mind all of these little details and keep playing off of Arkham Knight's theme of legacy and speaking of the night tri-wheel titanium coated armor plating nice unless you know exactly where to shoot oh you're good dog even better than I remember to make it even more satisfying when I chew tracking him into his tunnels we see the depth of his operation there is a whole Army down here waiting in the Subways in the maintenance tunnels cut off one head and a whole host more will grow back Knight pins us to the ground shoots Us in the gut curiously knowing exactly where our weak points are before escaping whoever he is that hot fire of engine still Burns but through all of this we'll learn a little more about scarecrow's plan it seems like he's working with Simon Stagg CEO of stag Enterprises we ascend from Gotham's basement to its Skyline planning to break into one of the Stag airships that float over the city we have our next goal after you thank you Batman and Robin saw High through the air on back-shaped paragliders following Rosen and de Brando as they tear along the desert Batman thinks how funny it is that he packed a spare glider for his journey to the Middle East maybe he's getting pre-cognitive in his old age neither of them are surprised when they see Joker you give me the cash in you with the proud owners of a brand new 1988 cruise missile he says in Farsi you're making an excellent buy gentlemen you have the Joker's word on it that's when Batman and Robin make their move there's a synchronicity to their movements their punches their kicks Jason is no longer dashing on a head putting either of them in danger Joker is terrified no it can't be him not here Batman Marvels at the international cooperation terrorists and American scum joining forces to try and kill them there's a lesson to be learned from this but he's too busy to appreciate the Situation's geopolitical significance during the battle one of the terrorists tries to arm the nuke it explodes Joker watches from a distance as his money in the missile go up in smoke Furious he marches across the desert my money he says and what will I do now as the dust settles Jason approaches Charmin Rosen he swallows and asks his questions have you ever been to Gotham City he asks did you ever have a baby there what is this a survey Charmin scoffs but Jason pushes on no she eventually admits I've never been to Gotham kid sorry as the pair Journey back to Beirut Jason looks out to the window I'm not going back to the states he says I have two more women to check out and Shiva woozen is in Beirut don't try to stop me I wouldn't think of it Bruce says staring straight ahead but what if she's not your mother then then there's Sheila Haywood in Ethiopia Jason mutters Batman tells Jason he's going to stick around make sure he doesn't get into trouble suit yourself Jason says still staring out of the window half a mile away the Joker checks into an airport one take it to Ethiopia please he says with a wicked grin theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated so says Bane in The Dark Knight Rises to get under Batman's skin our hero doesn't just skulk in the shadows he uses his theatricality to inspire fear in his enemies fear will make them easier to knock out less likely to reoffend so it's necessary to consider fear when we talk about Arkham Knights stealth sections the Stag airships offer a convenient opportunity to do just that airships didn't appear in Gotham until the Animated Series but nowadays it's hard to imagine the city's spiraling towers and crumbling architecture without them serving as a backdrop in the Deep Well of places to take Batman 2 it's never one I thought I'd see in video game form but hot damn the Airship feels natural and the universe Rocksteady have created learning that scarecrow might be aboard Batman careens through the air and lays Siege to the ship or should that be ships because there's two of them and we need to cautiously get to scarecrow quickly Barbara's life may just hang in the balance she has become your weakness your obsession dragging you deeper into the abyss the Airship is Arkham Knight's most interesting dungeon mainly because it has a really cool gimmick we can use the remote hacking tool to tilt it blasting crates through panes of glass to reveal secrets and progress every lab is etched with Sinister detail documenting the working relationship between Simon Stag and scarecrow stagger created something called the cloudburst a piece of super technology that could dispense scarecrow's toxin at PACE in return scarecrow gave some samples to experiment with stag was testing it on his researchers in an effort to create something worth selling on a global scale this isn't a desperate scientist blackmailed into helping our big bad stag was doing this willingly purely to make a profit and there's something more monstrous about that than scarecrow's simple quest for vengeance with a bubble of Terror array to burst it's no wonder bat starts hallucinating more and more as he travels on to scarecrow he's slowly going mad in here and we get to witness how dangerous and insane geographied Batman could be so with that fear in mind let's talk about how we inflicted on our enemies what kind of fear does Batman exploit in Predator mode there are hundreds of phobias out there to choose from character phobia for example is the fear of bats but over a decade into his career is it fair to say that it's still an effective weapon for our hero I would argue no again this is a Gotham that is embraced the Bat Man mystery might still surround him but the goodies the baddies and everyone in between are aware that Batman's not some hairy beast with a cute little nose oh look at him go Hugo Strange detoxified his tiger guards of fear through brainwashing Scarecrow in the Arkham Knight are hoping a heavily armed well-trained army of professional Killers will be enough but that's not necessarily the case so I want to break down the coolest four phobias in Batman's Arsenal and see how effective they are in Arkham Knight number one nictophobia the fear of the dark in the words of Bruce Dickinson maybe Your Mind is Playing Tricks you sense and suddenly eyes fix that fear comes from thinking something's there just out of you but not being able to see what it is only one stealth arena in Arkham Knight this one in the Stag Airship gives us a well-lit room primarily because the majority of them are outside cloaked in the rain and wind of Gotham's long Halloween just like in the past games the enemies will jump at Shadows once they think we're in the room with them but the Arkham Knight's militia especially are more paranoid and observant they'll check over Ledges if they get a bristle on the back of their neck they'll scan the darkness events if they think something's rumbling underneath them because of that paranoia they'll go overboard with booby-trapping some Arenas it's not just Minds this time drones will Patrol sentry guns and alarms can be deployed meaning the physical space can be filled with hazards we need to outwit our foes with this increase in difficulty comes an increase in flexibility if we focus on the vents they're no longer just single tunnels but a whole square that lets us go wherever we like a lot of a stealth Arena's lower floors give over to this type of play with haphazard parts of the floor that let us skulk about and leap out freely they form vertical shoots they'll let us grapple up and back into the Shadows without needing to clumsily clamber out anymore Batman doesn't just feel agile he feels like a ghost if we use these correctly the militia might hear a Rattle and a clang but they'll never see us in the dark number two chassiophobia the fear of being hunted it's Batman's tools that make him such an effective Hunter not his strength the militia are Hunters themselves after all mercenaries grouped in from around the world to undertake a city-wide bat hunt that context brings a whole new level of satisfaction when we put them on the back foot detective mode is a primary way we hunt just like in other games but this time the Arkham Knight has armed his henchmen with ways to protect themselves some enemies have camouflaged so they don't show up in detective Vision we need to use our eyes to track them instead [Music] even without those enemies most stealth Arenas will have Jammers and trackers that throw a spanner in the works trackers can find our signal when we're in detective mode so we can't rely on it too much in case we give our position away Jammers disrupt detectivision entirely with an irritating cacophony of visual noise it's a pain but incredibly effective at disempowering us to the start of a stealth Arena we can't track the movements of our enemies through walls it makes our hunt get off to a bad start number three xenophobia or fear of the unknown nowadays we typically hear this term in news reports on immigration it was transformed into a mocking term for people who unironically use the phrase illegal aliens but its Origins go back to a literal fear of the unknown what's out there why did this thing happen questions with answers that hang in the air of course in Predator mode Batman's the one hanging out because of the overhaul that gadgets have been given we're armed with some stronger better ways to clean up a room and instill fear in our enemies without setting a foot on the ground it's a completely different game feel to any of the Arkham titles the explosive gel was always a cool takedown when it blew up bad guys didn't know how or why it happened but now we can upgrade it to actually knock thugs out cold the disrupter can be used to jam guns just like before but now we can shock a medic when they go to help their pal terrifying any nearby guards the remote hacking device can turn drones against their users power cells and generators will blow up and if you can lure enough Gars together these can take them all out in just one hit the voice synthesizer will adapt to whichever costumed criminal is in charge and you can use it to give random instructions to man on patrol they'll fervently follow those instructions but the reason why the Arkham Knight or Harley Quinn is telling them to check out a nearby generator is always unknown in the Stag stealth room we can lure guards into a chamber and then lock them in a chunk of the these stealth Arenas will have one unique gimmick that makes each one feel distinct but the power fantasy never goes away the challenge comes when our prey gets wise to our act their AI will change being more proactive than reactive dispensing sentry guns is just one way but they'll also shoot explosive gel or ignore orders given with the synthesizer thermobaric charges will be placed in vents to lure us out of hiding the fear of the unknown won't last forever but that's where number four comes in algophobia the fear of pain this is a brutal one because the anxiety related to this phobia can make you more sensitive to the pain you feel the militia might try to turn the tables on us they might become more proactive they might find clever ways to hide but nothing nothing can protect them from a good old-fashioned crack to the skull there are two enemy types that are here to challenge this the Medics can revive their colleagues the pain is still there but they're not out of the fight Gatling grunts March around the map wielding a huge gun that can shred Batman in seconds they can't be hurt by traditional means no silent takedowns instead a direct confrontation means getting locked into a lengthy Beatdown which is both Loud and Incredibly long so we can get ambushed if we don't leave them until last their High pain threshold makes them a central threat elsewhere that pain comes mainly from the fear multi-takedowns these are an awesome quick cold clitical Furious way for Batman to charge through numerous enemies in a Warner but I think there's some missed potential here the only way to recharge it is by silently taking down a guard which does embrace the fear of the unknown in an effective way but I wish Rock said he sees the chance to make scaring our enemies more of a mechanical Factor there are dozens of things that bats can do to scare his foes without immediately knocking them out a great example is stringing a goon up to a gargoyle and then using his batarang to drop his unconscious body on his friends that's terrifying it connects to the fear of the dark and the fear of the unknown but there isn't a tangible benefit to doing it it's funny to hear our enemy shriek but I think an action like this should have helped to fill up our fear takedown meter the Arkham games are all great at simulating the feeling of scaring the [ __ ] out of idiots but I wish scaring them was a gameplay mechanic rather than just something silly to do something's changed you're different I prefer to call it a work in progress but it does show potential scarecrow is waiting for us when we get to the front of the Airship he's so calm when face to face with us confident that his toxin is still in control he's right to be Joker takes over and raising a gun he almost kills scarecrow where he stands it takes every inch of Batman's resolve to hold back but in a merciless piece of gameplay Joker seizes his opportunity to raise a little hell in a quick combat Arena we are forced to speak with our fists every button makes us punch it's rabid not calculated like when we use our gadgets or hide in the dark scarecrow sees this shift and we see a flash of concern cross the flap of Flesh he still calls a face we learned that after Croc mauled him in Arkham Asylum he embraced his disfigurement he's no longer Jonathan crane AKA Scarecrow on the outside and the inside he's just scarecrow believing that just the opposite is true of Batman that he's more a man than hero he lays out his plot he's going to release his toxin he's going to continue to to torture us and when the time is right he'll cut the mask from our face and reveal our true identity to the world because of Batman's flash of weakness scarecrow gets away with the cloudburst we've lost our lead and this Knight is turning to a long line of failures unfortunately it's about to get worse scarecrow's Parting Gift is showing us where Oracle is captured in a Cell in Chinatown it's a race against the clock to save her in time but no matter what the player does we're too late scarecrow gasses her an almost lethal dose the bulletproof glass means Batman can't get to her and two of his greatest fears come true anthrophobia the fear of being feared or hated and thanatophobia the fear of death of a loved one dying Barbara it's me your friend in the gas Barbara thinks Batman is a monster her face twists in pain and she levels a gun at us the sort of look in her eyes the Bruce hoped he would never see from his friends and family the stoicism breaks and he pleads with her to see him for who he truly is but deep down this is a sliver of how Bruce sees himself a Monster who hurts those he loves the madness the pain and the fear are too much alone in the chamber Barbara shoots herself we are thankfully saved from seeing this by Joker concealing her Bruce can't watch her do it overwhelmed by the toxin his fear forces him to shut that image out hidden by a vision of his old enemy Batgirl Oracle Barbara Gordon dies death in the family is a story full of coincidences and contrivances Shiva woosom the second woman Jason hopes as his mother was staying at the hotel blue but she since left training terrorists in the bakar valley Batman and Robin follow but Batman is bothered by how smoothly their journey to her Camp is going he doesn't like when things are too easy it makes him nervous I've got a pretty good idea who the head instructor is Batman says turning to Robin but as he does Jason crumples to the ground it is a wise man who refuses to allow his ego the ability to Blind him to the truth a woman's voice says Shiva Wilson is none other than the Deadly Assassin Lady Shiva we didn't come here looking to fight Batman says we just want to ask some questions I don't care about your questions she says a chance to test my skills against your talents is rare indeed fight me shiver is Fast Too Fast Batman's able to block each of her attacks but she's too agile for him to get a lick in as the two Spar growing more violent and aggressive Jason comes too they're trying to kill