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- Despite taking place in the same canon as the other Arkham games, Arkham Origins was not developed by Rocksteady Studios. Instead, the task of developing Arkham Origins was handed to Warner Bros. Games Montreal. It's this same company that will be giving gamers a new open-world experience in the Batman mythos with Gotham Knights, meaning that it's the perfect time to go back and see where WB Games Montreal got their start with the DC universe and what they excelled at previously that may enhance the excitement for Gotham Knights on October 21st.
With Batman: Arkham Asylum spawned a giant, successful series. It consists of four main games, one animated movie, and a couple of spin-off games including a Suicide Squad game coming in 2023.
However, one game did not do nearly as well as its predecessor, nor what would follow. The prequel story Arkham Origins was created to hold fans over until Arkham Knight came out. While it didn't fail, it just didn't leave as much of an impact as the other games. Over the years, Origins has gained a cult following as an underrated gem, and this is why.
Updated on September 25th, 2022 by Melody MacReady:
Despite taking place in the same canon as the other Arkham games, Arkham Origins was not developed by Rocksteady Studios. Instead, the task of developing Arkham Origins was handed to Warner Bros. Games Montreal. It's this same company that will be giving gamers a new open-world experience in the Batman mythos with Gotham Knights, meaning that it's the perfect time to go back and see where WB Games Montreal got their start with the DC universe and what they excelled at previously that may enhance the excitement for Gotham Knights on October 21st.
The Glitches Have Been Fixed
The biggest problem that irritated a lot of players on the initial release was the number of glitches. Batman falling through the world, textures not popping in, and terrible framerates. Not so different from the initial Cyberpunk 2077 launch.
Also, identical to Cyberpunk 2077 is that people were too quick to abandon the game. Over time, WB Games Montreal patched Arkham Origins and fixed the glitches. Now the game runs smoothly on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation, with small glitches only happening on rare occasions, and they are rarely ever game-breaking.
Satisfying Sidequests
Arkham Origins is not as massive as quite a few side quests in Gotham City. More and more keep adding up throughout the game which will keep the player busy long after the main story is over, which is always a plus. They never become dull or irritating.
Even the infamous Riddler and his mission are at their best here. The only flaw is that Riddler's challenge is much easier to beat than in previous games. The best part is that he barely talks, unlike in Arkham Knight where he's blabbing non-stop.
How Bruce Met Jim
In drastic contrast to their relationship in Arkham Knight, Batman and Jim Gordon are not instant allies when they meet in Arkham Origins. Instead, Jim is such a zealot to the rules that he only views Batman as a criminal, while Batman refuses to trust anybody, especially someone in a corrupt police force.
It's played out as a smaller arc but an important one, as both Batman and Gordon learn that they are important to not only the city but to each other. It furthers Batman's personal arc of learning that he's not a one-man army and that he can rely on others to save Gotham City. This helps elevate their friendship in Arkham Knight.
Perfect Batsuit For A Younger Batman
While there was nothing wrong with the base suits for each entry of the series, Origins nailed the look of Batman. In many ways, it's the perfect suit for this early-age Batman. It's armored and militaristic, but it still features enough flashy superhero design to scream: "Batman."
This suit was actually so beloved that it returned as a DLC skin for Batman in Arkham Knight, earning it the title of one of the best skins in the Arkham games. As a plus, other skins like Noel and First Appearance are all great to have via the Season .
Beautiful Holiday Setting
Winter and gothic settings mix together like chocolate and peanut butter. Emulating the same visuals and vibes of Tim Burton's Batman Returns, Arkham Origins is set on Christmas Eve. There is something undeniably satisfying about running across snowy rooftops and Holiday-themed areas.
More Obscure Villains
Excluding the Joker, Bane, and the Penguin, part of what makes Arkham Origins have such a different vibe from other Arkham games is the use of lesser-known villains. Before Deadshot was the lead of a DCEU blockbuster movie played by Will Smith, he was an obscure assassin in both Arkham City and Arkham Origins.
This game took a Teen Titans villain with Deathstroke and turned him into an iconic Batman villain. From there, villains such as Electrocutioner, Shiva, Firefly, Anarky, Copperhead, and even Bird helped expand the mythos of the Arkhamverse and showcase why Batman is so used to villains by the time Arkham Asylum takes place.
The Best DLC Of The Franchise
The Arkham franchise has never had the strongest post-launch content, but when Batman: Arkham DLC is good, it is excellent. Arkham Origins dials it up to an eleven. It adds Deathstroke as a playable character, and he is very fun to control even if he is only for challenge modes.
The Initiation DLC that shows Batman in his training was also great to see. However, the best comes in the form of Cold, Cold Heart featuring Mr. Freeze. It's basically an extended interactive version of Mr. Freeze's Heart Of Ice episode from Batman: The Animated Series. That alone is worth the Season .
Origins Does Not Suffer From Prequel-Itis
A lot of prequels suffer from not-so-subtly letting the audience know it's a prequel. Or some twists and turns are ineffective because the audience already knows the characters' fates in other titles. Arkham Origins surprisingly does not have this issue. In fact, it actually helps explain some things from other games, such as why Bane is in such a monstrous state in Arkham Asylum.
It does what a prequel is supposed to do and introduces famous characters at a younger stage and establishes how Arkham Asylum became the home for super-criminals. Other than that, Arkham Origins is pretty self-contained and could actually be a great starting point for some people.
Expanded On The Arkhamverse
Other than the name-drops of certain cities, both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City stuck to developing a Batman mythos. Arkham Origins was the first time that the series started developing the lore outside of Gotham City, starting with a plethora of DC universe brands: Queen Consolidated, Ferris Aircraft, and Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals (which are all references to Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman).
There is a poster for the DC superhero Zatanna at the Monarch Theatre, a poster for Catman, and the most famous example is the introduction of Amanda Waller. Waller recruits Deathstroke in an MCU-esque post-credits scene, thus setting up what would become one of many villains that fans want to see appear in the spin-off since Arkham Origins already had him as a playable character.
A Grounded Story
While they were certainly effective, Arkham City and Arkham Knight definitely elevated to the heights of giant blockbusters. Arkham Origins dials way back and tells a more grounded and personal Batman story. It's an early Batman, so world-threatening plots are not a factor.
Instead, it's showing his first time dealing with supervillains rather than mobs and basic criminals, showing how he struggles with it physically and mentally while he evolves from an urban boogeyman to a superhero. So while it may not be as gigantic as the others, it still delivers in telling a Batman story, similar to what Matt Reeves did with The Batman in 2022.
