Batman: Arkham Knight

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4988 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3,852 out of 4988
  2. Mixed: 654 out of 4988
  3. Negative: 482 out of 4988
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  1. ElBiggus
    Jun 24, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I'll start with the positives: graphically (at least from a technical standpoint) the game is outstanding -- texture and model detail is superb, the effects are impressive, and everything looks solid; audio is also decent -- the music sets the mood without being intrusive, the crunch of fist against body is satisfying, and for the most part the voice acting is above average (although at times Kevin Conroy sounds like he's wearing ill-fitting dentures). The frame rate seems fairly consistent, texture pop-in is minimal, and all in all it's a good example of what the Unreal engine can do when it's pushed.

    Brawling mechanics are largely unchanged, although it feels a little easier than before, the enemies are less varied, and there's less incentive to get creative. Occasionally Bats will still punch forlornly at the air rather than head towards an opponent, but it seems to happen less often than in Origins and the addition of a few tag-team fights spices it up, and overall it's still a fun diversion.

    Unfortunately, from here it all goes a bit downhill. The first three instalments really felt like you *were* Batman, and that Gotham City (or Arkham Asylum) were real locations, but in Arkham Knight this sense of person and place are missing. For starters the city is too big, and due to some of the gameplay mechanics you're either high above it or at ground level in one of the (all too frequent) "World of Tanks: Gotham Edition" shooting sections (more on which later), neither of which allow for any real involvement in the location. In previous games I always knew where I was and could navigate by landmarks, but AK becomes an exercise in "follow the marker".

    Other elements are missing: In City and Origins the street thugs played a central role in the game, but in AK they may as well not be there. The Predator encounters are few and far between, the environments they occur in are poorly designed, and there's little sense of suspense or tension. One thing I particularly miss is random street brawls; yes, they're available, but they seem pointless somehow -- there's little reason to ever approach street level on foot (and until you've cleared an area of all its tanks it's actually a recipe for death), and apart from the Riddler informants you gain nothing for your trouble.

    If those were its only defects the game wouldn't be so bad -- still the weakest in the series, but enjoyable. What really spoils the experience, though, boils down to two things:

    First, the plot. It's confused, predictable, dull, and at points you have to wonder how Batman can claim to be "the world's greatest detective" when "chemicals are being mixed at the chemical plant" is a surprise to him, or any of the other mind-numbingly obvious "surprises" that the dunderhead can't spot a mile off. Also, while it's true that Bats is a little emotionally unstable, this game paints him as being somewhere on the border between sociopath and psychopath, and while we're endlessly reminded that he "doesn't kill people" it certainly doesn't feel that way at points, particularly when the Batmobile comes in to play...

    ...and the Batmobile is the final nail in the coffin. The first time you get in it it's pretty freakin' sweet and the first time you switch to combat mode and blow up some tanks is fun, but the 100th time you go through the EXACT SAME "shoot loads of tanks" section the novelty has worn off. Despite acquiring upgrades the general combat mechanic remains the same (hold L2, fire a missile, strafe to avoid incoming fire while it recharges, repeat), and you get the feeling these moments are in there simply to justify the vehicle's inclusion. They're dull, repetitive, and feel about as un-Batmanlike as it's possible to be, and the less said about the lengthy, tedious, frustrating, and honest-to-goodness PAINFUL battle against the uber-weapon at the end of Act 2 the better. (The Batmobile even comes in to play in the Riddler side missions -- sure, some are puzzles and mildly diverting, but some are, I kid you not, RACES AGAINST THE CLOCK.)

    I've replayed the previous three instalments several times, each time to 100%, collecting every last Riddler trophy, wiping out all the Most Wanted, the whole nine yards. Arkham Knight, in contrast, is getting traded in now I've finished the main plot (and I only persevered with that out of a desire for it to be over rather than because I gave a hoot about what was going on.