each other he thinks but who do I help the man who took me off the streets or the woman who might be my mother he charges blindly at the two of them distracting shiver for half a second it's enough Batman seizes his Opportunity Knocks her to the ground and restrains her have you ever had a baby Batman asks her a baby shiver bursts into laughter dozens I've dropped litters in every corner of the globe a determined look crosses Batman's face he reaches into his utility belt and pulls out sodium pentathol truth serum every part of him is revolted by what he's about to do but he does it anyway he injects her with it and asks again shiver did you ever have a baby in a daze shiver manages an answer no Jason storms off without a word would she have been the type of mother you'd want Bruce asks catching him of course not Jason's size but is still disappointing in Ethiopia Joker arrives at a refugee camp she Ila Haywood he beams entering a large tent long time no see cutie a blonde woman hunched over a desk turns her head and her face widens in fear and surprise Joker you've certainly come a long way since Gotham Sheila no longer performing illegal operations on teenage girls hmm I hear you in charge of the distribution of medical supplies in the region I guess your superiors don't know much about your past so it's blackmail then she'll spits back afraid so dearie times have been tough as of late Joker slaps the back of his hand to his forehead about drawing on his face just another victim of Reaganomics that's me but a half dozen truckloads of medical supplies will get me back on my feet here's a very real review of Arkham Knight on Common Sense Media a website that lets parents review content and share if something is suitable for children quote to be honest I have no idea why the ESRB gave this game a 17 plus rating it teaches kids teamwork and problem solving through the story mode there is barely any blood or inappropriate content anyways I think any 10 year old can handle this game Rocksteady were worried that the darker moments and the Very adult themes would be neutered by Warner Brothers when the ESRB rated it M for Mature but the complete opposite was true Sefton Hill has said that WB were surprisingly very supportive of not changing a thing to lower the rating apparently they asked his team do you want to change anything and when Rock said he said no they just Shrugged and said fair enough Barbara Gordon's suicide raises the stakes dramatically we know she was paralyzed we know Jason Todd was killed sometime in the past but her death the half halfway point marks a substantial shift in the rawness of the Arkham story and because I'm a big fat Batgirl fan this section is going to act as a tribute to her we're going to look at her DLC episode a matter of family Tim where are you call what's this about Joker's got my father Barbara Gordon wore the cow 28 years after Batman's first comic book appearance but in the Arkham verse she became part of the bat family about three years into the dark Knight's career a matter of family picks up almost 18 months later Dick Grayson has become Nightwing Jason Todd's Robin has died and Tim Drake is the new boy wonder through it all perhaps has been fighting her own war against Gotham's criminal underworld she spent time with Dick and Jason they were her friends her brothers in arms tonight the Joker and Harley Quinn have taken Commissioner Gordon hofstage in an abandoned amusement park on an oil rig in a similar vein to Scott Snyder's modern Joker he thinks that the bat family have made Batman Go soft tonight he's going to kill someone to inject a little fire into the belly of his Nemesis bats doesn't know that Barbara or Tim are here he doesn't even know Gordon has been taken this has all been kept on the down low Joker says he'll shoot Gordon immediately if there's even a whiff of The Dark Knight so it's down to the kids to save the day what makes Barbara so distinct from all the Robins is how independent she is she was told by everyone Batman the robins the villains that she couldn't do it she couldn't be a hero but that didn't stop her her vigilante years didn't involve living at Wayne Manor or being adopted by Bruce Wayne Barbara had to keep her heroing a secret from her father the goddamn commissioner of the gcpd she didn't have the freedom the rest of the bat family did and that's carried through in how her story is structured here it's an open map with three hostages to save around the park there's a flicker of Batman's isolated nature in her as Barbara insists on splitting up and Tim reluctantly agrees they stay on the comms but much of her Mission makes her feel independent even in her early years her original characterization isn't all that interesting she was mainly set up as an early bird love interest for dick Grayson's Robin who describes his feelings for her as like quote fancying your fifth grade teacher because he's a little baby boy who doesn't deserve her but after The Killing Joke DC's writers started to take her more seriously books ah it looks I've heard of those 10 yeah not now and she is serious incredibly so in fact there's a lot more Batman and Barbara than any of the other members of his team she rarely quips and if she ever does their grim and laced with dark humor there's a raw anger in her that only Bruce and Jason empathize with Tim tries to keep things light as we try to reach Jim Gordon but Arkham's Barbara has no time for the forced optimism he uses to get through tough situations depression and self-loathing coated her rehabilitation in the comics there's a brilliant run where following The Killing Joke Barbara is recruited to The Suicide Squad as Oracle in a tense standoff with the Thinker her rage and pain takes over and we get a glimpse into all of the people she's despised since the Joker shot her the clown Prince Batman her father and herself with the name of Oracle Barbara was once again faced with a situation where she was being told what she could and couldn't do and she decided to rejected she might be in a wheelchair but if anything that let her grow into a more distinguished character someone who is a lot more than just the Batman with boobs that we got before 1988. she's a genius with a photographic memory better than Batman's in an intellect that Rivals it Batman might not be as strong as Superman or as fast as the flash but he can still hold his own against them the same can be said for Barbara and the more technologically gifted Heroes that make up the DC Universe but it's in this technical aptitude that a matter of family feels a little bit under-baked with Batman being so technically gifted in Arkham Knight there's not a lot left for Rocksteady to give Babs that sets her apart as the hacker Batman she has the remote hacking tool half a decade before Batman does true but mechanically that does very little so instead a matter of family focuses on context Barbara will hack a lot in this DLC not as a choice but as a necessity so it at least acts as a reminder of her intelligence and Technical Wizardry but it does feel like she's missing one special tool Robin and right wing both have special particular moves and weapons considering Batgirl has a whole piece of storied DLC I'd have expected a deeper dive into how she controls yeah don't do that and wait you sure yeah it's nothing it can wait when total [ __ ] take over her characterization she's reduced to fodder for Stupid Love Triangle [ __ ] her overarching romantic interests is Dick Grayson to the point where the two of them have recently gotten married in the comics but in the Batman Beyond run she and Bruce shacked in The Killing Joke movie She and Bruce shagged in three Jokers which we'll get to she and Jason Todd lashed their tongues together less than a year ago she hooked up with lucious Fox's son Luke get ready Alfred I'm sure she's got her eye on you next buddy Tim Drake and Barbara Gordon haven't hooked up in the comics so rock said he decided to complete the set by making the two of them fall madly in love in the Arkham verse we see the beginnings of it here where Tim thinks of asking Babs out for a drink after they finished but realizes that that would be a stupid thing to do because she's here to save her father so holds his tongue their relationship is important because in the main story Batman betrays Tim's trust he doesn't tell him that Barbara has been kidnapped and he waits until it's far too late to tell him she's died at first he thinks he's sparing term of pain of running recklessly into danger and getting himself hurt but after Jim cut him off I think it's easy to read a more selfish reason here he doesn't want Tim to hate him like Gordon now does the best that Babs has ever been handled I think is in Gail Simone's New 52 run I'll admit I'm biased I met her at Comic-Con she was really really cool she signed the first three volumes but the way she talks about balancing Barbara's Darkness with her optimism is downright inspirational here's what she said in a 2012 interview with IGN quote you have characters like Oracle they're essentially infallible written to know everything in the world I was never the aspect of her character that appealed to me I tried to write that Oracle I could write Oracle forever I love Barbara as Oracle it's something very special I just also believe there's something special about Barbara as Batgirl she's not at that infallible stage yet the spark of Vengeance the same kind of spark we see in Arkham Origins is present in Barbara shown best when she and Tim confront Joker and Harley at the end of the DLC tonight special attacks the Magnificent deaths of the king to do gooders come in take a load off enjoy hey this is a legitimate honest to God boss fight nice one Rocksteady we fight Joker Harley and waves of henchmen because of course we do working with Robin is a slightly less Dynamic duel our villains have unique health bars and moves with unblockable attacks who need to be interrupted or dodged it's hardly award-winning gameplay but what happens afterward ties a ribbon on this version of Batgirl and why capital T teamwork is such a crucial part of a lot of the bat family's Adventures Barbara and Tim save the day but Joker gets away Babs wants to go after the bad guy wrapped up in a thirst for Revenge he kidnapped her father and threatened his life but Tim holds her back they saved people that's all that matters they did their Duty as Heroes when Barbara was in the wheelchair like the version we got across the Arkham games her tactical Brilliance and importance and whichever team she was a part of made her a hero with the very obvious disability a particular other kind of role model and Gail Simone's run a long period of time has passed between her being paralyzed and learning to walk again with the help of intense therapy and the type of medical augmentation the comics are best known for she learns to walk and run and leap again but she's still disabled during the recent Joker War the clown Prince uses the metal rod in her back to paralyze her again reducing her to Furious tears her physical disability doesn't go away it just deepens into a mental one where Batman washes himself and his PTSD using it as fuel when going out at night Barbara's anxiety depression and Trauma can paralyze her again at any given moment the medication she takes said all the pain doesn't always work and whenever she's faced with the joker it's a mental undertaking as well as a physical one but she always Fights Back nobody not her father not the Joker not even Batman will tell her what she can or can't do Jim tells her to leave Gotham she doesn't Joker's attack tells her to stop fighting crime she doesn't which she rebuilds herself as Oracle she's got a fire that burns as brightly as her red hair she just keeps going that's what makes her so inspirational so when Batman watches her die it's framed like she's given up that's what hurts most we might not have seen her in action in the other games but she has been a present Force someone he and we trusted and relied on scarecrows attack extinguishes that flame as Bruce and Jason reached the refugee camp in Ethiopia they're overwhelmed by the suffering and misery on show starvation and death cast a long Shadow over the land Bruce thinks to himself that when he returns to Gotham he'll send out another check to help the effort and try to forget what he's seen here he thinks that there's only so much Bruce Wayne or even Batman can do is Dr Sheila Haywood here he asks a man huddled over in a sheet you'll find her just over there the man points to a large tent in the center of the camp Jason blasts ahead through the crowd and straight into the tent the anticipation is too much for him he's finally going to meet his mother as soon as Bruce sees her he knows she's the one they've been looking for Jason's got her eyes Sheila knows it too but before she can react Jason throws himself at her in a huge hug burying himself in her as the two begin to bond Bruce leaves the camp giving them time to reconnect he wonders if he's just lost another partner the same way he lost Dick Grayson I was a struggling med student when I met and fell in love with your father Sheila tells Jason after you were born I got in trouble the incident put an end to my medical career back in the States your father was supposed to join me once I settled in England but he fell in love with someone else a woman called um Catherine Johnson I thought it best to let them raise you as their own Jason swallows puts his hands on her shoulders and hugs her clothes that must have been so hard for you he whispers some time passes Jason helps out with providing food to the refugees his mother Works in her tent and just as Jason is lost in his own thoughts he sees him the Joker arriving with two armed men marching into Sheila's tent pressing his ear to the tent Jason overhears it all the black male the deal the medical supplies as Joker and Sheila head out to her Warehouse in the desert Jason decides to follow he knows Bruce is nowhere to be seen but he can't leave his mother alone with the joker he grabs a motorbike and tanks off across the desert ignoring the crowd eyes of its owner waving his fists in the distance the other day I took Chase and Neil the co-hosts from my podcast lore dump for a drink and my favorite place sports bar and we were talking about what separates a good open world from a bad one good open worlds are tight I said they don't feel like sludge to get around it's all about the pacing I think a good open world keeps you interested with unique events Neil said you're both wrong replied Chase choking on his adult juice good open worlds happen when a game is built into the world rather than around it anyone who's listened to Lord dump will know this sort of sincerity is rare from Chase but when it does happen it's sheer gold I love that answer and it's a great description of Arkham Knight's Gotham you would be too if you knew what scarecrow's planning I should try do you why because without your help every plant in this city will die Barbara might be gone but Batman still has a job to do scarecrow is going to use the cloud burst to gas Gotham but poison ivy might be able to help us she's got natural immunity a result of an ancient plant that grows under Gotham if we can quote the city in Poland from that plant it might be able to act as an Airborne antidote this is a Batmobile Mission we need to hunt for the roots under Gotham and wake them up so ivy can tap into the plant so it can spread throughout the city but it's also one of many missions that take place in the open world rather than locked off to individual dungeons this will happen many times the story is structured in a way that doesn't always send us off to a particular building but instead asks us to explore Gotham streets more deeply Gotham is the game and the game is Gotham this isn't Arkham City where it was a tight-knit world connecting major story beats Arkham Knight is a story all about the city so everything that happens extends out into the streets there are no loading screens despite the breathtaking graphical Fidelity lighting and detail on show to jump back to the star gear ship for a second we could just leave it at any time by leaping out to the entrance and use that new height to fly around Gotham The Dungeons and buildings never feel like a separate