Arkham Trilogy – Which Game Is Best?

I recently played through the Rocksteady Arkham Trilogy (not Origins … sorry!), and was blown away by the combat and gothic presentation. I enjoyed the Batman shenanigans so much that I got to wondering – which game in the trilogy is the best?

I’ll do one of my trademark Power Rankings to decide – I’ll pit each game of the trilogy (Arkham Asylum, City and Knight) against each other in categories and give a score out of ten for each. I know that sounds a little complicated, so the best way to learn is to keep reading.

Before we begin, you can check out some of my related blog posts below:

Story

BEST – City [8]

Arkham City starts off in much the same simple way as Asylum – criminals have taken over the map, and it’s Batman’s job to apprehend them.

Where City excels, however, is in its pacing and villains. There was never a dull moment as Batman scoured the map for a cure to both himself and the Joker, and the numerous adversaries in your path always made an impression.

SECOND – Asylum [7]

Asylum’s story is paper-thin – Joker has taken over the titular asylum, and it’s Batman’s job to restore order. Luckily, the story doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.

The asylum takeover is a great excuse to come up against some of Batman’s greatest foes, and tussling with Mark Hamill’s Joker is always a delight.

WORST – Knight [6]

In terms of the meat and gravy of Knight’s story, it probably has the best of the bunch. Bruce Wayne is really put through his paces, and there are so many great character and plot moments.

Sadly, Arkham Knight’s story is weighed down by missed opportunities and the titular Knight himself – the reveal falls completely flat, and since the back half of the story hinges on that moment it doesn’t help the narrative in the slightest.

Combat

BEST – City [9]

The Arkham games are lauded for their phenomenal combat, and Asylum worked wonders in making the player feel like Batman.

Arkham City, however, managed to trump the original in almost every way. The added combat dynamics and extra fight animations turn City’s combat from a resounding success to a definitive masterpiece.

SECOND – Knight [8]

If we’re just talking about pure hand-to-hand combat and enemy variety, Knight is the best in the series. In fact, it probably could’ve scored a perfect ten. It’s no exaggeration to say Arkham Knight has the best combat I’ve played in years.

But once I factor in the Batmobile combat encounters, the score dips a little. Tank combat isn’t bad by any means, but it’s far less varied and far too common.

“WORST” – Asylum [7]

Let me make one thing very clear – right from the beginning, Arkham Asylum boasted one of the greatest combat systems I’ve ever played.

I always looked forward to taking down scores of thugs as Batman, and the movement felt as smooth as butter. Later games would expand upon the combat encounters by adding more variety, but the groundwork was phenomenal.

Boss Fights / Villains

BEST – City [9]

The setting of Arkham City allows Batman to confront some of his greatest foes in a natural way, and all of them are portrayed to devilish perfection by the writers and voice actors.

What sets City apart from the others, though, is the multitude of incredible boss fights. Solomon Grundy, Clayface, Ra’s al Ghul, Mr. Freeze … these are some of my favourite bosses in recent memory.

If it wasn’t for the occasional stinker like Deadshot or the Titans, City could’ve scored a perfect ten and had the best set of bosses in any game ever.

SECOND – Asylum [8]

I’ll never forget the opening sequence following Joker through Arkham Asylum, culminating in a meeting with Killer Croc. I knew the Arkham villains were well renowned, but I wasn’t expecting them to be so awesome across the board.

Asylum’s boss battles are a little hit or miss, however. Fights like Scarecrow, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy are fantastic, but the other bosses could feel a little generic.

WORST – Knight [6]

I played the Rocksteady Arkham trilogy in chronological order, so after beating Asylum and City I was excited to see what boss battles Knight would throw my way. All in all, I was quite disappointed.

Some of the most intense boss battles in the main story were wasted in the Batmobile, and a lot of classic villains – like Two-Face and Penguin – take a back seat to an underutilised Scarecrow.

Stealth

BEST – Knight [8]

I should probably preface this section with some context – I wasn’t really a fan of the Batman stealth gameplay. They were cool, don’t get me wrong, but more often than not I was desperate to get back to the action and visceral combat.