    Origins may have been something of a let down at the time, but in contrast to this appalling mess it's an absolute gem. A bitterly disappointing end to the series; avoid it at all costs.    … Expand
  2. Lepmontog
    Jun 23, 2015
    2
    Bought this game with the hope of something new, something exiting, something enthraling. This game did not deliver in any sense whatsoever (except the graphics, which frankly fail to make the game any better). For anybody looking to buy this game, I'd suggest not. I cannot say for sure you'll be dissapointed, but it's just the same from the past games with an added (and extremely overusedBought this game with the hope of something new, something exiting, something enthraling. This game did not deliver in any sense whatsoever (except the graphics, which frankly fail to make the game any better). For anybody looking to buy this game, I'd suggest not. I cannot say for sure you'll be dissapointed, but it's just the same from the past games with an added (and extremely overused vehicle), so maybe try and be cautious with whether you buy this game or not.… Expand
  3. FRAge
    Jun 23, 2015
    0
    Batman Arkham Knight is a game that improves on the combat and graphics from previous games in the Batman franchise but everything else suffers because of that, the missions are simple and predictable, the bat mobile which is supposed to be a genre defining feature ends up being pointless and repetitive. This game was WAY to hyped!
  4. Shayan_MU
    Jul 29, 2015
    0
    They ruined it with batmobile , its get boring more and more ... boss fights with batmobile ?? Its batman , not terminator. Arkham city was soooooo much better
  5. Rebelarch
    Sep 12, 2017
    1
    The game is a mess of unorganized content thrown at you at without any design. It's a far cry away from the clever level design of Arkham asylum that actually asked you to problem solve.
  6. Pugnacious
    Oct 28, 2017
    1
    I only give it 1, because I want to reserve 0 for something really special. And Batman: AK is not special. It is just bad. I have spent about 2h on this game, and there wasn't one pleasant moment during that time. Everything is terrible here: story, camera, batmobil, fighting, grappling. Graphics is just atrocious, very dark and cheap. Everything looks exactly the same. Moving to someI only give it 1, because I want to reserve 0 for something really special. And Batman: AK is not special. It is just bad. I have spent about 2h on this game, and there wasn't one pleasant moment during that time. Everything is terrible here: story, camera, batmobil, fighting, grappling. Graphics is just atrocious, very dark and cheap. Everything looks exactly the same. Moving to some roof, just to do some stupid stuff seems pointless. I expect nothing and still was severely disappointed. I really can't understand how people can play it, yet how they think this game deserves 10/10. Last week I played Mad Max for about 15h. It wasn't an ideal game, but solid 7/10, and I thought Batman AK would be in the same league. Little did I know.… Expand
  7. Gold_Bat
    Jun 28, 2015
    4
    Was so tempted to give this game a big fat zero, but that's very unfair of me. Despite it's flaws it is still a good game, but it isn't great like it was hyped up to be. In fact it is a major disappointment.

    - Story is lackluster (a lot of missing villains and predictable story) - Lack of boss battles, literally it's just the same repetitive predator missions or tank battles - TOO    Was so tempted to give this game a big fat zero, but that's very unfair of me. Despite it's flaws it is still a good game, but it isn't great like it was hyped up to be. In fact it is a major disappointment.

    - Story is lackluster (a lot of missing villains and predictable story)
    - Lack of boss battles, literally it's just the same repetitive predator missions or tank battles
    - TOO MUCH BATMOBILE. The game is too heavily focused on the batmobile.
    - Lack of new changes to combat, no skilled fighting enemies or martial artists like in Arkham Origins
    - NO CHALLENGE MAPS! You heard right, there is no challenge mode in this game. Just Augmented reality challenges, and you can only use play as batman and his stupid car.
    - DLC galore, expensive season pass and too many dlc exclusives.

    The game is a real shambles, and has failed on so many levels.    … Expand
  8. judas_iscariote
    Jul 10, 2015
    3
    I hate the way they used the batmovil... i rather play mario kart (who plays mario kart against time qhen you can play with your friends anyway?).
    The plotline solved with a lame deus ex machina, Rocksteady promises a great game, but, they bring this on.
    combat system is great, references are great too, but after quite time you get bored about combat (like in the last batman games). if    I hate the way they used the batmovil... i rather play mario kart (who plays mario kart against time qhen you can play with your friends anyway?).
    The plotline solved with a lame deus ex machina, Rocksteady promises a great game, but, they bring this on.
    combat system is great, references are great too, but after quite time you get bored about combat (like in the last batman games). if this were a movie, i surely goes to the cinema three or 10 times to see it but as a game...    … Expand
  9. Puffer2002
    Oct 19, 2015
    2
    Pros:
    Great Characters
    Respect for source material
    Looks Amazing

    Cons:
    **** on PC
    Batmoblie is awkward and overused

    PS4: 8/10
    XBOXONE:8/10
    PC:4/10 (Do NOT play this on PC. The graphics are bull**** and there are technical bugs EVERYWHERE!)
  10. TotalSound
    Sep 3, 2015
    0
    I've now played this game for many more hours. I like it even less. I do not know what the people who give this game such high numbers are seeing. I see a horribly repetitious game with the same exact scenarios except there are more COBRA tanks or whatever. The player works hard to get upgrades to the awful Batmobile just to find that they are useless in the tougher fights. You still haveI've now played this game for many more hours. I like it even less. I do not know what the people who give this game such high numbers are seeing. I see a horribly repetitious game with the same exact scenarios except there are more COBRA tanks or whatever. The player works hard to get upgrades to the awful Batmobile just to find that they are useless in the tougher fights. You still have to shoot the Cobra is the butt anyway. It is a simple "lather, rinse and repeat" game. Not to mention side quests (i.e rescue firemen) that do not finish for one game flaw reason or another. The game is uninspired and irritating.… Expand
  11. coltergiest
    Jun 25, 2015
    4
    I have to hand it to the story writers of the game, as writing the story for this game was clearly a labor of love, and they had to have some talented people working for them that really have respect for the batman universe, and I personally have no objections with the way they've wrapped up this series (as far as the story is concerned...more below!).

    On the other hand though, the    I have to hand it to the story writers of the game, as writing the story for this game was clearly a labor of love, and they had to have some talented people working for them that really have respect for the batman universe, and I personally have no objections with the way they've wrapped up this series (as far as the story is concerned...more below!).

    On the other hand though, the mechanisms they used to deliver this story (gameplay) was something that I have serious problems with. This title is loaded with anti-climactic non-engagements with many of the main villains, and has absolutely ZERO boss fights.

    Some will argue that the vehicle battles with the Arkham Knight leading up to the final encounter with him would count as a boss fight, or that the final vehicle battle with Deathstroke is a boss fight (which is exactly the same tank battle as the one with the Arkham Knight). Those people would be missing the point entirely. There is absolutely no direct engagement with any of Batman's rivals WHAT. SO. EVER. Not in any way that should be considered a "boss fight" anyway.

    It's almost kind of cruel that the game is designed for you to go through the "Most Wanted" quest lines, which are basically side quests that have the player going after the various major villains that are central to the Batman stories, and once the player completes the quest line, they might be rewarded with a pseudo-boss fight (as with Deathstroke), or get to make a "life-or-death" decision (as with the Azrael quest line), but no actual fight or battle takes place that presents the player with anything that resembles a challenge.

    Having a great story is a very important part of a great game, but robbing your customers and fans of any sort of finality or closure by not giving them any engagement whatsoever with any villain in the game other than vehicle fights and skirmishes with henchmen is, at least in my mind, extremely lazy and unforgivable.

    The script for this game would have been better off being sold off to an animation studio for another animated Batman movie because that's essentially what Rocksteady gave us with this title...an interactive animated movie.

    It's unfortunate because up to this point, I really enjoyed the blending of a great story with an action packed games through the Arkham titles, with boss battles that while not the most difficult in the world, presented some challenge and kept me engaged with the story that was being conveyed. The formula for Arkham Knight just fell way too short for me.

    I would strongly recommend waiting to find this game in the bargain bin. Definitely do yourselves a favor and don't make the same mistake I did by paying full price for this "game."    … Expand
  12. EpiquePhael
    Jun 29, 2015
    2
    Constantly having the Batmobile shoehorned into mission, some of which are pure **** in terms of mechanics, ultimately ruined this game for me. Compare to Arkham City, this was a huge disappointment.
  13. beanofwar
    Jul 6, 2015
    1
    Endless drones. Extremely repetitive batmobile/tank gameplay. Horrible batmobile handling (sliding all over the place). You don't feel like the batman in the batmobile. The boss fights involving the batmobile are really boring/repetitive. Also, the load times on this game are terrible.

    If the batmobile sections could be purged, this would be a great game. As it stands, I am sad    Endless drones. Extremely repetitive batmobile/tank gameplay. Horrible batmobile handling (sliding all over the place). You don't feel like the batman in the batmobile. The boss fights involving the batmobile are really boring/repetitive. Also, the load times on this game are terrible.

    If the batmobile sections could be purged, this would be a great game. As it stands, I am sad for my purchase.    … Expand
  14. 10mooses
    Jun 25, 2015
    1
    The parts where you're playing as batman are fine. More of the same and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is the batmobile. It's forced into the gameplay at every turn. Even the stealth sections!
    You're sneaking around and there's three guys behind the wall. What are you going to do?
    Maybe drop in on them from the roof? Maybe you if explode the wall you could take them out    The parts where you're playing as batman are fine. More of the same and there's nothing wrong with that. The problem is the batmobile. It's forced into the gameplay at every turn. Even the stealth sections!
    You're sneaking around and there's three guys behind the wall. What are you going to do?
    Maybe drop in on them from the roof?
    Maybe you if explode the wall you could take them out along with it?
    What if you sneak in through the grate or under the floor?
    Oh what's that batman? You won't be able to do anything at all here unless you can get the car into the compound to pull the wall down?
    You need the car in the stealth section batman? Your car?

    **** off batman    … Expand
  15. talan123
    Jun 26, 2015
    4
    This is not a bad game but rather this is not the game that was wanted nor expected.

    This is not a batman game with some batmobile content. Rather this is a batmobile game that occasionally features some batmobile gaming which is not what the Arkham series is about. The controls of the batmobile are in reverse of virtually all other games which wouldn't be so bad outside of the fact    This is not a bad game but rather this is not the game that was wanted nor expected.

    This is not a batman game with some batmobile content. Rather this is a batmobile game that occasionally features some batmobile gaming which is not what the Arkham series is about. The controls of the batmobile are in reverse of virtually all other games which wouldn't be so bad outside of the fact that you cannot change them.

    The motion sickness that you get from this game is really bad if you suck at driving this vehicle as most people will since the game does nothing to actually show you how to use the car. The view of the car will randomly change if you get in too tight of spaces and then it will wildly spin the entire screen out and you will have to stop playing to reorient yourself and then die. You will die a LOT. I haven't felt like this since the 1980's Nintendo battletoad's which wouldn't be so bad if the entire game didn't feel like the jumping level. I felt like the game is punishing me for not liking vehicle games and I shouldn't be after paying $60 for it.

    In short, this is indeed a fitting end for Rocksteady and WB games. These two companies have increasingly treated players like cash machines rather than customers. Their support, since the start, has been a joke. They have been releasing game after game without actually ever addressing the quality concerns. Arkham City was the greatest game of the series and it had SAVING issues that wiped many players out and it was basically ignored by them.

    I am finished with these two companies for their complete lack of customer service ideals. I am a retailer and will not be pushing these games at all.    … Expand
  16. Snake_roo
    Sep 9, 2015
    0
    The game is boring. They make you use the battank for too long. You have to fight tanks all the time during the game. The worse game on batman series.
  17. Flashyboy89
    Nov 23, 2019
    0
    Bought this game on sale after seeing all the high review scores. Never played any of the previous Batman games. I played the game for about an hour and then became frustrated by the lack of tutorial, guidance, gps, navigation system. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. Stopped playing it and never went back.
  18. Dickblasterson
    Jun 24, 2015
    3
    "We're going to make you play racing games in a tank with zero handling."

    - the makers of this unfun game

    Seriously, this is the worst part of the game for any completionist. Everything is Batmobile related. I'd like to finish please, and getting held up on this ridiculous nonsense is bull. The Souls series is easier than these racing minigames.
  19. Allthat
    Jul 9, 2015
    4
    This game sucks. Arkham Origins is miles better than this game, and Arkham City is a Once in a generation type game. But this... this is boring. And its all because of that stupid batmobile, that useless vehicle kills the game. There isn't enough batman and too much batmobile. In fact, Batmobile: Arkham Knight would have been a more suitable tittle for this game. And then there is theThis game sucks. Arkham Origins is miles better than this game, and Arkham City is a Once in a generation type game. But this... this is boring. And its all because of that stupid batmobile, that useless vehicle kills the game. There isn't enough batman and too much batmobile. In fact, Batmobile: Arkham Knight would have been a more suitable tittle for this game. And then there is the boring main villains, Arkham knight sucks and wtf... Scarecrow is now some sort of weird zombie guy. In theory my rating is a 4 but I had to give it a zero to even out the user score.… Expand
  20. libindi
    Jun 25, 2015
    0
    dont get fooled by those flashy reviews（except the gamespot review），its only good at beginning，then the quality goes nose dive，terrible storyline，forced and unbearable batmobile control，lots meaningless filler side quests，and there is this 40 bucks season pass BS，stay away from this trap！
  21. bearnold15
    Jun 28, 2015
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. First the story is very predictable if you know anything about Batman comics. If you don't know too much than you will probably like it more than i did. The whole Tim Drake / Barbara Gordon thing comes out of left field and really isn't necessary. I mean actually the Arkham Unhinged comic actually says Grayson and Gordon had a past relationship. Which makes it wierd to the point it is actually distracting. Tim is practically Barbara's little brother. They could have inserted Spoiler into Barbara's kidnapping position and at least I wouldn't reject it. The Arkham Knight's identity I figured out 6 months ago when they first announced it so that fell a little flat. I mean really what major Batman character is missing and could possibly fit the bill. But they did do some really amazing story-telling tricks with flashbacks that I loved. Also the Joker was very entertaining. Moving to missions - Locking out the other islands or gadgets required for side missions makes going out and doing them in the first place difficult. I did Nightwing's because it was so easy and requires practically nothing. Which is not very rewarding to not be challenged in the slightest. This also bugged me that they blew off Batman's greatest ally with the excuse of "Oh no... You have to watch Bludhaven" Yeah like that place has Scarecrow toxin turning into a literal hell. There are some really annoying bits about trying to find easy objectives in some instances that make the game really frustrating. Like being stuck in a room for 5 minutes running in circles trying to find the right door to go in because I could not find a single bit of orange. when the Batmobile was chased by one of the big tanks it would switch the camera view to this camera that was really far and even the car's controls felt different. That would end up getting me killed several times easily. But after a while I actually like the Batmobile gameplay in general it was a very cool and different addition. Oh and the no loading screen thing is cleverly disguised with the old Mass Effect elevators trick. The first 'ending' was okay, if it was an actual ending it would be great, but even the post-knightfall ending was just... not good. So Batman gives himself a superpower of being part-scarecrow, really? The whole Tim/Barbara getting engaged thing was like a cherry on top of just a story I really didn't care for. I know a lot of these things are nitpicky but too bad, I spent $100 bucks on this thing. I'm giving this game a negative review for the fact my expectations were extremely high, and they weren't met, especially story-wise. I have never bought a season pass for a game before and I probably will never do that blindly again but hopefully that Batgirl DLC makes up for it.… Expand
  22. NauvooJoe
    Jul 5, 2015
    4
    This **** game is broken on so many levels. Long cut-scenes, short gameplay and WAY too much batmobile. I just started new game plus and now there are no indicators on enemies heads to show if they are attacking. None. It's like playing the game blind. **** Rocksteady for this atrocity. Arkham city is vastly superior to this garbage.
  23. fckurfeelings
    Jun 24, 2015
    0
    -you don't even have to aim at the target to kill them just keep spamming the attack button, I can beat this game with one hand.

    -forced to use the pos batmobile in half ass missions.

    -this garbage shouldn't even be called a game more like a **** interactive batman movie with a **** story.

    -gamespot's 7/10 review was being generous, all those 10/10 reviews are paid shills.
  24. markryan1989
    Jun 25, 2015
    3
    I had not played the other Arkham games in the series on PS3, so I was expecting something spectacular based on the hype and other reviews of this game. I purchased the game the day after launch and was excited to give it a shot.

    The original graphics were nice, but i found the gliding to be very clunky and the grappling hook not being able to hook onto anything even when you are next    I had not played the other Arkham games in the series on PS3, so I was expecting something spectacular based on the hype and other reviews of this game. I purchased the game the day after launch and was excited to give it a shot.

    The original graphics were nice, but i found the gliding to be very clunky and the grappling hook not being able to hook onto anything even when you are next to it. It seems there are fixed positions that you can grab onto, which is goofy.

    There are a lot of reviews on here complaining about the batmobile, and for the most part they are dead on the money. The car slides all over the place and the movements are awkward. The controls for the batmobile are so awkward, that they should have kept to the standard car racing controls of any other game in gaming history. Not sure why they changed something when there werent any issues with it to begin with. The attack mode on the batmobile seems so forced and just isnt a fun experience in my opinion.

    I played the game for about 30 minutes and was very disappointed and have sold the game already trying to get some of my money back.

    This is solely my thoughts of the game and each player expects something else from the games they buy, and this one failed my expectations.    … Expand
  25. TheLastLaugh
    Jun 30, 2015
    4
    Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were two of my favorite games. They were fantastically detailed, rich with story and were expertly polished games overall. I was extremely excited for the release of Batman: Arkham Knight...as one could probably imagine. The graphics in this game are exceptional and the city looks absolutely beautiful. However, where are all the sideBatman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City were two of my favorite games. They were fantastically detailed, rich with story and were expertly polished games overall. I was extremely excited for the release of Batman: Arkham Knight...as one could probably imagine. The graphics in this game are exceptional and the city looks absolutely beautiful. However, where are all the side missions and stories? The game just feels like an empty sandbox with nothing to do. A huge part of what made the previous two games incredible was their rich content. Their stories were amazing as well. This game just seemed to branch off in a completely different direction and it had no focus whatsoever. Where are all of the loose-ends and villains from the previous games? Additionally, while the Batmobile may be fun at times, mostly it is just a nuisance and it takes away from the experience of being Batman. I miss the feelings that came to me when playing Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. This game seems to have ignored everything the previous two games had to offer. It is the biggest disappointment, in my opinion, to ever come out. Again, visually the game is stunning. But this game has none of the magic that made the previous two games so special. Overall, it just feels like a rushed and unpolished product and a lazy excuse for a finale that people have waited four years for.… Expand
  26. desertofthereal
    Jun 26, 2015
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When this game was announced I was looking forward to it and reserved the Special Edition PS4 with the game. At first it was fun, but the Batmobile kept popping up and needed to be used to complete parts of the story. It has lousy controls and drives like a brick. As a GT6 fan it reminds me of a Bugatti, very fast but not really driveable. I feel that the Batmobile gets the "starring" role in this game and Batman is just there to minor things. As with Batman Arkham Origins you quickly get put into situations that are frustrating too early in the game when you barely have started to play. As others have said, Batman does not use guns, he abhors them, but we are forced to use the Batmobile that is armed. I don't ever remember the Batmobile being a tank, except in Frank Miller's story( but he called it the Bat Tank).
    As I write this,I'm approximately 6% through the game and I'm completely frustrated by the over reliance on the Batmobile. During battle mode the controls are really clunky and fighting both aerial and ground forces at the same time is aggravating. The camera controls don't function well and the weaponry takes forever to reload. If Bruce Wayne really armed the Batmobile, this would not be how he would do it. It's supposed to be a Batman game , no a car / tank battle game. I really enjoyed the first 2 Batman games (Arkham Asylum and Arkham City) but this one leaves me not so happy.    … Expand
  27. zekepliskin
    Jul 4, 2015
    3
    I couldn't have been more disappointed with this game.

