3.5/5 ★ – RoyalNickReviews's review of Batman: Arkham Knight.

Batman: Arkham Knight Gameplay (mechanics, combat, etc): 8/10 - the combat feels like peak arkham. To some it might be super easy, but that's only because they somehow made it extremely smooth and responsive no matter what input you press. There’s not much to say that would be any different than my previous reviews on the Arkham games mostly because of it being the same, but optimized with a bit of sound design work that really makes every hit feel so strong. Stealth also received some upgrades like the voice modulator and the fear takedown. After some reflection and talking about the fear takedown with a coworker of mine (and I’ll insert my opinion here whoops), I think that the fear takedown is really cool in the sense that it feels like it’s straight out of a comic where it shows batman just taking down four people in a row. I don’t think of it as a gimmick. I think of it more as a treat to take down four guys for free. Flying around and going from rooftop to rooftop is also so much better than Arkham City in the sense that they increased the speed in which you can fly around. The only thing that brings the experience down may come as a surprise…the batmobile…The tank gameplay is just soooo slow when all you’re doing is taking down waves of enemies while someone is hacking or doing something else. Even at the hardest difficulty, It’s pretty simple. Also I find it really funny that you can shoot a 3 inch wide rubber bullet at someone with a tank and they are just knocked out. Driving the batmobile itself is actually a really nice experience as it feels incredibly powerful thanks to the sound and effects that were put into it. If the game was built without prioritizing the batmotank parts, this section would be a 10/10 because everything around the tank parts is really truly enjoyable. Story (characters, dialogue, pacing, etc): 6/10 - The story is cool with a question mark. I am probably in the minority, but I wish the Joker had a smaller part in this game mostly because he’s pretty darn dead and I feel like his story should have just ended with the end of the second and just had the internal conflict be a little less on the nose because I really didn’t care about the Joker plot with his personality taking over peoples’ minds. Scarecrow is definitely the highlight of the show, but I wonder if the devs created the Arkham Knight because they needed someone to have an army of tank drones and made him the secondary villain. I wish Scarecrow was the only villain or maybe even have a completely different secondary villain because everything else feels like a side story. HOWEVER, Scarecrow as a final villain in your trilogy is a little weak because we know Batman is going to go “I’m not afraid!!”. I think Scarecrow and Joker should have traded games because I think Scarecrow works better in a contained environment like Arkham City. Obviously, I have an issue with the batmotank slowing down the pace, but the real pace-killer are the segments where people are just talking on your wrist monitor. Spider-Man 2018 did the correct thing where you are just talking while going to the next objective, not just standing there talking. Little thing, but noticeable. Also if you wanna play it I’m gonna spoil the biggest spoiler…This game came out when I was 15 and even then, I thought the inclusion of Jason was just so uninspired. We didn’t need that at all. This story has been told much better and this did nothing for me. Compared to scarecrow that got a tease in the previous TWO games to be up to something behind the scenes. The Arkham Knight OC feels like they came up with it right when they came up with the tank gameplay and then later they went “oh let’s make him the red hood lol”. Also the fact that Jason saves the day at the end is like…okay sure man. The end (including the 100% ending) was also lackluster. I have felt this way every time I play it, but to end a trilogy like this doesn’t really do anything for me. I was left wanting more because it felt like Bruce was like “I guess I’m done being batman” *wink*, but the wink was not clear. I wish they made a forth one because of how poor this story was (to me) and also I’m selfish and want everything to revolve around me. Replayability (after story, going back to previous missions): 8.5/10 - awesome. I have personally played this game three or four times now because I love the gameplay so much. I also really like the structure of not being able to continue the side quests until you are at a point in the story because that’s kinda how I play games in general. I don’t really like to complete side stuff all at once or else I get kinda stuck only doing side content (another me thing). Going back and replaying this game is also a treat because there are many new costumes to wear (purchase) and they look really good! I also replay it specifically because I really like the side content. The inclusion of manbat and professor pyg were treats I didn’t expect and I like almost all the missions except mecha riddler. I have a good time replaying the game. Personal thoughts (doesn’t affect score): As much as I harp on the story, it’s really easy to tune out. Arkham City felt like there was a sense of urgency and made me not really want to check out the side content, but this game gave a much larger experience that helped me take my time. It’s also insanely pretty. It shouldn't be a secret that this is my favorite of the three (to replay), but not my favorite game of the three. Each game has something that I love from it, but playing the previous two always makes me want to get to this one as fast as possible because I love the feeling of it so much. It just has a hold on me, but I get the criticism. It was a pleasure revisiting the trilogy and this time being able to write about each one. yay! Total Score: 22.5 Avg score out of 10: 7.5