Knight’s Predator sections were the best by a fair margin, mainly due to the plethora of choices available to the player. I love the multiple gadgets and routes you could take, and the multi-takedowns were a must.

SECOND – City [7]

As is common with much of City’s gameplay, the Predator sections felt like a natural improvement from its predecessor.

Batman is a lot more responsive, and the levels are designed in such a way to allow open-ended approaches and strategies.

WORST – Asylum [5]

Is it just me, or is the stealth in Asylum really clunky?

It has all of the hallmarks of what would make the Predator sections work so well in the later games, but Batman hardly ever did what I wanted him to do – and the layouts / mechanics feel bare-bones in hindsight.

World / Traversal

BEST – Knight [9]

With a bigger world and a badass Batmobile at your disposal, the Gotham City depicted in Knight had never felt so traversable.

What makes the traversal in this game so awesome, though, was the upgraded super launches – you could absolutely rocket across the map, and I had a blast while doing it.

SECOND – City [8]

Rocksteady went bigger and better with Arkham City, and the open world suits Batman far better than the cramped Asylum.

Other than the fact the glide launches feel slow in hindsight (and the centre of the map is impossible to cross), City’s world was a drastic improvement over its predecessor.

WORST – Asylum [5]

Arkham Asylum released in 2009, and I think that age shows in its “open” world and slow traversal.

You’re forced to trek so slowly from A to B, and backtracking through the limited Asylum added on unnecessary wait times between the action.

Side Quests / Collectibles

BEST – City [8]

I wouldn’t say the Arkham series is particularly known for its side quests, but City probably had the best ones.

Some of the missions like Zsasz’s phone tracing and Bane’s Titan tanks were fun to manoeuvre, and the Riddler challenges were arguably the best in the trilogy.

SECOND – Knight [7]

Knight’s side quests are a tricky one to rank, as they varied from amazing to outright filler.

Missions like the Man-bat and Professor Pyg hunts were great, but others like the bomb defusal and firefighters dragged out way too long.

WORST – Asylum [6]

Arkham Asylum didn’t have any side quests at all, so that immediately knocks it down to the bottom of this category – I don’t mind a story-focused game, but it made the asylum feel so lifeless as a result.

What Asylum does have, however, are some of the most famous collectibles in gaming – the Riddler trophies and challenges have become iconic, and while they’re at their worst here I can appreciate the effort.

Fun

BEST – Knight [8]

It’s all well and good if a game in technically perfect, but if I don’t have fun while playing it then it’s done something wrong.

Despite my issues with parts of the story and the over-reliance on the Batmobile, I had an absolute blast playing as an in-form Batman in Arkham Knight. In terms of pure gameplay, this is easily the best in the trilogy.

ALSO BEST – City [8]

Even though Knight would go on to refine and redefine a lot of what made this game great, City still did an excellent job of keeping me invested.

The story and eclectic cast of baddies had my attention throughout, and the city itself made for a fun open world to explore.

WORST – Asylum [7]

Asylum has aged poorly in a lot of its core areas of gameplay, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy my first foray as the Dark Knight.

Rocksteady nailed the balance of gruelling drama and camp comic-book fun, and other than a few weak spots in the story I had a decent time with it.

Overall Scores

BEST – City [57/70]

With an average score of 8.14, City absolutely smoked the competition to come out the overall winner. It’s no surprise, really, since it avoided bottom in every single category.

My personal score would be around the 8.5 mark – I really enjoyed this game, and I can see why many recognise it as the defining entry of the trilogy.

SECOND – Knight [52/70]

The average score of 7.42 fails to do Knight justice – I would personally give it an 8.5, same as City. If the story and boss fights were stronger, this could’ve been an all-timer.

WORST – Asylum [45/70]

The average score of 6.42 is a little harsh, as I would personally give Arkham Asylum a 7. While it hasn’t aged all that well, it brilliantly laid the groundwork for the later games in the series.

Aaaand that’s my list! You can check out some of my latest blog posts below: