Batman : Arkham Knight Review
The Arkham series by rocksteady has finally come to an end . The game revolves around Scarecrow and his woeful wish to see Batman banished and terrorize the one thing he has sworn to protect : Gotham.
The story continues 9 months after the events of Arkham City (Which I will not spoil if you haven't experienced it) . Scarecrow uses his fear toxin to evacuate the city and makes Gotham his playground to put batman to a final test . He is joined by a new villain 'Arkham knight' to help him take the Bat down as he hold a sort of personal grudge against batman.
I had a constant fear that the story would end up to be a little too simplistic with a reveal of who the Arkham Knight is and a series of events leading to take down scare crow . However , I was surprised to see a rather more sophisticated and more complex story with a surprising return of a beloved character who you probably already guessed but don't worry , this won't spoil your experience with the game as he makes his appearance pretty early on. The character however is used very cleverly by rocksteady and I have to give them credit for it. The story can be a little confusing at times but you'll realize that it was meant to be and the events that take place throughout the story can be explained due to the fact that batman has been infected with a small amount of fear toxin. Not to worry , this also takes place very early on in the game. The plot begins with a very basic opening , where batman's objective seems straightforward and nothing to pull your interest other than the gameplay . Almost an hour and a half in and you'll find yourself confused with many of the events taking place and it's just a blast of interesting plot lines that come into play , which made the inner me very happy, and found myself questioning every moment of the game : 'How and when does this take place?' . It picks up its pace from there till the end of the game. It consists of many sequences that'll probably freak you out (Trust me, I had a heart attack). And That is exactly the kind of story that was required and Rocksteady have done a phenomenal job at it . Poison Ivy makes a return , Harley Quinn , Oracle(Barbra Gordon) etc. Gordon himself plays a heavier role than previous titles and also having a small but effective narrative control over the story. The disappointment comes when rocksteady seemed to make it very obvious who would be the Arkham knight . Although fans of the game will be happy that they pulled his backstory from a beloved segment in the comics . However the reveal seemed too obvious , but luckily rocksteady did not keep the reveal as a climax however reveal who he truly is at least a good bit before the ending . It also came to my attention that it seemed as though rocksteady wanted us to know who the Arkham knight is before batman could. The end however, was satisfying enough and had clever aspects to it that you'll have to play and find out for yourself.
The game play present in the game is instantly familiar to anyone whose played the series' previous titles but manages to add effective new enemy types , a new takedown mechanic and environmental takedowns that help further improve the already fantastic combat system . Predator sections of the game are as satisfying as it was before and the the investigative segments of the game were handled brilliantly . The game has challenging segments where you'll have figure your way out using your gadgets and the bat mobile and they have been the most well done puzzle segments in the series . You'd often wonder how they even came up with it . The gadgets are back with a few new ones and nifty new tricks with the old.
The biggest addition to the game has been the bat mobile . Rocksteady's developed have put incredible time into its details and how it's works . However the bat mobile may sometimes feel like it over stays it's welcome because of its large segments of tank battles using its battle mode . Although I could enjoy it , other friends of mine said they had grown tired of numerous segments of tank battles. This has been the case for many , however this isn't a game breaker. Initially people do have trouble handling the vehicle , but a few hours in and they'll be getting along well. But it isn't easy , give it time. It has been blended with the world really well and used very cleverly , it's remote control feature is also one that's thought provokingly well used. There was always a feeling of life in the vehicle and that's what rocksteady was definitely planning to make you feel.
Coming to the open world of Gotham , you'll be more than impressed with the work they've done on the world, incredibly well detailed and atmospheric like it should be, filled with tall building and intensely lit skyscrapers that adds great verticality to the game. This along with ambient soundtracks playing in the background all provoked to make this game truly immersive .
The soundtrack by Nick Arundel and David Buckley deserves recognition as they add to the overall immersive feel of the game composing tracks for almost every segment of the game from predator segments to emotional and thrilling sequences.
A complete closure for the game can be seen when the game is 100% complete.
