Rocksteady’s rumored New Batman game will definitely not be the game I want

It sounds like a new one Batman: Arkham Game may be in the works at Rocksteady Studios, but as exciting as it may be, it’s incredibly unlikely that the game will be the one I personally want. The Batman: Arkham Iconic for a reason, the series elevates the superhero genre with engaging storytelling, fluid combat, and a richly atmospheric take on Gotham City. More recent successes than these Marvel’s Spider-Man Games for PS4 and PS5 draw a lot of inspiration from Rocksteady’s titles, and I would argue that the newer alternatives still lose in a direct comparison.

Like a lot of fans, I started mine Batman: Arkham Travel with Arkham City. As an open-world sequel to Arkham Asylum At a time when open worlds were just becoming all the rage, Arkham City managed to give Titan as The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim And the all-time masterpiece Gate 2 Run for their money as a GOTY contender. Not surprisingly, I had a great time with this game, though Bouncing back to Arkham Asylum This is what really made me fall in love with Rocksteady’s work.

Arkham Asylum has an unbeatable atmosphere

I love every nook and cranny of Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum is the one game in Rocksteady’s series to put the emphasis on these ArkhamConfining Batman to the home and its grounds for the entire game. Considering how fun it is to slide around rooftops in Arkham City Yes, stepping back to a game that is so comparatively restrictive can be disappointing. I had the opposite experience, however, and Arkham Asylum Won me over to his side long before the credits rolled.

For my personal tastes, the biggest strength of the Batman: Arkham Series is not the great gameplay or interesting villains, but the detailed environments and the mood they set. The Gothic sensibility of Batman Media has always played a big role in making the caped crusaders such an interesting hero, and few things come close Arkham Asylum In this regard. Tossing Batman into the lion’s den and never letting him out lets the game focus on every grungy feature of a facility in disrepair.Quickly turning the memorable setting into a major character in his own right.

Although some visual elements of Batman: Arkham Asylum Having naturally aged in the 15 years since its release, it’s still a marvel of detail in a way that larger open-world games struggle to match. There is simply no way to make every corner of a giant map ooze with personality Arkham Asylums claustrophobic corridorsAnd exploration can quickly get boring once copy-pasting hits a certain saturation point. To their credit, the environments in Arkham Games consistently hold their own, but I think Arkham Asylum The tip remains.

A smaller scale could make a new Arkham game better

I want something like Arkham Asylum again

I am well aware that putting Arkham Asylum On a pedestal is not the most common name about these Batman: Arkham series, and the prospect of returning to an open-world Gotham is probably one of the most exciting promises of a new game for many fans. 2025 will mark the 10-year anniversary since Batman: Arkham Knights release, and the passage of time certainly opens up new opportunities in open-world design. A new game can make exploration more intuitive and meaningful than before, and there’s no reason why the most important areas can’t compete Arkham Asylums memorable atmosphere.

I would prefer to see another title of a smaller scaleHowever, something that I do not think Rocksteady and I will see eye-to-eye on. For better or worse, AAA games have largely been in an arms race of scale for a long time now, and backing away from huge open worlds simply isn’t done in most scenarios. When a game is smaller – Assassin’s Creed MirageFor example – it tends to be positioned as a cheaper, less ambitious entry rather than something that converts the same giant production machine to produce a more intimate, highly polished result.

A smaller game would be a great way to re-orient things after the recent fiasco of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice LeagueA big career move for Rocksteady and an even bigger miss. If Suicide Squad Successfully converted no one strength of the Batman: Arkham franchise, there was the joy of bounding across rooftops, with each character receiving unique movement possibilities that could be fun to use. In an empty city that struggles to set memorable landmarks or find a dynamic visual identity, however, this is not so meaningful.

Use a setting that is closer in ambition to Batman: Arkham Asylum Could ensure that every major piece of the game feels truly bespokeWhich is what Rocksteady needs to hone in on more than anything else. A focused, relatively linear experience also runs less risk of an extended development cycle, something the studio may not be able to afford in the wake of Suicide Squad: KTJLs financial failure. The ceiling for potential sales would likely be lower, but chasing the highest possible profits is what led to this mess to begin with.

A new open-world Batman game might still be good

The series has already done it well

My case for a new one Batman Play that’s more like Arkham Asylum is more of a personal fantasy than anything. I bounced hard off of Marvel’s Spider-ManThat felt to me like an incredibly polished shell around an empty heart, and I’d love for a new superhero game to suck me in like Arkham Asylum did. I’m not advocating a regression in design philosophy, because I’d like to see it innovate on its own terms, but I think a limited scope might help it do so.

At the end of the day, I will be happy if a new Batman: Arkham Gameplay is simply good, even if it is the huge open-world title that it almost certainly will be. To withdraw a finished story should not be done if there is a strong reason for this, and I hope that the reason is more than just financial needs. In my dream world, however, Rocksteady’s next Batman: Arkham Game would revise everything that made Arkham Asylum Especially, and I will have to allow myself a moment of grief when the dream world is officially destroyed.