part of the game everything happens in the city even when it's deep underground or high in the air I joked about how a sports bar is just called sports bar a minute ago but hundreds of shops restaurants and storefronts feel unique with their own stories to tell when these shops are repeated they feel like they're part of a chain rather than copy pasted assets sprinkled about town because the sizes the positioning the signage is always just different enough Gotham might be abandoned but it is Alive Tonight rumbling along with the chaos of days past and yet to come the burnt color palettes that occasionally contrasts the crisp Sheen of the city makes this world feel distinct I've talked before about how colors have been traditionally used in the other Arkham games but Arkham Knight saves its truly breathtaking moments for or later when Ivy's pollen coats the city with a pale green bordering on white it reminds us that Gotham will be a husk if we don't stop scarecrow the fiery Browns when he releases the fear toxin show just how diseased Gotham can be when its people are unmasked no matter who they are active crimes are no longer here they're not relevant what the hell even is a crime when the whole city is at War instead the Pavements are covered in rioters the roads are Laden with joyriders and cops The Riddler has run rampant in his usual way but he's also planted bombs in the heads of criminal snow so we need to swipe by and save them while we keep Gotham from spiraling even further out of control Gotham smells like ambition and cigarettes but it's not all depressing Carnage there's charm here as well while the stories delivered more seriously Arkham Knight doesn't forget its wider universe or ridiculous foundations train signs that encourage you to cheat on your wife for example John Constantine's private detective services here the Black Canary Club Queen Industries lexcorp they all hinted a wider DC Universe the same way Arkham Asylum hinted at a broader Gotham waiting for us over the bay the skyline of Arkham City is Faithfully recreated alongside the geography of the Gotham from origins The Pioneer Bridge separates the two waiting suddenly for us to come back beckoning us with all of those bloody radio towers so many little optional touches get forgotten in a sea of Batmobile complaints but we should remember the Quiet Moments too because the game brims with them Barbara's Batgirl costume is hidden in the Belfry bats will look at a picture of her forlornly carrying the weight of her death on his shoulders Lex Luthor leaves pestering messages to Bruce trying to buy parts of Wayne Enterprises and challenging the Arkham restoration project we pick up Snippets of an old article written by Jack Ryder and Vicki Vale that trashes Bruce's reputation we even learned that Bruce dated Vicky through random voicemail messages and the World building doesn't stop there but I'll reserve the juiciest details for when we look at the Riddler all of this matters because Gotham isn't just an American city with a couple of gargoyles and a bit of rain Arkham Knight doesn't just give us an interesting cityscape it gives us one that would be impossible to confuse with any other game City in 10 years when I look back at the Gotham of Gotham Knights I'll remember a lot of neon and not much else but 20 years from now 30 even I'll look back at Arkham Knight's Gotham and I'll remember the crowded streets of Chinatown the illuminated squares in miyagani Island the skyscraper papers of Founders Island halted during construction and the Forgotten Baron brickwork underneath them hearts of Gotham that are already being lost to the next evolution of the city like the Arkham restoration project is desperately climbing into the sky to escape the rot below but how does Rocksteady achieve this what makes this Gotham so different pops wins wins we don't want to cause any unnecessary suffering for a start the many malicious side quests feel better integrated into Gotham's Hub than your everyday Bandit camps do despite the fact that that is all they essentially are the city's under occupation our job is to take it back and wiping out the glimmers of red lights drones and flags is eternally satisfying on a visual level but what Arkham Knight does isn't quite as simple as that the side quests Lean Into The Wider World building the outposts we need to clear out all feel specific to their individual locations the goons that have holed up in a construction site on Founders Island reference to this location is key because it's the highest point in the city an outpost opposite the gcpd has snipers that joke about shooting the cops through windows it's not just nameless henchmen on patrol it's a group of thinking feeling prey with bones for us to break there's a real variety with the outposts too stealth combat tank battles sentry gun puzzles bomb deactivation sections where we need to be sneaky and deactivate a blockade let the Batmobile in high speed chases high rises with numerous levels to skulk through while the scenarios are never narratively interesting there are switch-ups to the gameplay to keep things fresh because there are so many villain-led side quests thrown around the outposts feel like they complement Batman's battle against his famous Rogues rather than distract from them and we get an extrinsic motivation because each Outpost dealt with rewards us with one of those oh so precious skill points but for all of my praise for how Arkham Knight's world is designed the UI undercuts a lot of it I don't think the Batmobile would be so maligned if the side mission structure didn't keep tricking us into thinking we're done with it and numerous parts of the story you might think you've completed the bomb disarmament questline or The Outpost questline or the tank battle questline the mission wheel tells us as much we've disarmed all the bombs on miyagani island hooray but then whoops Along Comes a new militia leader who's replenished the stock so suddenly we're back to doing the same old [ __ ] these recurring events do help to grow our hero into some something greater than he was before though the Arkham Knight's presence in Gotham gives Batman such a massive threat that he accidentally helps to rebuild Batman's Legend the goon's question so what is the bad Invincible drones tags armies could he just not be killed with each Outpost or Convoy that we destroy the people of Gotham are revitalizing the myth of the Batman tonight it's like the old days again where people thought he was a monster but now he's just a god riddle me this why would a bad man visit an abandoned orphanage Eddie sweetie you confused me with Robin the big guy and I aren't all that close scarecrow and Riddler have hacked every terminal and billboard so will regularly show up to remind us of their presence the same way Joker did in the Asylum and strange did in Arkham City but the hyper focus is what separates them every time scarecrow is on the Billboards he's not addressing Gotham he's addressing us he's publicly airing our Dirty Laundry publicly psychoanalyzing publicly putting on a show so there can't be any doubt that he's in control and that he's winning Joker would yell at his henchmen strange would just read out Arkham City's rules or count it down to Protocol 10 but scarecrow only wants to destroy Gotham because it will destroy the bat's Legacy this hyper Focus translates to the architecture of the three islands the field personalized and distinct built for the game Arkham Knight's Gotham isn't a grid-based city a good thing because Gotham should never be a grid-based city that design popularized by New York but originally meeting in my horn Glasgow makes everything feel orderly and structured it notoriously creates soul but ever moving traffic you're not going to get anywhere fast but you're at least supposed to feel like you're going but Gotham isn't orderly and structured it's a mad house the size of a state an environment where the best and worse that Humanity has to offer lies waiting in the shadows Arkham Knight's Gotham sprawls creeping ever outward that's why there are so many bridges because of the rapid rate of expansion it rebuilds itself building on top of the old rather than beginning Anew a lot of thought and energy has gone into its map because Gotham needs to be wilder more organic in its layout with curving streets in different heights and the most shocking thing about Arkham Knight is that it achieves this level of wildness of gaminess with authenticity in an interview with venturebeat dark skin told us quote designing the game world to make sure it feels authentic was one thing then designing it to fit the Batmobile a hand in glove counter connection we had to design the layout of the city and the functionality of the Batmobile at the same time so that the power fantasy of driving the Batmobile through this legendary City felt the way everyone imagines it should feel the city was designed for the Batmobile in fact across all of these interviews we pick up but it was this design philosophy that made Arkham Knight take as long as it did any changes to the Batmobile met a complete restructuring of the city so as Rock City blasted on with rapid prototyping the team in charge of Gotham's design had to keep up with any changes ramps and long roads to incentivize the car are just a couple of small pieces of the puzzle every change could lead to other unexpected changes and I can only imagine how frustrating the domino effect could become plazas had to be designed for the tank battles some of the buildings had to be close enough together so we could drive the Batmobile over rooftops the street sizes had to be made wider so the Batmobile could have plenty of space to feel good to control but the city still has to feel claustrophobic this is Gotham after all that means the buildings need to be taller but if they're too tall they might hinder gliding okay fine well although bats can eject from the Batmobile in motion so he Rockets High into the air now it doesn't matter how tall the buildings are oh but wait if Batman could just blast off into the sky at any moment how do we make sure a player wants to go back and use the Batmobile answer layer maintenance tunnels under Gotham that the player will need to go into at points great idea but that means the designers don't just need to think about the rooftops in the streets now they also have to think about a third layer flying over Gotham has never felt better in fact here's my hot take flying around any game has never felt better in the eight years since release that Bloody powergliding mechanic from breath of the wild is going to pump into plenty of games over the next few years but those titles will be stealing from the wrong game everything you need for fun flying mechanics is here waiting to be pinched momentum is still the headline act the bat's General speed has been increased he's more fluid the grapple shoots him to the nearest building and lets us immediately pre-choose the next grapple Point while we're zipping up the side of a building so the whole thing can look as flashy and impressive as a bodybuilder in a suit could possibly look we can use the line launcher to quickly stop and attach it between two buildings so at almost any given moment at any given time we can create our own stealthy perch but the best thing about Gotham's world is how it reflects Batman's descent into madness I gotta say that it is good to be back Gotham just wasn't the same without me was it I mean scarecrow's the biggest bad guy in town not for long with Joker rattling around in our skull he'll appear in the open world to Gaslight Batman but even when he's not present in Gotham his presence is felt some statues of angels will turn into statues of demons with the Joker's Twisted face carved in the stone the advertisements that seem so nonchalant in the opening hour now have Joker based versions a bank of Gotham billboard stating the easy way will change from a smiling happy family to a locked and loaded Batman standing in front of a dead Harley Two-Face and Riddler the Batman good for Gotham no bulletins will change to Joker good for Gotham a precious moment spill board shows snapshots of the dead people the Batman has failed Jason Barbara Talia his parents this is what he fears his legacy will be a river overflowing with blood and corpses the world is physically changing to signify the Batman's Outlook is changing as Joker becomes more and more in control at the midpoint Joker will even start spawning in the city hiding among gang members for us to punch I've never caught this one myself but you can see it in this video from Batman Arkham videos in fact the only place the Joker doesn't bother us is the Batmobile as if this war machine is a source of comfort and A coping mechanism for bats while he fights back against the fear gas inside it's the empowerment fantasy is so intoxicating that half of Arkham Knight's audience think it's dull but when we're outside it we're vulnerable to Joker's poisonous Whispering the Visions become stronger and Batman slips deeper into the unmeasurable with Ivy's plants taking shape and her needing some time to prepare her when Batman decides to head on over to the panessa movie studios to check in on what Robin's been working on her guy's been left out of the loop long enough with this being a more traditional dungeon there's no Batmobile to protect us from clown ridden Madness or contrived frustrating plot elements so let's shift our Focus to the Joker foreign [Music] Haywood opens a door to her Warehouse she looks at the Joker's men they're unloading boxes from the back of the truck what are they doing she asks I thought you're here to steal supplies why are those boxes going into my warehouse to replace the ones we're going to steal of course Joker says are they empty no they contain a mixture of my lethal laughing gas just imagine the surprise when one of your bleeding hard social workers opens any of these cartons think of it as cutting down the numbers of the mouths you have to feed Jason grabs Bruce and tells him everything they watch the trucks full of laughing gas drive away from the warehouse back to the camp we've got to warn the camp about the deadly cargo coming their way Bruce States they've got a big head start at us but thankfully this mini copter will help me catch up with them you stay here watch the warehouse and take no action until I get back do you understand for once please listen to me Jason don't tangle with the joker alone that madman's just too dangerous for you read me loud and clear Jason nods just hurry back but as Batman flies away Jason knows what he's about to do sorry Bruce he thinks but that's my mother in there with that lunatic he slides down the ridge to the warehouse and grabs his mother as she steps outside mom I know everything the Joker the black male all of it I'm here to help you I don't know what you're talking about Sheila says Jason unbuttons his jacket and reveals the Deep Red of his Robin costume mother there's a lot about me you don't know Sheila immediately recognizes the outfit what it represents what it means come with me she says ushering Jason into the warehouse but the Joker Jason starts but Sheila Cuts him off he's long gone there's nothing to worry about but there's something you should see just step over here and you'll understand everything Robin the Joker steps out to the Shadows a gun pointed squarely at Jason's chest Jason turns to leave but Sheila points a second gun at his back there can only be one joke about and it's me I mean you locate us time we did the right thing Massacre of a lot of them and purify the Joker gene pool this isn't the Joker The Joker Is Dead We burned his body ourselves he's Ash now no new character details can be attributed to Arkham Knight's version of the menacing wisecracking clown Prince of Crime the only reason I've called him Joker in this critique is because I don't want to say Batman's idea of Joker over and over my lips would get tired every time he pops up he's just Batman's memory of the Joker his Essence a personification of the madness eclipsing the bat's determination resilience and heart or at least that's what I wish I could say if we flash way back to our two of the game we find ourselves playing as Jim Gordon three months after the Joker died and six months before