Batman: Arkham Origins

Warner Montréal proved to be fully capable of following in Rocksteady's footsteps, delivering a very entertaining game. If you were expecting a revolution in gameplay or setting you'll probably be disappointed, but despite that Batman: Arkham Origins is great fun and deserves to be played by any fan of the series.

Yes, it’s frustrating at times, but it sure as hell got our blood pumping. Plus, the animations look unbelievably organic — especially contextual finishers that incorporate the surrounding environment —and the sound effects give every hit a satisfying sense of bone-crunching devastation.

Arkham Origins has a lot to live up to. I think it gets close but sadly not close enough. You still feel like Batman, but it’s missing... something. Perhaps Batman isn’t just a man with a bunch of extraordinary gadgets, maybe he needs that creepy weirdness as well.

The quality of the combat, the diversity of the dialogue from lead characters to two-bit crooks, and the sheer amount of things to do make this stretch of Gotham an enjoyable place to visit. Origins proves the Arkham formula is strong enough for another team to tamper with, but if the series wants to really break free of its restraints in the next generation, they’re going to have to teach this old bat even more new tricks.

Arkham Origins is a fantastic game, and one that is worthy of the Arkham legacy, but that being said, one can’t help but feel that WB Games Montreal played this one safe. They relied on the strength of Rocksteady’s rock-solid foundation, and simply applied new coats of paint and some extra decorations that weren’t there before.

Batman: Arkham Origins delivers more of what made Rocksteady's games great, but doesn't break new ground. Like a youthful Bruce Wayne, it isn’t as crafty, and it takes its dings during combat, but still puts on a hell of a show when it needs to. Once Joker steps into the spotlight, it becomes a hard game to put down.

Arkham Origins is very fun to play and very easy to forget as soon as you're done. Kicking butt as Batman is still a joy and the Invisible Predator scenes are as excellent as ever, but the game's almost complete lack of surprises weighs the experience severely down. [Nov 2013]

Another strong Batman outing, but one left bruised by the Arkhams Asylum and City. [Christmas 2013, p.72]

That it's so thoroughly entertaining despite being mostly identical to its predecessors speaks volumes about the quality of Rocksteady's original design, and of Warner Montreal's understanding of same. [Jan 2014, p.68]

It's a case of more of the same, but with such good source material this isn't a bad thing. [Issue#105, p.87]

Arkham Origins is not a bad game, in fact, it is really well made. The problem is that it feels like a lateral move for the series.

It's not necessarily Batman's finest hour and doesn't move the series forward in any significant way, but it's likely to attract fans the same way that crime attracts Batman.

Arkham Origins is a very good game that stands on its own and delivers the same excellent adventure, exceptionally timed fights, clever puzzle-solving, hauntingly beautiful graphics and characters as memorable its predecessors...However, there are a few areas where it doesn’t quite match Rocksteady’s lofty achievements, writing being the most noticeable shortfall.

A good homage to Arkham Asylum and Arkham city. Forcefully derivative, but Warner Montreal can feel proud of releasing such a competent, focused and well-made sequel that captures the elements of the two previous games.

Can Batman: Arkham Origins be considered a failure? Definitely not, but it certainly is a game without a spark of genius. The developers have used previously constructed assets and prepared a well-crafted ending to the trilogy. It's not as good as Asylum or City, but fans shouldn't be disappointed. Origins is still a very good Batman game - not original, but extremely effective.

It’s really good. Just not, ironically enough, all that original...What ultimately keeps Arkham Origins from being as exceptional as its predecessor is the weight of the franchise itself. Origins has the disadvantage of being a prequel to a game that’s nearly impossible to top, by a new studio that understandably doesn’t want to drop the ball.

It may not be the best or most innovative game within the series, but it definitely feels like it fits with the two games made by Rocksteady Studios.

It doesn't bring many new tricks to the table, but Origins is still thoroughly entertaining.

Batman: Arkham Origins is a wonderful version of somebody else's game. While a return to the Arkham series is welcome – and if you take only one thing away from this review, it should be that Origins is a worthy entry – there's no denying that Warner Bros. Montreal has taken Rocksteady's tremendous template and crafted a similar experience.

We were happy to see so many delightfully crafted boss fights, even though the actual clashes and brawls weren’t as challenging as we hoped. They are still very entertaining and were excellently incorporated into the main tale.

Next to Arkham City, Arkham Origins is a bit of a disappointment in its lack of new ideas and use of win buttons, making it the least interesting of the trilogy.

Batman: Arkham Origins does its best to continue what two of the generation’s best games started, but falls far short of either game.

However, in the midst of solving crimes while exploring Gotham, it's impossible to ignore some annoying issues. Firstly, there are bugs.

I had a lot of fun with Arkham Origins, I thought the multiplayer mode was interesting, and I definitely think it’s worth checking out, once some of the more serious bugs are addressed.

Arkham Origins only surprises with its story, but otherwise it´s a predictable and in many ways roughly polished prequel. If Batman isn´t boring you yet, or if you´ve always wanted to try an Arkham game, then Origins doesn´t do much wrong, but we´ve come to expect better by now.

In its desire to to be stewards worthy of the prestigious Arkham series, Warner Bros Montreal has played it too close. Arkham Origins is well executed and sure to keep fans satisfied, but it doesn't dare to bring enough new ideas to warrant higher praise.