    It's nothing we haven't seen and done before in the series. It coasts by on a series of recycled elements and poorly executed new ones. Remember how Hugo Strange and Joker would taunt Arkham City to break the will of the inmates, or Batman? Here Scarecrow combines those two things… badly. Remember how stealth was challenging but    I couldn't have been more disappointed with this game.

    It's nothing we haven't seen and done before in the series. It coasts by on a series of recycled elements and poorly executed new ones.

    Remember how Hugo Strange and Joker would taunt Arkham City to break the will of the inmates, or Batman? Here Scarecrow combines those two things… badly. Remember how stealth was challenging but rewarding? Now skill has been taken out of the equation. The Batsuit is upgraded: the first time you use it you can speed takedown three armed thugs at once with no effort. Remember the clever Riddler puzzles? Now he's into underground death races – why? The first challenge you solve is pressing the circle button on the controller. The Riddler hostage missions have been swapped for the Firemen rescue missions so that's not particularly original or interesting either. I laughed at the contrivance of the Riddler creating a perfect Batmobile sized elevator for entrance to his death race track though!

    In previous games Batman would get on the Batphone just enough. Here, like a teenager, it seems he's never off the phone. He even gets into a conference calls! He relies on Oracle so much that I started to think he should use his "genius level intellect" to do his own detective work.

    Let's talk about the Batmobile. It's AWFUL. It handles appallingly and the controls are counter-intuitive to every driving game. The game forces it on you by having entrances only the Batmobile can open. There's a rooftop jump sequence that wants to be like Batman Begins, except it's clunky and frustrating because it's so hard to pilot. It feels like a cross between GTA IV and a tank/mech combat title which is not a nice mix. The game shills it on you by flashing up [L1] ENTER BATMOBILE at every opportunity yet if you weren't forced to use it you could get the job done just fine with Bats on foot. The game shills it on you again by having the criminals chat about how cool it is, how they'd joyride it. I read that the final third of the game relies upon it, and I have to say after an hour in the city and repeatedly trying the first Riddler challenge I never want to use it again. The tragedy is that the Batwing would work well in a city this big, but once again it's just drops plot items. The Batwing could have been fun. The Batmobile isn't.

    The new Batsuit makes ol' Bats tougher and faster despite being heavier. Lucius Fox technobabbles about how and why but it's irrelevant. The grapnel boost/gliding mechanic of Arkham City required finesse but was satisfying. Grapnel Boost Mk II requires no skill as it punts Bats so high into the air. Allied to the same old combat (now with a camera more likely to get in your way) it feels like there's no skill to it. Before, a few bullets could kill Batman easily so you had to be careful. Here you can blunder in and not worry - where's the fun in that? The thugs might as well have Nerf rockets coming out of their guns. Their AI isn't significantly better, either.

    What is better are the graphics: better lighting, sharper textures and more fluid animation. This doesn't mean much as the story and dialogue are so crummy - if you've played the others you'll notice how much is badly cookie-cuttered from them. You still get some framerate drops too. Like The Witcher 3 (a better game) the text is too small; game developers need to remember not everyone has a huge TV and perfect vision.

    Arkham Knight was built up a lot. It's one of the reasons I bought a PS4, that and for the new Deus Ex title. But it just feels tired. Apart from the Crapmobile nothing I've done is new, it's all just on a bigger scale. It's a blockbuster game which feels as formulaic as any Call Of Duty title, even with all of Gotham at your feet. Missions are: go to point A, beat thugs, stand there and press X to make Batman do a thing (rescue a hostage, pull off a control panel), go to point B, meet one of your allies, finish mission, do it all again.