scarecrow's attack on Gotham he was summoned to the old panessa movie studios just like many of gothams or buildings Batman repurposed this space to be a remote Batcave and a containment center four gothamites are kept prisoner here businesswoman Christina Bell professional singer Johnny Charisma the wrestler Albert King and a school teacher Henry Adams it's a brutal reframing of Batman's preparedness everyone but Adams were brought here against their will locked up and studied by Batman and Robin the system of pipes steel and tubing doesn't look like something from a superhero's headquarters it looks like it was taken from a villain's Lair with worrying mechanical Machinery of frankenstinian proportions during Arkham City Joker sent out his infected Titan blood to all of the hospitals in the state five people got that blood into their system and are slowly developing cross-filled Jacob disease this is a very real disease in our world where the brain breaks down over time because of that breakdown the poor saps in these containment Chambers are being taken over by the Joker's blood and turning into the Joker miss me already Max oh it's you commissioner boredom what have you done with my soul mate each of the patients are being Rewritten to embody a key facet of Joker's personality Christina Bell is Joker's obsession with Batman Johnny Charisma is his Showmanship Albert King is his spasming violent outbursts and though we don't know it yet Henry Adams is his Sinister calculatedness all of them are just exhibiting personality changes but physical ones too green hair white skin a plushness around the lips they even sound like Joker calling Batman bats any chance they get there's a fifth empty containment chamber in here ominously waiting for its prisoner a cell that Batman has reserved for himself because he only took half of the antidote at the end of Arkham City The Joker talks and hasn't been eliminated from his blood it's just taking its sweet time and now that Batman's brain is added by scarecrow's fear gas the process is sped back up he too is turning into the Joker and I hate this out of all the complaints people Levy against Arkham Knight this is the only one that really sticks with me I like the Batmobile a lot and think the game has enough variety that the silver use doesn't bog the whole thing down I think the Arkham Knight's true identity is effectively handled so the predictability doesn't bother me but magical Joker blood that turns people into The Joker Is Where I draw the line let me be clear I know that Joker venom exists in the comics and has been partially responsible for fan favorites like Scott Snyder's the Batman who laughs an alternate universe Batman that combines Joker's unpredictability with Batman's skills but in those situations their independent entities who become as mad as the Joker and exhibit a similar frame of mind they do not become the Joker Joker venom has evolved a lot over the years starting as a gas that makes you laugh yourself to death but there is no precedent for this in the comic books aside from three Jokers Joker three three three of them now three of them written by Comics veteran Jeff Johns who should know better three Jokers was a 2020 bat tale that canonized the joker as three different guys all along trying to explain why Mr J had such different personalities and modus operand eyes over the years there were three people who had one bad day at a dip in Joker juice forming the criminal the comedian and the clown the most threatening captivating culturally significant super villain of all time can be created and recreated by nothing more than a trip into some acid another criminal falls into the burning bath another Joker is Born the criminal Joker says what this story does is it depersonalizes the joker as a man he's now some ever expanding entity that cannot physically be stopped he didn't shoot and paralyze Barbara Gordon that was the comedian Joker he didn't beat Jason Todd with a crowbar that was the clown Joker he didn't unite and obliterate Gotham's gangs in one Fell Swoop that was the criminal Joker he's no longer a specter that haunts Batman's every waking moment he's Legion and that might sound cool on paper but the execution makes that paper wet Falling Away into a vat of Joker just that can forever produce more Jokers Arkham Knight released five years before three Jokers and the main problem isn't just that the mechanics of the Joker blood are silly superheroes can be silly no the problem is that it's all wholly unnecessary the Joker venom doesn't need to be here it is enough to say that scarecrow's knew and improved fear toxin has brought out Batman's greatest fear that he's as insane and dangerous as the villains he fights it is enough to say the Batman's greatest fear manifests itself as the Joker it's enough to say that that manifestation would try to convince him to just pick up a gun and kill all the bad guys like the billboard said it's the easy way it is enough to say that if Batman lost his mind he would be the most terrifying Force Gotham had ever seen and destroy the city in days hell it's not just enough it's poetic all the way back in Arkham Asylum we saw that Batman is terrified that he belongs in Arkham Asylum with his enemies so full disclosure so that I can enjoy the story and especially its ending I choose to believe that joker is still just a manifestation of the fear toxin Batman took half of the antidote in Arkham City so there's no evidence that he is in fact turning into the Joker his eyes go a little bit green and he ends up looking a little bit peaky sure but I think there's just enough antidote in him to stop him from being completely jokerized Joker might pop up and tells that he's gaining more control but that's just the fear toxin talking he might take control of Batman's body in the Stag Airship but that's just crazy Batman manifesting itself as the Joker I'm not forgiving the messy storytelling here again I really hate this direction but in repeat playthroughs this is how I read it and I think there's just enough ambiguity in there to justify to myself because honestly I would argue that the Joker blood plot is only really here to bring Harley Quinn back into the mix look it's too late to save the day how's it going back brain it's been a while Harley Quinn learning that Batman and Robin have four shiny new Mr J's locked away Harley leads a Siege to try and break them out after trying to blow herself up in the Arkham City DLC she since started working with penguin they were Partners she's been slowly but surely building up her own identity with her own gang separate from the hold Joker had over her but after hearing about his second coming she spiraled out of control once again she wants them all to herself despite my issues with the premise this entire dungeon is wonderful Harley breaks the patient's out of containment to we need to work with Robin to get each one back under control the scenarios and set pieces are varied with a dynamic dual stealth section where we need to control Batman and Robin in a predator Arena and honest to God boss fight against Albert King and a fantastic standoff with Johnny Charisma that is one of the series highlights all we're really doing is running Robin in a circle while Batman stands there but getting to hear Mark Hamill sing about the good old days while we do is a treat it's something returns again and again as a through line Joker or Batman's manifestation of Joker take your pick Flags to us how out of control everything is gotten over the series from one itty-bitty prison riot a mutant formula to an entire city on the brink of Destruction the stakes the villains and Batman have escalated and escalated to the point where he's locking up innocent sick people in isolated Chambers underground our hero may not have intended it and it may have been necessary to stop four Jokers running loose but his Crusade has gotten out of hand you speak a lot different because you've never killed anyone news flash you killed me I was there remember you destroyed my cure right in front of me watch me choke on my last laugh the whole level purposefully harks back to Arkham Asylum and Structure Tone and level design Harley has taken a building previously established as safe and twisted it into her own little fun house with balloons streamers and Jacks in the Box during a vision we even get the Arkham jingle playing over at Hanoi Joker sits in a gurney and taunts Batman that knows flash you killed me Bruce has warped the ending of Arkham City in his own mind believing that he purposefully stopped Joker from getting the antidote aiding in his death he worries that Talia after leading a life of crime and assassination is literally burning in Hell offered to us by Joker quipping that they might be shagging yikes Joker you could do better anytime Joker speaks it's Batman's guilt his fears his repressed emotions his frustrations and his secret dark desires being reflected back on himself even the noblest of intentions get Twisted by Joker's words while working together bats refuses to tell Robin that Barbara is dead worried he would try to take revenge and get himself hurt but Joker re-translates claiming that he's doing it because he wants the pain to be that much greater when he eventually finds out every side mission has a joker moment where he badges us about how we handle the situation locking up Riddler leads to a mocking and he doesn't need psychiatric help no no no beat him up lock him up that's the best medicine Joker's inclusion is ingenious this way because it lets Batman have an emotional introspective Adventure where he reflects on his failures and flaws while barely saying a word in fact he only addresses his old foe once at the very end of the game there is arguably another reason why the panessa studios goes out of its way to remind us of Arkham Asylum because it was here though Jason Todd was brutally tortured all those years ago his recklessness of Bruce's inability to control him meaning he eventually went to kill Joker after the clown blew up a school Joker got the upper hand and through the fear toxin we catch visions of what happened to him what's wrong you think I'm going to hurt you why I'm not the bad one here oh no no no no no it's Batman he's abandoned you thrown you away like an unwanted puppy can I have him daddy oh please please please I'll take real good care of him for six months Jason was tortured by Joker he was beaten stabbed strung up branded with a hot poker in the shape of a j hallucinogenic drugs were used as Joker conditioned him into turning against Batman into believing he had abandoned him he wasn't alone either we learned through Collectibles and the Arkham Knight Comics that Harley Quinn was part of this process too she might be a victim of the Joker but she's not innocent in all of this she's the one who convinced Jason that the J Brand was given to him by Batman not Joker this scene that I played you takes place about three months into that torture Jason continued to resist he was made a stronger stuff than Joker or Harley expected digging into his resolve Jason gives Joker nothing to bounce off of no classic hero quips or fightbacks so the Joker makes do with himself and the result is really really creepy Joker starts babbling creating a fantasy where Jason is a new puppy has been brought into his his own demented family and when the vision ends we see Batman is on the verge of breaking everything okay you look spooked I'm fine Jason Tim you haven't done that for a while you haven't done that for a while just like in the comics we learn in just a couple of lines that Jason's death branded Bruce the same way Joker branded him with that carved up metal jig Joker told Jason that they would become a new Dynamic duel the same way he's been playfully Whispering into our ear whenever he appears Jason's destruction at the hands of the Joker plagues the game just like Batman were never rid of it even when we're doing lighter stuff like beating up penguin or taking down Two-Face stopping Harley and cracking down on the Joker patients there's one last twist waiting for us in panessa studios Henry Adams the teacher originally seemed to be symptomless and Batman hoped that he held the secret to curing The Joker poison but he was the most ruthless Joker of all he's the one who brought Harley here and he's killed the other patients we talked in the Arkham City video about Joker's desire to be number one there's only one Joker and he reminds us of this while we explore the studios he hates these copycats and that belief has transmitted into Henry Adams to 2. in a tense standoff Henry sees a flash of green in Batman's eyes and shoots himself there is only one Joker and Adams understands in this moment that he's an unworthy successor to the painted smile and green hair it's a combination of Joker's psychological obsession with Batman and his desire for a powerful Legacy if he's going to be remembered he wants to be remembered as The Dark Knight not a short King school teacher Henry's death signals a point of Nova term he was Batman's only chance at a cure I might not like to think it but he believes that he's going to turn to the Joker soon and now thinks there's no chance to stop it he removes his mask and we see his face all of it to prove how human the choice he's about to make is for all of the gadgets and tools bells and whistles the Batman is just a man the same way Joker was just a man the same way scarecrow is just a man and men make mistakes what the hell are you doing the right thing trust me listen to me we can help you don't need to do this Robin is locked in the chamber so he doesn't run off and do something stupid after learning of Barbara's death this is as close to an all his lost moment as the series ever gets Batman has severed ties with Nightwing Barbara Gordon is dead Jim Gordon hates him Robin hates him Lucius Fox is reeling from the attack by hush and any chance for a cure has just died with Henry Adams all this left is Alfred and Batman's resolve which is a pretty depressing place to be so less light in the tone eh oh I can't afford to have you stirring up trouble I'll be dipping into the medical funds myself Sheila snarls if you blow the whistle on the Joker the ensuing investigation would have cover my embezzling she looks to Joker what do we do with him something I wanted to do for years Joker grins he smacks Jason in the forearm with his revolver shattering bone a quick boot to the stomach knocks him to the ground cover boy you're not gonna sleep on me already are you the party's just getting started then let's Boogie Jason coughs slamming Joker in the stomach but he's not fast enough two of the Joker's men grab him and throw him to the ground kicking him in the ribs over and over and over that wasn't a very nice thing to do to Uncle Joker Joker snarls pulling out to Crowbar you've been a bad boy you must be punished he raises the cruel bar into the air his silhouette blocking out all light as Jason awaits his fate helplessly prepare yourself for a severe spanking young man but let me tell you right from the start this is gonna hurt you a lot more than it does me one hit two hits back and forth Joker goes with a crowbar beating Jason lore and lore he doesn't say a word as Joker hurts him as he feels his muscles sees in the air empty from his lungs deep in the warehouse Joker relishes in the torture Batman made short work of the thugs at the refugee camp but he can feel in his bones that something has gone horribly wrong at the warehouse he races against the clock battling the dust of the desert as he charges back to reach Jason please Jason he thinks please wait for me that was fun blood drips from the Crowbar as Joker shakes his hands kinda messy though but what's Batman going to say when he finds out what you've done to his little friend Sheila says gesturing to Jason's comatose body hmm hadn't thought of that he is a vengeful one that bat this could get a bit sticky he ushers to his men to start planting charges around the warehouse they grab Sheila and tie her to a post I guess I'll just need to leave behind any evidence of my presence that's one of the fascinating things about Batman the righteous boom insists in solid evidence before going Nova the bomb starts ticking his laughter Echoes around the room followed by a distant locking of the door Sheila Haywood is left alone with the body of her son a beat the bomb keeps ticking and then Jason Rises to his feet he's coughing up blood one eye is bashed in but he's still alive he's in no shape to try and deactivate the bomb but what he can do is save his mother I'll save you mom he mutters between broken teeth you're free run for it Sheila hesitates and then picks up her son we'll both get out of here together come on the final seconds on the bomb countdown five four three Sheila reaches for the door but she can't open it it's locked she screams she looks back at the boy she betrayed The Joker locked us in here time's up the bomb goes off with a fiery Roar pieces of the warehouse shatter and evaporate in the heat wooden beams don't survive the metal of the door doesn't survive nothing could have survived it we beat the Riddler so hard in Arkham City that the bastard forgot what his gimmick is when looking at his journey through the series we can trace a severe descent into madness and cruelty in Origins he was an egotistical blackmailer on his own crusade to Red Gotham of corruption Batman destroyed his toys and thwarted him in Asylum he was a goofy caricature who planted some trophies in Arkham's Vents and challenged us to crack his puzzles Batman beat him and had him arrested in City he was so Twisted by fear from the gang war and embarrassed by his past defeats that he escalated to soul-like Contraptions and actually poop People In Harm's Way Batman's Smash and throw a wooden floor convinced him that if he didn't walk in a circle for hours a caller would explode on his neck see what I mean about escalation by the time Arkham Knight rolls around he's cracked the audio glitch effect from Arkham City has returned but this time the placement of those glitches as to this patheticness in a really fun way previously the pitch shifted Echoes that would follow his speech sounded like they were part of Riddler's lost transmission the signal was cracked because he was so deep underground but this time they reverberate off of his quips and jibes so they sound like minions cheering him on it reminds us of how lonely he is with a plan more devious and personal than ever we're leaving you might be but I'm not ah both contestants are finally here tonight folks we've got riddles Galore Riddler has Kitty napped Catwoman and stuck a bomb collar around her neck Suicide Squad style if we don't jump through his hoops and work together with her to beat his challenges she'll go boom Selena doesn't like her new role as a hostage putting her life in someone else's hands has never been something she's comfortable with and she's naturally pissed that someone like Edward nigma would get the drop on her the idea of Batman doing racing mini-games with the Riddler while the city is on fire is silly so putting Catwoman in Peril is a neat incentivizer she's a woman that he loves the only woman he ever truly loved if you're like me and ship these two faster than Aquaman in a speedboat so of course he's going to rescue her as part of his last Grand Adventure but narrative context aside I quite like racetrack Riddler is it ridiculous yes but after all we're talking about a guy who slithered around in Arkham asylum's ducks to plant shiny green question marks for us to find and Riddler's characterization frames him as someone that has fallen right off the deep end each track is incredibly challenging and look this might come down to Personal Taste but I think they're just straight up fun they're not simple time trials though a couple of those are scattered throughout the city his side mission gives us intense tricky puzzles where speed isn't just the answer navigating an obstacle courses it's no different from a lot of Arkham City's challenges that gave us obstacle courses to overcome with the help of our gadgets instead this time our Gadget is the car that's not to say they're one note either from a box room that forces us to play with the winch and gliding to underground Caverns where we need to activate and deactivate parts of the course to help us get around there's nothing mindless about any of this I had to think I had to plan my route and that's all I need from an effective Riddler puzzle in the Arkham games the guy's ammo is brain teasers and the race tracks offered up plenty to tease my brain as well as my reflexes the final one is a goddamn nightmare though getting around this Arch doesn't tease anything except my desire to punch the guy in the face you're the Riddler where The Riddles Well turns out the riddles are still here with puzzles to boot completing each race track offers up a set of rooms for bats and Catwoman to complete together ranging from those classic Gadget courses that are reminiscent of Arkham City's challenges to combat scenarios against Eddie's Riddler Bots which he claims he invented but they're clearly just the wonderbots lies make Jesus cry Eddie in 2022 Screen Rant wrote Gotham Knights appears to be taking everything that was great about Arkham Knight and polishing off what wasn't the Riddler vehicle challenges should absolutely be considered in the latter of those two categories as they simply were not engaging and trying to improve them wouldn't be worth it ever going to get over Gotham Knight's Mountain insightful is always Screen Rant if it was just race tracks sure I'd be annoyed too but it isn't just like with the batmobile's inclusion around Gotham City it doesn't come at the detriment of variety it contributes to it the Riddler's Collectibles come in six forms the race tracks the Catwoman puzzles The Riddles the Riddler trophies breakable objects and the bomb writers if the Batmobile wasn't incorporated into Riddler's collect-a-thon his missions would stick out like a sore thumb when addressing the sort of game feel Arkham Knight is going for the Batmobile is the core pillar of the game love it or hate it so its inclusion here makes it feel consistent hell it even plays a part in interrogations now you need to chase down the henchmen dumb enough to work for Eddie smash their car into the side of a wall and pick up the pieces from whatever's left the Carnage of this act especially when we consider this just for some bloody Riddler trophies frames Batman as a man on the edge the desperation of the Knight forcing him to be more brutal and destructive than ever and it's in those Riddler trophies that my Batmobile related frustrations lie do you have a photographic memory detective because I do I can summon your sneering features at will that is when they don't reverse unbidden into my brain after we complete all of the courses and solve all of the puzzles with Catwoman Riddler pops his head up in a goddamn Mech and tells us if we want to fight him we've got to earn the privilege the true ending of the game is locked off behind the Riddler narratively this totally makes sense is Batman's final cleanup of Gotham his legacy would be muddied if he left nigma at large when he went into retirement in a matter sense The Riddler has loomed large for fans of the series and his trophies have become a franchise-wide joke of course we're going to want to catch them all so we can punch him in the face but there are 243 Collectibles to get in the game and locking off a satisfying conclusion behind that is Clumsy to say the least especially because even today a chunk of the ending cutscenes are vulnerable to copyright strikes by Warner Brothers so at release it wasn't easy to just look up the ending online they've got such a fetish for copyright they've even struck themselves numerous times back in 2016. a quick insert is very likely this video will get demonetized because of that if you want to hit the like button and subscribe if you're new it would mean a lot so seeing as that he's gone into hiding let's talk about his riddles and trophies One Last Time riddle me this what is a riddle that everyone knows the answer to that's the question Batman asks Riddler in Batman hush in the story nigma figures out that Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person bats goes to visit him in Arkham Asylum and tries to convince him not to tell anyone I know you Edward nigma he says maybe better than you know yourself riddles are your compulsion your addiction are the riddle then everyone knows the answer to Is worthless what an absolute belter of a line mwah but God I wish Occam's Batman told Eddie that because there are dozens of Riddler trophies that are so easy to get that they're absolutely worthless to the player experience every Arkham game has been guilty of this but I counted 39 out of 179 Riddler trophies that were just sitting in plain sight the positioning of over a fifth of them is so obvious that Solomon Grundy could find them their box ticking exercises unnecessary bloat to bump the numbers but beautifully all of the trophies in Vanessa Studios and the Stag Airship have some form of puzzle to overcome and they're typically quite unique a sequence of Simon Says a puzzle requiring us to spell bat using an electric generator a slot machine that requires careful timing panel puzzles where we need to trick some chimps somebody had a lot of fun with the challenges in these core Dungeons and it's a testament to how the talent of rocksetti's level and puzzle designers have grown across the series you can trace the establishment of rocksteady's legacy and so many of these dumb little sequences out in the world the variety on offer is greater than ever before too 140 of the Riddler trophies have puzzles associated with them Arkham City changed the game with trap rooms legitimate puzzles that needed numerous gadgets gliding challenges and more Arkham Knight takes those challenges and builds on top of them some of them are repeated like gliding through weak parts of a wall but a lot of them are satisfying and tricky puzzles they're not perfect though they are a handful of them that need us to trace painted question marks in the batmobile's forensic scanner and they are bugged to hell sometimes the paint just won't load meaning this already sludgy piece of gameplay completely bogs the player down I hate these things more than I hate the breakable objects and I hate them a lot after destroying 70 Network relays and Arkham Origins I was thankful to see that there's at least different types of objects this time Jacks in the Box Arkham Shields fear crates hey Screen Rant where's the ire for these things the race tracks are at least interesting but driving around Gotham shooting metal plates isn't my idea of a good time three games deep I wish Rock City took the bloody hint there here in the robot's chest cavity go on it won't bite the hell Eddie make this thing let me go batteries you think I needed batteries oh miss Kyle you underestimated my bespoke power supply Innovations the rewards for these Collectibles are as cool as ever we get to hear Henry Adam's first contact with Harley Quinn Selena Kyle being captured by the Riddler conversations between the Arkham Knight and Barbara when he kidnapped her the audio tapes reward us with a variety of stories that cast a wide net over Gotham but as always it's the actual riddles that steal the show because they contribute to the game's wider World building the fate of Quincy sharp is hidden away in these rather than crammed into an already busy main plot it turns out that strange subconsciously planted the thought that he should kill himself if he ever got arrested under that conditioning sharp hung himself in his cell his legacy tarnished and ending at the end of a rope it's almost enough to make you feel sorry for him we learn about Harley Quinn's ruthless control over her man using looping footage of the Joker to strike fear into their hearts we see that Dead show adult is frustrated after his defeat in Arkham City and has his sight set on Jack Ryder the victim That Got Away we see that Kirk langstrom's wife Francine might still be alive Victor zaz even makes his presence known he's still alive and well carving up corpses and freeing them from the shackles of the Living World there are just 40 of them this time contrasting to Arkham City's whopping 70 but quantity isn't everything because some of these don't just used to observe our surroundings some of them need us to interpret a situation to go back to panessa Studios there is a great riddle here where we need to use movie posters on the wall to trace the circle of life from a pregnant woman Through The Living Years right through to death The Riddles don't just give us Easter eggs anymore now they're puzzles in their own right well Dark Knight it seems you have earned the right to die at my mechanical hands but let us be clear we do not meet as equals in fact you literally have not a Hope of Victory with all of the riddles solved and fear crates destroyed and trophies collected Riddler honors his deal we finally go Toe to Toe with him alongside Catwoman she's here to take Vengeance we are just here to embody it and shockingly this is the best boss fight in the game I could only really say that because the bar is so low he's not a helicopter he's not a tank he's the Riddler in a goddamn Mech surrounded by robots that are color coded to the bat or the cat you could say that this battle relies too much on henchmen to keep it interesting we're only really fighting The Riddler Bots after all but the spectacle of a thing keeps up the hype and needing to swap between Batman and Catwoman keeps the brawl feeling unique and memorable it's dumb as hell to fight robot Riddler but in a story all about escalation this feels like a natural place for him to end up we've bested him over and over over we've got a final puzzle confrontation back in Arkham City this is a gift from Rocksteady to its fan base look in Arkham Knight you can finally properly kick Riddler's ass enjoy rescuing Selena from Riddler's clutches are two sweethearts share a tender sad moment Catwoman asks Batman to run away with her screw Gotham as best days are behind it but Bruce knows what needs to be done this is the end Selena it means we can I can I will see you again right no one will Gotham needs something more something worse to defend her she needs a new myth a legend more powerful than I can be right now no matter what happens tonight Bruce is going to take control of his Destiny and end the legend of the Batman his way what happens after that is anybody's guess but with the fear toxin still coursing through his veins he resolves to finish this once and for all and pave the way for a new Legacy foreign Batman Roars working through the rubble Jason where are you I warned you he thinks I warned you not to go after the Joker you never listen why why how could I have been so stupid I must be insane he remembers how they met how the small boy tried to Jack the tires of the Batmobile how he wanted to put him on the straight and narrow how he wanted to help him avoid jail sentimental lunacy that's what he thinks of it now ludacy that got a young boy killed a young boy that just wanted to meet his mother Sheila Haywood's body lies smoking outside of the warehouse she was blown clear of the explosion she's gasped me for air she's not going to make it Joker she says he tied us up wanted to eliminate all evidence Jason rescued me he's much better than I deserve much better as she dies Batman sees him the corpse of Jason Todd one Luke tells the story there's no need to check for a pulse but he does anyway nothing he's lost him he's already getting called to the touch gone Batman removes what little remained of Jason's costume so that he can't be identified as Robin as Bruce Wayne he answers questions from the authorities of course he'll fly the body back to the States for a burial he'll take care of everything everything this is something that he and the Joker should have settled a long time ago he tracks him to another warehouse and written on the wall in blood is a message B see you at 42nd and first Jay he takes the Joker at his word and heads home the funeral is small just Bruce Alfred Barbara and Jim Gordon attend shall I get in touch with Master dick Alfred asks no I'll handle this myself Alfred Bruce says no help from now on that's the way I wanted over the next couple of days Batman locks himself in the bat cave trying to find out what Joker's message might have meant in Gotham 42nd and first just has a deli in a drugstore in Metropolis it's a parking lot but in New York that address links to the United Nations Plaza The Joker wanted me to know he was coming to the U.N that man thinks but why he resolves to go to confront Joker head-on he's excused the evil the clown has done in the past because of his insanity but Jason Todd was a bridge too far he won't make that mistake again but when he arrives at the U.N someone familiar is waiting for him the state department asked me to stop by Superman says soaring down from somewhere unseen why because they guessed you'd be here but how did they know that the Iranian government informed them that you might show up to cause trouble Superman rubs his chin this isn't going to be easy to explain I'm not sure I understand it myself Iran has a new Ambassador the state department checked it's legitimate this new Ambassador P has diplomatic immunity no one can arrest him for anything he's done in this country or overseas if you try anything it could cause an international incident Superman takes a calm step towards Batman I'm here to talk some sense into you but if that doesn't work Bruce's face crumples beneath his mask who's the ambassador he whispers go home Superman says who the pain the way rage the loss it bursts out of Batman with one violent swing he cracks Superman hard against the jaw the Man of Steel doesn't feel it but Batman does that's him pulling up to the curb Superman says looking down onto the street Batman's mind whirls as he looks he sees the shoes first polished pristine covered by a tight-fitting pinstripe suit a white kefir sits on his head complimenting the white skin and red lips no isn't this touching the Joker says beaming at the pair my old Pals Superman and bat past have come to congratulate me it's true guys I'm the new Iranian ambassador to the UN eat your hearts out the next hour of gameplay is all about mop up Ivy still needs time to prepare the pollen but that's time that we don't have scarecrow and Arkham Knight use the cloudburst and blast the fear toxin across the city Gotham officially falls into madness with the streets inaccessible safe for the protection of the Batmobile master Bruce I hope you're not planning what I think you're planning it will be Reckless and irresponsible even by your standards it's the only option Alfred Ivy's pollen should still work but while she finishes her preparations we need to destroy the cloudburst so that this doesn't happen again our journey takes us back to all locations like Stag's Airship and the maintenance tunnels trying to locate the Arkham Knight and the cloudburst tank none of our enemies are safe from the fear gas General Grunts and the Ark of militia are armed with gas masks but we pick up from incidental conversations that these are useless against scarecrow's new formula he's burning all of Gotham his man included but the toxin doesn't stop our bodies from throwing a few punches so while Batman hunts for the night let's finally clench our fists and get into combat Arkham asylum's battles were all about introducing players to free flow Arkham City incorporating gadgets more directly with quickfire mechanics Arkham Knight sinks its teeth into both of those things and chews on them spitting something back out that's at once familiar Capital C cool and full of spectacle here's what gazdev said in an interview with God as a geek quote the free flow combat has always been very scalable and I think some of it is at its best and most fun when you're dealing with big groups of thugs that's one of my favorite things about this game it's been made possible with this jump up to New Gen having that extra processing power to put more thugs on screen it's pure chaos moments where you're teaming up with the rest of the bat family feel like a really awesome classic Batman brawl and I grin like a little kid every time I think about it hi goddamn praise indeed from the social marketing manager but marketing Spiel aside everything he just said encapsulates my feelings about Arkham Knight's battles because there are so many enemies on screen now efficiency is where we need to concentrate our efforts free flow's core remains unchanged we still need to embody Batman's discipline with critical strikes and Target navigation but we're armed with a variety of new tools that speed things along one bad guy coming up Catwoman Nightwing and Robin all flow in and out of the story at set moments and when they do we can swap to them on a dime during combat a brief slow-motion transition guides us over to wherever in the arena they are that might end up feeling disorienting but thankfully our bad guys always cancel their attacks when we do that so you're not jumping into Robin's skin when he's just about to be knocked to the ground we never lose the fluidity that makes free flow so good even when swapping between two Heroes with each punch Throne or bad guy knocked out a dual team takedown becomes available again efficiency is the point here the takedown animations are random and contextual based off of certain animations we're already doing but they never last longer than two to three seconds so you can get straight back into the action these dynamic duo scenarios aren't necessarily about challenge they're about the power fantasy Batman might not want to admit it but it's an unspoken rule that is strongest when his walls break down and he trusts his allies it's like that review on Common Sense Media set it teaches kids teamwork and problem solving through the story mode I described Arkham City's fights as a combat race track when I looked to the game the goal was to keep up free flow for as long as possible overcoming various obstacles that could break that free flow like Shield enemies or stumb baton enemies that core is still here but Arkham Knight's combat is more aggressive both we and our many faceless henchmen have a renewed thirst for violence tonight so speed variety and pinpoint targeting is more important than ever generic thugs now come with a charge that if not canceled with a batarang or a vault can immediately knock us to the ground some of them will even bear hug us forcing us to stand in one place and mash the attack button before one of their friends get a free hit in their AI is attracted to weapons and tools dropped by their fallen comrades much more than they were in Arkham City so unless you destroy that Shield or that stumboton it'll likely come back with a vengeance when you least expect it a medic can revive a down bad guy so they can essentially have two or three lives they can supercharge them so a grunt isn't vulnerable to our attacks unless we use a gadget to de-power them basically their threat levels can change on a dime so our calculation of who the key threats are needs to change during a fight combat experts are a refined version of The League of Assassins their blades are longer so their reach can sneak up on you they can leap off of walls or the shoulders of other enemies meaning not every threat comes from ground level now it can come from the sky brutes come in a variety of forms armored unarmored Shields stumbotones dual wielding swords and most of these forms can't be eliminated with one quick takedown when your combo is high enough so they'll hang around fights a lot longer than you might originally expect during some of the tougher challenges they will control the battlefield completely putting your Batman on the back foot until he can take them down which is where that efficiency needs to return with a vengeance so what do you think ladies my money's on the Batman for all of the greatness that surrounds asylum in City's combat there were occasional stutters where free flow could be canceled accidentally Arkham Knight is here to try and mitigate those stutters as much as possible while making the player more involved in the fisticuffs than ever before adding to that deliberateness we can now pick up thugs that have been downed and put them into a Beatdown so we're not stuck with the awkward waiting while they pick themselves up off the floor before being knocked over we can angle ourselves to throw an enemy with a counter providing some Breathing Room during the more intense fights the martial artists from Arkham Origins a personal highlight in WB Montreal's outing haven't been carried over but the thought process behind countering them has if a group of enemies tried to attack us all at once one push of the counter button won't be enough now we need to correlate it with a number of henchmen that are about to attack environmental takedowns mean our awareness of space is now heightened electrical panels baseball bats light fittings there's a whole host of stuff here that offers up a Batman that doesn't just rely on his preparedness but are making the most of resources that are to hand adding a whole new dimension to how he's characterized in combat stealing weapons especially adds to our efficiency because they do more damage and in some cases can knock thugs out with one hit but they don't come with the same caveat that Arkham Origins shot Gloves did in that game Batman's new power up rendered every new enemy type worthless because they made us Unstoppable by using a weapon in Knight brings with it a long labored animation where bats picks up the weapon and then every attack after that takes a split second longer than our fists would a tiny personal gripe is that the explosive gel has been neutered in City it involved a glorious cart wheel that could plant small traps around an arena with a sizable area of effect when triggered now it acts like the concussion blast in Origins particular to just one enemy but all of the gadgets come with a cool power up if you reach a high enough combo so it swings and roundabouts the remote electrical charge can conduct electricity in groups the back claw can talk numerous enemies at once and these gadgets aren't just cool now they're downright necessary to smash back at night's new enemy types the wealth of bad guys and how they complement Batman's skill set is honestly the one thing that's making me hold out hope for Rocksteady Suicide Squad game this is a team who gets what makes fighting so much fun you make different enemies with specific abilities and then give us tools to overcome not just them but your low-level thugs too it's not just about making a number go up and I'm hopeful God down to my guts I'm hopeful that this design philosophy will translate into the ranged battles we've seen in suicide squad's marketing and if that game comes out it is complete garbage I said hopeful okay not optimistic Alfred raised the bridges he's not getting off leak Island are you sure get the Batwing to scan the cloudburst find a weakness I'll take out the Cobra tanks on guard for all of the love that I have for Arkham Knight's combat and there really is a lot of love here it makes me incredibly disappointed that we never get to use it on the titular character we'll fight the knights in a chopper in a predator sequence and here it is a straight up tank battle but we never get a hand-to-hand martial arts movie successor to Deathstroke's boss in Origins with the cloudburst uncovered Batman gets in the Batmobile and sets out to destroy it the Arkham Knight is driving around the city like a giddy child so this is a vehicle boss that's in keeping with the game's emphasis on putting its open world first it's an island-wide battle with the potential to go anywhere but the setup forces a player to find a safe cheesy option and stick to it you shoot the cloudburst a couple of times and run away rinse and repeat as it goes up in flames and the Arkham Knight gets away bats rushes back to poison ivy she's absorbed all of the fear talks in herself a lethal dose not for Gotham no she never cared about the city but for the old tree that's now producing the pollen needed for an antidote she returns to the green merges with the tree's pollen and is scattered to the winds nature always wins poison ivy saved Gotham City and her name is added to the list of people the Batman failed to protect Batman Superman and CIA agent Ralph Bundy sit in a dark Smoky room is like this Batman Bundy says you take out the Joker and it's gonna cause a major incident State doesn't want anyone messing with him especially you you can't be serious The Joker is a homicidal maniac they only made him Ambassador so he could kill someone probably the entire un assembly there's no evidence of that Bundy says waving a thick cigar in the air and until we do the Joker has to be treated like any other delegate that's as insane as the Joker himself maybe Bundy grumbles but that's the way it is not for me it isn't Batman growls the president has asked this gentleman to keep you in line Bundy gestures to Superman you must behave he'll slap you down is that how it is the expression of Batman's face is unreadable but the threat is clear I'll do what I have to Superman says he goes on to explain that he just heard about Jason Todd he seemed like a really nice kid he says he was Batman hushes Jason was the best best are the Joker murdered him but the Joker's now immunized from retribution for that and any other crime he's ever committed Superman mutters That's the Law not Justice Batman moves to leave but Superman calls after him you can't put your thirst for vengeance above the country's best interests spare me your boy scout sentimentalities Kent to use your own words I'll do what I have to Night Comes Bruce makes some calls he's able to get access to tomorrow's assembly as an unofficial Observer a mental battle forces its way to the front of his mind he wants to kill Joker he's planning to kill Joker but he is hopelessly insane can he really hold him responsible for what he did he's too emotionally involved after all maybe it would be best to let Superman handle this that way he won't do something he'll regret for the rest of his life he looks at the bat suit no The Joker killed Jason his Mind Is Made Up half an hour later The Joker Is lounging in his Executive Suite he's preparing a speech for tomorrow he's so excited but unfortunately he won't have a live audience he might have diplomatic immunity but the UN still fears him their limiting access no one will be allowed in the gallery such a shame I'm giving you one last chance Batman's voice rumbles return to Arkham Asylum and turn yourself in and if I don't The Joker whirls around what will you do let your assistant handle it Batman's face darkens his fists clench oh I wish I'd seen your face when you found what was left of the brat set you off the deep end didn't it or maybe you're glad to be rid of a little darling hmm you always know exactly the wrong thing to say don't you that's what makes me so special have it your way Batman heads for the window but stops himself by the way thank you for what up until now I wasn't absolutely certain that you were responsible for Jason's death you confirming it makes what I have to do a lot easier it's really [ __ ] up while the comics industry did to Jason Todd he was mandated by DC Executives writer Jerry Conway and the artist Don Newton were told to quote make a carbon copy of Dick Grayson because DC noticed that having dick leave Batman to go off and become Nightwing left a massive hole in the cape Crusaders life that needed to be filled so enter Jason Todd or rather Jason 1.0 a Jason who is a circus kid a Jason who had loving well-rounded parents killed in Cold Blood a Jason who off his own back donned his own costume to hunt that killer down a Jason who reminds Batman and Comics readers of a young optimistic Dick Grayson during the Glory Days on the page dick supported Jason Todd he thought he would be a great replacement Robin and to keep the readers on sight Jerry Conway made sure to Penn scenes where he openly encourages this new Robin to take his place a successor and then came crisis on infinite Earths in 1986. the crossover event to end all crossover events DC's Multiverse collapsed merging into one world that let the execs decide what was Canon and what was about to be changed Jason Todd changed Jason 2.2 was a cigarette smoking child of the street who first met Bruce while trying to Jack the batmobile's tires a criminal in the making saved from a dark future by Batman Dick Grayson didn't quit as Robin now he was fired and forbidden from using the name as Travis Langley puts it Jason was no longer identified