Status epeternally Jul 28, 2025
Finished the campaign for the third time, I started playing during a power outage because it was one of the few physical games that worked without an internet connection. I really feel like this is the Bioshock 2 of the Arkham franchise. It obviously doesn't live up to the standard set by its predecessor, but does a lot of things …
Finished the campaign for the third time, I started playing during a power outage because it was one of the few physical games that worked without an internet connection. I really feel like this is the Bioshock 2 of the Arkham franchise. It obviously doesn't live up to the standard set by its predecessor, but does a lot of things well in its own right. The cutscenes are very fun, and I feel like it's hand down my favorite portrayal of Gotham in a video game. They really nailed the feeling of being outside during a bad snowstorm.
I don't want to call Arkham Knight disappointing, considering I've finished the campaign multiple times, but I do feel like it's a somewhat odd sequel to Arkham City. Playing something that hews closer to its predecessor is refreshing, and I'm grateful this game got made. Unfortunately it's impossible to purchase the DLC on Xbox at this point, so I'm unable to play the excellent Cold, Cold Heart expansion. I own the season pass content on Steam so it's not that big of a deal, but I'm still disappointed not to have the option to continue.
While the backward compatible Xbox version unfortunately crashed a lot, I was impressed with how good the game looks for an Xbox 360 title without any technical enhancements. It's still a very enjoyable experience, and actually prompted me to get the Xbox 360 hooked up due to frustration with Arkham Asylum and Arkham City not being backward compatible. Not including them in the program was such a shameless attempt to sell the remaster, and while I don't have a problem with Return to Arkham I'd like access to both. It's a frustrating omission considering how little revenue that game is still making.
I recognize there are inherent limits, but I feel like Xbox didn't try hard enough to secure backward compatible titles. Backward compatibly is one of the few things the Xbox ecosystem has going for it at this point, and Microsoft should lean into that. Especially with how popular retro gaming has become.