    I'm in the minority being so critical. But Arkham City - close to perfect in so many respects - set such a high standard that it was always going to be tough to follow. Everything feels less polished here, graphics aside, as if Rocksteady were making it all things to all gamers but even with a huge team couldn't make the different styles and story twists work. Kevin Conroy's usually masterful voice acting as the Dark Knight sounds tired, hoarse and forced as the character is even more moody, broody and humourless than usual. In a way this mirrors the Nolan movies, in that it gets too dark and po-faced to be fun.

    I don't understand how this game is getting 80-100% reviews in respected magazines and on top rated websites. Chances are, I'm just wrong and this is a brilliant game. It just doesn't feel like it to me, sorry.
    In my opinion save your money and go play Arkham City again - or for the first time if you're lucky enough to not have played it yet, because it's fantastic.    … Expand
  28. Outlanderx
    Aug 19, 2015
    1
    This is a Stinker! It really is crap. Firstly the controls are about as intuitive as string theory. And talking about string theory, this game relies so heavily on the grapple you could be forgiven for thinking you are playing a spiderman game (also all pap) and when you are not being spider man you are on the ground with the crapmobile, Its just no fun to use. Graphically its alright, butThis is a Stinker! It really is crap. Firstly the controls are about as intuitive as string theory. And talking about string theory, this game relies so heavily on the grapple you could be forgiven for thinking you are playing a spiderman game (also all pap) and when you are not being spider man you are on the ground with the crapmobile, Its just no fun to use. Graphically its alright, but its eternal night. If you like good games like Farcry 4 or The Witcher, give this hulking pile of Guano a massive steer.… Expand
  29. mcq767
    Jun 30, 2015
    4
    This is a great game, but it has been almost completely unplayable since the moment I put it in the ps4. When I attempted to play the game for the first time, it had to download 60 GB of material before I could play it. It let me play after 9 hours of downloading, but said it would be installing for another 9 hours. Fine. I was able to play for an hour before I caught up to the installThis is a great game, but it has been almost completely unplayable since the moment I put it in the ps4. When I attempted to play the game for the first time, it had to download 60 GB of material before I could play it. It let me play after 9 hours of downloading, but said it would be installing for another 9 hours. Fine. I was able to play for an hour before I caught up to the install file and it kicked me out again. This game had to sit in my ps4 for 20 hours before I could fully play it. When I did, it was gorgeous and fun, until my save file got destroyed by a gamebreaking glitch where I repeatedly fell through the bottom of the game and died. This game was not ready for release.… Expand
  30. jerubedo
    Jun 24, 2015
    0
    The game itself is good, but there is one really bad flaw. It's locked at 30 FPS. No way to change it! I didn't pay for a next gen console to game at 30 FPS! I'm surprised more are not complaining about this. It really hinders gameplay and the overall feel. Lower the graphics if need be. I'd rather have a fluid gameplay experience than eye candy.
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Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best PS4 Game of 2015
6
#6 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
14
#14 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 89 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 82 out of 89
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 89
  3. Negative: 0 out of 89
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Sep 1, 2015
    87
    Batman: Arkham Knight presents a technically proficient and overall satisfying ending to the Arkham series, but suffers from overuse of the novelty item Batmobile and extremely repetitive tank battles. [Aug 2015]
  2. Level7.nu
    Aug 26, 2015
    70
    Batman: Arkham Knight is the best looking game in the series so far, and includes a lot of cool stuff for fans of Batman. But at the same time it’s starting to feel like Rocksteady is almost too comfortable. It lacks new content, except the pretty bad designed Batmobile parts. If you haven’t played the previous games that much you will probably think that this is one of the best games this year.
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  3. Games Master UK
    Aug 18, 2015
    90
    A million different elements blended seamlessly into one brilliantly cohesive experience. [Summer 2015, p.64]
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