as Dick's successor fans in the 80s saw him as an insult to Dick Grayson in every way no Jason wasn't usurper and because fans didn't like these changes DC decided to play into it making Jason brattier over the year that followed his new reveal Damien Wayne would eventually embody a lot of these qualities less than 20 years later but there Grant Morrison looked at why Damian was such a little [ __ ] what made him the way he is and what challenges does that pose to Batman as his father that was a deep well that could be mined by DC and its writers but they didn't care about that that they harvested Jason's new characterization for hate clicks well hate buys because this is before the internet and then in 1988 this advert appeared in Batman comics with two full numbers to call the Joker had captured and tied up Jason in a warehouse beating him within an inch of his life with a crowbar the 2660 number would save Jason's life the 266 number would kill him get it the number of the Beast classy stuff guys his bastardization and murder would be later Redeemed by Judd winick in under the Red Hood where he brought Jason back to life gave him a whole new lease on life and one of the best bat family stories ever made and as amazing as that is and as much as I love the red hood that was never the long-term plan the fact remains that in 1988 DC asked people to vote on whether or not to murder a child and that's messed up I'm not alone in thinking this I don't think much of the guy but Bob Kane hated it Frank Miller has expressed his disgust a few times quote an actual toll-free number where fans can call in to put the ax to a little boy's head to me the whole killing of Robin thing was probably the ugliest thing I've seen in comics and the most cynical bear in mind this is coming from the guy who wrote The Dark Knight Returns so what does any of this have to do with the Arkham Knight nothing at all why would you ask that it's just a fun deviation back to the story if it's any consolation I'm sure cranes put old Jimbo out of his Misery by now it's not like he's got anything left to be afraid of not since they sent his little girl on the stairlift to heaven we pick up a broadcast from Jim Gordon he's located scarecrow at the killsinger department store a level that they somehow managed to include the Batmobile into and is planning to kill him for what he did to Barbara but the Arkham Knight got to him first there were two homages to Arkham Asylum here the first is that a villain has taken the commission or hostage and we need to save him and the second is a little heart back to the Killer Croc boss in the sewers beneath Arkham mansion the Knight arrives in a humongous drill and chases us through tunnels in the Batmobile we can't face him in a head-on fight so instead need to learn him down long tunnels planted with explosives hoping to wreck the drill it is another Batmobile boss against the Arkham Knight our third in fact but this one is the standout where on the back foot every possible strategy goes back to running away from the Knight and we feel like prey down here the size of the drill is ominous but it's the maze-like level design that makes this confrontation so memorable the worst part is that it's all for nothing the night Corners us destroys the Batmobile and we escape deeper into the tunnels not like a bat but a rat skulking away from a predator Running Out of Time friends and options there's nothing to do but finally stand our ground and face this new mysterious villain head on what's the matter lost for words unexpected more I'm hurt Joker sent me the film I saw him kill you don't you dare dare lie to me how long did you wait before replacing me huh a month a week I trusted you and you just left me to die in 2014 following a demo of the game dark skin told a room full of games press quote there are only two things I can say about the character you just saw number one his name is the Arkham Knight number two he is a completely original character we've designed it Rocksteady in collaboration with DC Comics that's it this of course was a lie the Arkham Knight was a completely original moniker for a wholly unoriginal character the comics fans knew all too well the Arkham Knight was Jason Todd all along I completely get it if this bothered you especially if you were monitoring marketing speak like this within the confines of the game the Jason Todd reveal is predictable not just because his hints at knowing Batman's identity his past his weaknesses and his allies fit pretty well with the under the Red Hood storyline but also because there's a whole section in panessa studios that hits us over the head with Joker's horrific torture of Jason it turns out he didn't kill him the conditioning worked Joker transformed the former Robin into a hateful vengeful tragic mess one of Batman's greatest fears comes true Jason didn't just die he became something worse but for me I don't care that the twist is predictable the story has so many layers and Cliffhangers and twists and turns that there's enough unpredictability here to keep me engaged and on my toes I was shocked when Joker returned or Barbara died or Ivy sacrificed herself for Gotham or that Bruce was unmasked on live television the game is in Barren of any memorable twists and the build up is incredibly effective by the time Jason takes off the mask he puts on a shiny red helmet it feels like the anointment of a series-long character in The Making even though he was barely referenced in Arkham Asylum or city like I said at the start the story of what happened to Jason in the comics has grown arms and legs as the years have carried on a simple story about a boy wanting to find his mother beaten up with a crowbar and blown up in a warehouse has turned into full-blown days-long torture at the hands of the Joker the Clown's role as an Iranian Ambassador is barely referenced the bond-asked tour of various locations that we get are secondary Arkham Knight's angle is to go all in on Joker's cruelty and Jason's pain in the comics barely nine months passed before DC gave our hero a new boy wonder in Tim Drake in the game it's less than six Joker even snaps pictures of the two of them and uses this as evidence to Jason that Batman never cared about him hey I never asked what's the big secret who is the big bad name tell me of course sir in panessa studios we get a final Vision one that I didn't raise then because I was waiting for the right time the moment of Jason's death is shown to us after the torture Joker finally asks Jason for Batman's true identity and Jason prepares to tell him this is after six months of torture and even them I don't believe he actually would have told him I think this was staged we know the Joker faked Jason's death who's to say Jason wasn't in on it a gunshot like that straight to the face would have killed him he throws back when the gunshot goes off to sell the death because if Jason did tell Joker Batman's true identity surely he would have told Deathstroke or scarecrow one was his mentor and the other was his partner and we know from this game that that's not the case even when Joker warped him into hating Batman there's still strength here still resolve he's still Jason Todd so let's go back to three Jokers because I've not done mourning about a comic book I guess Jeff John's story rewrites Jason Todd's murder the second Robin no longer takes a 30-minute beating with silent stoicism he begs and screams for Mercy to make the Joker seem more cruel do you remember what you said to me while I was breaking your head in with that crowbar Joker cackles in those pages please stop please I'll do anything I'll be your Robin these memories come flooding back to Jason and his fire dies he breaks down that doesn't happen in death in the family not even close young Jason Todd is a lot of things in that story but he holds on to his fire right until the very end trying to save his mother after she betrayed him the legend of Jason Todd has shape-shifted like Clayface since his name was etched onto a comic strip it began before crisis on infinite hurts it was reborn in 1986 it was cut short at the hands of the Joker it was reborn as the Red Hood and under Jeff Jones it was retconned into making Jason weaker in his dying moments and I think Arkham Knight's version is more interesting than any of these Jason isn't just a product of Batman's Legend he's a product of the Jokers too he Harbors Batman's determination his grit his resolve and his preparedness if he didn't he wouldn't be able to wage this massive war on Gotham scarecrow's plan to gas the city in eastern Seaboard is just another day bats would have stopped him hours ago if it wasn't for Jason's involvement his sadism the way he toys with Bruce every time the two of them come to blows his obsession that's all qualities of the Joker unfortunately almost none of these narrative qualities come through in his final boss it's a predator map where Jason hides up on various gargoyles sniping at Batman while a chunk of militian opted camouflage hunt for us this is Arkham Knight's final boss fight and it's disappointing as hell when the dust is settled Batman looks at Jason with pity and defeat in his eyes and the boy Twisted by his legacy and he does the unthinkable he stops fighting he says he's sorry and he lets Jason get away but even with this twist unmasked Arkham Knight still has a couple of cards left to play so you did it I must admit I had my doubts that you could make this happen I'm not asking again and I'm not talking to you it is time time for what Jim on the rooftop of the department store scarecrow awaits we might have scared off his Lieutenant but his plan is just taking shape scarecrow's final step in Breaking the Batman down having a friend betray us and am asking us to show Gotham that we're just a man Barbara Gordon didn't die it was just a hallucination she's been with Scarecrow in the Arkham Knight this whole time we learned that Babs immediately recognized Jason and Jason was incredibly protective of her while she was in scarecrow's custody refusing to let any of Gotham's monsters lay a hand on her his love for his family remained intact even as his hatred of Bruce burned of course scarecrow being the miserable creature that he is underestimates Jim Gordon he knew we were Bruce Wayne he says as much before we reached the roof and when he shoots Us in the chest he shoots right in the center of the bat where the armor plating is the strongest scarecrow pushes Barbara off of the roof but trust is what saves her life Batman trusted that Jim wouldn't shoot him in the head Jim trusted that Batman would save Barbara and Batman is trusting Jason will come back to him [Music] day comes to the UN General Assembly chamber every eye is locked on the joker as he enters in a bright pink kefir he stops locks eyes with Bruce Wayne both of their faces freeze the moment feels like an eternity but only lasts a minute at most does he recognize him does the Joker know who Batman is a small chuckle sounds deep in the Joker's throat it moves to the front of his mouth and before long he's got Fallen laughing manically as he moves on taking his place at the front of the gallery it is a great honor to be here tonight and proud to speak for the great Islamic Republic of Iran that country's current leaders and I have a lot in common insanity and a great love of fish but unfortunately we also share a mutual problem we get no respect everyone thinks of Iran is the home of the terrorist Zealot they see even worse things about me would you believe we both suffered abuse and belittlement well we aren't going to take it anymore in fact you aren't going to be able to kick anyone around ever again he whips off his clothes revealing two tanks of laughing gas strapped to his body the Sheep finally realized they've been led to the slaughter Bruce thinks he prepares to LEAP into action but of course he doesn't need to lift a finger to save the day Superman is there dressed as a guard he grabs the Joker's gun and bends the barrel you're too late Joker Giggles my gas will still take out these pompous fools don't bet on it Superman opens his mouth and takes a deep breath sucking the gas out of the air storing it into his body Batman he's all yours Superman thinks he rises into the air I've got to find a safe place to get rid of this gas good thing I had a plan B Joker raises a trigger into the air and suddenly the Assembly Hall is filled with pockets of explosions delegates are blown back the room fills with smoke and screams Batman leaps to the smoke but he can't reach Joker in time the clown makes his Escape through a hole in the wall dashing out into the street he guns down an ambassador as he goes and Batman mind reels another hapless victim to Hob my sleep he thinks chasing after him let there be an end to it well no more running will do you no good Joker you killed Jason Joker boards a chopper ready for takeoff but Batman leaps aboard the pilot takes him over the river but in the confusion a gunshot destroys the control panel it's going to crash Batman looks at Joker laughing and wheezing in the corner of the chopper and he leaps out of the door into the river as he hits the water the chopper explodes above them Superman swoops down tries to rescue his friend but Batman fights him off his body he sputters fired his body but as he swims to the safety of the dock he knows they won't a sad frown crawls across his face as he leaves retiring to one of the nearby rooftops and that is how a death in the family ends with Batman alone sitting with his failure and his memories of Jason laughs there are numerous phobias surrounding death there's thanatophobia just a general fear of dying there's monetophobia my greatest fear dying alone but the most important phobia the one that's key to understanding the Arkham verse is a thousagoraphobia the fear of being forgotten after death I think all of Batman's anxiety can come back to this phobia he spent years wrenching off them out of the corrupt cesspit it wallowed in back in Arkham Origins while the fight isn't over the importance the game puts on the gcpd is an honorable Refuge that Gordon and Bruce have fixed shows that gothamites have been inspired by this new kind of hero if Batman was forgotten after death there's a good chance the city would fall back into that cycle we see an Arkham Asylum that he's terrified of losing control of slipping into madness he scared the deep down he belongs in the Asylum with his greatest foes if that were to become true if Gotham saw him as just another patient locked in a Cell his Legend would die he'd be forgotten with each passing year his fear of losing his allies links back to this too prior to this game he's kept his friends and family at arm's length not letting Robin help him in Arkham City is a key example of this it's not just because he cares about them and is scared that they'll die like Jason did but it's because he knows that after he's gone after he's retired after he's died the bat family will carry on his memory his fight and his message if they're killed in action there will be nobody left to remember him but everything I've just said there is true of the joker as well in Arkham Asylum Joker's core goal was to drive Batman mad and pump Titan into Gotham's water supply but he purposefully transformed the Asylum into a monument to himself with paint on the walls and an entire building redesigned In His Image Arkham City's Joker feared his death would be weak and forgetful if his poisoned blood killed him he didn't want to float away he wanted his enemies to remember and fear him even after death that's why he teamed up with Clayface to pretend he was still going strong in the Arkham City Comics he thinks wistfully about demise that came with the city in flames and Batman by his side in the end he got his wish inner Joker the one that's haunted us for the whole game reflects Batman's fear of being forgotten back at him the clown is motivated by immortality and being remembered that's why he's slowly trying to take over our mind and as his hold grows stronger he tries a change of tact foreign have to come back later and butcher them all anyway and frankly that's going to be a lot more painful for everyone involved nihilism we take Barbara back to the gcpd where she'll be safe but scarecrow launches a full-fledged assault against our Hub tanks are incoming Choppers are inbound the final battle of Gotham's war is here and Joker highlights the doomed nature of Batman's Crusade this eternal cycle has carried on for years and years escalating further and further there's only one inevitable endpoint to all of this eventually one of Batman's villains will outdo him everyone will die and even if that doesn't happen soon The Joker will take over our body and go on a rampage so why does any of it matter working with Barbara reminds us why something cool isn't always something inspiring but what makes rocksteady's Batman game special is that they disagree with that statement every flip kick fun Gadget shadowy takedown explosive street fight is inspiring because of how the game always ties it back to Batman's self-discipline his grit and his determination Arkham Knight reminds us that the Dark Knights Legacy lives on in the bat family and that that could be cool too we work with Oracle to fight back scarecrow's forces she hacks tanks to give us the upper hand the whole set piece kicks off with Batman and Batgirl alternating a countdown before jumping into action Barbara's presence elevates The Siege on the gcpd from just another tank battle to something that feels Monumental why does any of this matter the Joker asks because I'm goddamn Batman and I'm Gonna Save the goddamn day the delicious high of fighting back scarecrow's forces doesn't last long his attack was just a distraction while we and Barbara fought back the militia scarecrow went to panessa Studios and kidnapped Robin if we don't meet him alone he'll kill the Boy Wonder a neat cyclical bow to tie up the end of the game another Robin is put in danger by a villain who has gone beyond his costume and gimmick if we don't save him history will repeat itself another member of the bat family lost to Bruce's Crusade such a happy couple Shame about the kid though poor little Bruce he never quite got over it now did he narratively everything that follows is brilliant a next-gen recreation of the opening scene to Arkham Asylum Flags to the player the Rocksteady story is about to come full circle there's even a quick hallucinatory sequence in Crime Alley because it wouldn't be a Batman game without a return to Crime Alley where we fight dozens of jokers with consistent takedowns that aren't just Batman's usual clinical brutality they're straight up murders Joker has fully healed his skin is no longer peeling the white pigment is no longer diseased he's as fresh-faced as he was back in 2009. scarecrow is holed up in Arkham mansion with Gordon and Robin tied up waiting for us it's just a shame that there's no gameplay in the Asylum we don't get to breathe its Dusty air we don't get to take in the full spectacle of the manor that started it all we don't even get to take out scarecrow ourselves the final battle of the main campaign is this breaking Joker's back in Crime Alley despite how much time and effort clearly went into Arkham Knight's design its ending forgets the core foundations of the series not a single second in Arkham Asylum makes us feel like Batman because we don't do anything as Batman but maybe that's the point because are we really Batman here Joker's grip over his mind is almost fully formed the legend is dying that doesn't make it any easier to swallow and as always I'll take a glorious atmospheric narrative explosion over a Joker Titan boss any day of the week but it's a personal disappointment that we don't get to beat Scarecrow ourselves instead we watch bats do it in a cutscene Bruce Wayne world can see you for what you truly are a legend laid bear but for now scarecrow wins this isn't a partial Victory like when Hugo Strange activated Protocol 10 this is the completion of his plan he set out to prove that the legend of the Batman was nothing more than just a man in Kevlar and as he televises our unmasking he changes Batman's Legacy Gotham might have embraced Batman as a hero with a name and a face at the start of the game but that was a name and face cloaked in Shadow and rumor now the whole world knows that Batman is just Bruce Wayne billionaire playboy philanthropist he's not some hard in vigilante he's a man with a trust fund and too much anger right different characters will react to Batman's unmasking in different ways Riddler refuses to believe it and claims that it must be a trick Jack Ryder pesters us for an interview the mayor puts out a warrant for our arrest Aaron cash doesn't care in fact almost all of the co-ops either don't believe it's true or just ignore the fact altogether still calling his Batman not Bruce it doesn't change our relationship with any of our villains penguin hated both Bruce Wayne and Batman so now he can direct desire in one place two fish shrugs it off says it feels inevitable good man don't last long in this city of course Bruce Wayne would turn into the Batman Firefly says we'll burn no matter who we are Deathstroke respects us as a warrior who we are under the mask was never something he concerned himself with Batman's work over the past decade has been so effective that Bruce Wayne is gone at least in the eyes of his Rogues Gallery we are the Batman the fact they know who we are doesn't change the past many of the costumed foes and maximum security were not the superstitious and cowardly lots that the moniker was dawned for after a couple of run-ins they weren't scared of the idea of Batman they were scared of what he could do it's in the nameless criminals that we feel the damage of this reveal the militia and henchmen mock the idea Their Fear of us dissipates now they've seen our face they even threatened to sue us for all of the broken bones guys like this were the reason that Batman was created the first place and now its Effectiveness has been diluted scarecrow is surprised even at the end of the road with his success on his lips even he wasn't expecting Bruce Wayne under the cowl with all of Gotham watching he stabs us with the last doses of fear toxin planning to broadcast Batman's breakdown as he finally after three games four if you include Origins gives into the madness that's always been in the corner of his mind and then something else happens we start playing as the Joker again it's important to remember that this isn't the Joker it's Batman's manifestation of him so as we explore his fears and desires during this section we're also exploring Batman's it's here the two of them are linked by their athazagoraphobia wait a minute this isn't my grave no no no no it's too small it's it's all overgrown where's the head inside Batman's mind we find radio Transmissions that tell us Gotham has forgotten the clown nobody comes to his funeral we see a paper that Riddler and Harley are expecting a baby even the one person The Joker could rely on to mourn him has moved on playing as Joker takes us from a delicious power fantasy where we've gone down two-faced penguin drive around in a new and improved Joker mobile to feeling weak and small and scared as literal statues of Batman crawl into the dream we get to witness what it must be like for henchman number five in a predator Arena a huge hulking monster that seems to be everywhere and nowhere all at once but all of this is true of Batman as well scarecrow has slashed at his legacy publicly unmasking him showing the world that he's not a force of nature he's human worst of all he's a human who can be beaten and if that's all he is won't Gotham forget about him that could lined with a lethal dose of fear toxin means Bruce spirals out of control rock steady doesn't give bats lengthy monologues about the power of a human Spirit or Reflections on his status as a hero and what that must do to his sense of self and the end of the series proves that it doesn't need to it never needed to a picture might say a thousand words but confronting us through gameplay with Batman's humanity and deepest fears says a thousand more the statues that follow Joker are both a powerful symbol of Batman's inner strength and his belief that his Legend will carry on no matter what they're everywhere filling a room until we can't see anything but them destroy one and two more take their place Batman beats back Joker's control by clinging to his belief that no matter what there are ways for his legacy to continue Bruce Wayne is gone he doesn't exist in this corner of his mind it doesn't matter that scarecrow amassed the Batman because who was under the mask never mattered he's more than just Bruce Wayne his Vengeance he's the Knight he's Batman that beats back Joker he doesn't kill him or extinguish the fear that joker embodies but he confronts it and overcomes it that fear will always be there but it won't control him and best of all his belief and Trust pays off Jason comes to our Aid he doesn't stick around he doesn't necessarily even forgive Batman they're not there yet the poor guy has got a lot of issues to work through before that day comes if it ever does but bats puts his faith in his old Protege to do the right thing the same way he puts his faith in Jim on the rooftop of the department store are you sure you want to do this master person I've got to it's the only way to protect them the closing moments of Arkham Knight are incredibly ambiguous with Scarecrow defeated and Gotham returning to a state of calm the game ends with the Nightfall protocol the destruction of Wayne Manor and the death of the Batman as Gotham has come to know him Bruce says that it's the only way to protect them his family but that's not his only reason after all he told Catwoman that he would need to transform into something more something worse to keep protecting Gotham with the whole world now knowing his identity it's time for him to become a new kind of hero what we see in Arkham Knight's final seconds is something more than a man and something more even than a Batman something swoops down from a rooftop and explodes in a fiery bat signal to close off the story I've seen theories that is Batman using scarecrow's fear toxin no longer relying on theatrics instead literally striking fear into the hearts of his enemies I think that has weight but I don't necessarily like it the experiments in panessa studios show us how Batman's paranoia has almost made him cross the line between Hiro and villain I don't think we're supposed to like that reveal or think it's a good decision so having the story end with Batman using a villain's weapon to drive muggers insane seems like a line rocks that he wouldn't want him to cross oh sure he injects scarecrow with it in the campaign's final minutes but that wasn't a calculated move it was a last-ditch attempt to stop him I've seen theories that his Robin or Nightwing in the suit not a bad call others claim that it could be asriel but those people are wrong because that would be [ __ ] my interpretation is a bit more simple I think Bruce faked his death and went back to the basics he doesn't need fear toxin he doesn't need the Batmobile he doesn't need all the technological Wizardry by faking his death he can remake the legacy of the bat he needs to bring Gotham back to thinking of him as Vengeance in the night the days of Batman are through of course his appearance in Suicide Squad undermines all of these interpretations but until that game comes out I don't think it matters what does matter is the ambiguity it doesn't matter what the in-universe explanation is for this what matters is the fact that none of us know for sure the same way Gotham doesn't know for sure Batman has ascended to something unknowable and that makes him more powerful Jason Todd's Legacy was written and Rewritten over the years Joker's Legacy underwent the same treatment Scott Snyder's the Batman who laughs gives us glimpses into a whole Multiverse of Batman's out there each embodying an extreme the perfect family man the perfect Warden the perfect villain Batman embodies the perfect hero not with superpowers or power scaling over 9000 but a hero with flaws and regrets humanity and fear he's not just rocksteady's hero anymore he's my hero and your hero Rocksteady wanted us to feel like Batman when the credits roll on this final game we are him enshrined in a legacy that the Arkham games helped to build Arkham Knight the way it resolved I'm not going to give anything away by saying our resolved um was a real acting challenge for me and I was really proud of how Mark and I worked with each other and how sick that ending was and to top it all off he helped secure the legacy of this excitable compassionate nerdy Legend before his passing even when he's down in the dirt or giving into his Darkness Batman could ignite a particular kind of inspiration that makes him really special the kind of inspiration that makes his fans say I am Vengeance I am the Knight I am why am I always my own enemy stronger is something I Wanna Be thanks for watching this is the last darkened video but not the last Batman video I'm doing I'm currently working on a Gotham Knight's critique so hit the Bell so you know when it's out huge thank you to zolty boy for the thumbnail and Neil from my podcast lore dump for reading the various quotes we're going to be walking through all of the Arkham games next year on that channel because Chase weirdly knows nothing about them so if that sounds like fun look is in the pinned comment on the left hand side are the coolest patrons on patreon who help keep the lights on are funding my wedding and make it possible for me to create massive videos like these so order thanks go to Camilla kusovich quiet Ambassador Paul Thomas David Riata given Jerry Humes Curtis Newell as morius Joe Monte Freya ross123 Noah Bell Alec Meacham Joel Peters sn7 wrecked 3501 Fox reacts gaming Chris Duren Ginger Kappa David Neil Holton Jonathan Horner Misfit musica Michael Smith mikhilash corcott Daniel Tariq Clem prot V mover Thomas Evans Samantha P Dapper cyborg wob 76 Dan Ernesto when goats attack tenik Mike Crips Vincent the hollow Knight bloody Gabe Webby Patrick forso Nur Revel Eve Tyler Cox procrastinator EP hori unlucky Dragon Nikki D gaming University Yaya schnitzel Eddie black Abby The Bard Alina Buck combat wombat Top Hat tiger Joel Jimenez Wayward flock Matt Palmer Thomas Pruitt spaulter donations Christopher McBride the Slayer of games Daniel Boyles shishki wandering Alpha Vivi mija Ronnie law Rich medema battenberg Captain Bon clay Alec Maxwell come on command Michael Gallagher Captain cabinet Logan Hamilton David brignarsen George Vincent Eric Fray danger zone Chris McMullen Chris McRae Ryan Bryce Ryan Brenton Matt Emmy Matthew Halsey Sean toland Jerome Hotchkiss prodigal horse Mr anthropic Mike chalabi trench coat Guy The Heirs of History Cody Kyle P Philly Garrett birchall ChaCha's Vaz 76 Jack Neil Mack Sam's Forge Joey Isbell Aurelia Kristen ventral neon Leah Patrick Baird lgx Big Boar wolf Nicholas chairman Trevor Vernon Mark Anderson Joel Wilcox pleo gavastrian blank name Leon x-rights shamax Aiden Jonathan Riggs Zachary Johnson Daxter tk421 dnsch monikari Kier ingrasti Lamar 825 Ike n the old brown man Tempe unicort David J Morin Manito Callum Armitage Christopher Tierney torstein sundas fipsy Derek De rossia Luca tommins Sami stuff jagake Alberto Calas Captain waffles type Razz dini Zachary Powers Andrew muinos Prospero now and Gutierrez nopoff Alan black coalside Noor David Bedard Jared Helfer mukur John fosterag Robert Capell Matt McCulloch Paul W Chief sweep e Hornby Jonathan Lum Rhys stropp agri-optimist Mr Fredo Renton long cheddar talkster Ashley Bruning 100 Sam's my friend Neil Nathaniel Waters dinken Pearson Kyle Pierce lonely Ronin Kane high wind and Neve Care thank you all so much and as always take care but pain is just a season [Music] to be okay [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Monty Zander

Views: 1,840,198

Keywords: arkham knight critique, arkham knight retrospective, batman arkham knight, arkham knight gotham, arkham city critique, arkham asylum critique, arkham retrospective, arkham knight review, arkham knight analysis, arkham knight ending explained, arkham knight dlc, arkham knight matter of family, arkham knight batmobile, arkham knight lets play, arkham knight jason todd, arkham knight ending, batman arkham knight critique, batman arkham knight retrospective, rocksteady

Id: rruHbLSDTRo

Length: 211min 49sec (12709 seconds)

Published: Sat May 20 2023