Recent reviews by Frantic–042

Amazing game, but you already know that.Highly reccomended. Steam Deck friendly.

Big.Yes.

Excellent. Especially now, with the updates. Aaand especially on the Steam Deck.

I'm pretty sure playing 3 FromSoftware games in a row did no favors for my sanity, yet here I am, giving this game a thumbs up.
It's worth it. Great game. Try it.

A tough and a real character testing game.
Beautiful art style, mixed with great gameplay. Just because it's an old game, it still holds up really well. It might not be for everyone, but if you feel the ambition in you to go and play this, willing to spend the time it demands to learn it, you'll find a rewarding game underneath all the suffering.

I have a lot of things to say about this game. Both positive and negative. But at the end of the day, theres a reason why I spent +100 hours in it. Highly reccomend it. Also, if you do decide to play it, best of luck in the mountains. IYKYK.

Also, I bought this game specifically for the Steam Deck OLED as a benchmark. My game time has only been spent on the Deck, and I'm happy to report, it runs great. Max graphics with a solid fps.

I was in Vizima, minding my own business, until a random woman approached me, and asked me for a diamond ring. I gave her a fish instead. She told me that I was a joke, but still gave me the "card". ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Wake up Mister Wayne...Wake up and smell the ashes.

After launching this game again,for the first time in a year,sitting there,listening to that excellent Main Theme song in the menu, all the memories of the hype I had for the game when it first launched came back to me.
The amount of times i replayed this game as a kid,just because it was about Batman, without actually comprehending, and appreciating the amount of care, and attention to detail Rocksteady (bless them) managed to put into this game, it all went unnoticed,but even with the little i had experienced back then,it was enough to reinforce my love for the character,and for these games for good. And now that I have put my full attention on this one specific game, seeing everything it has to offer, I feel like I'm ready to give my fullest opinions about this title.

Story - The Joker is sick, and Batman get's poisened by him, and a bunch of Batman's villians are running the streets. Inmates loose everywhere, and Arkham City is turning out to be the biggest Hell hole on earth.
On top of that, Hugo Strange want's to launch something called "Protocol 10", and reveals that if Batman tries to stop him, he will reveal his identity.So the story becomes a chase for a cure, finding out what Protocol 10 is, and stopping Hugo Strange's plan,all the while dealing with the inmates and their leaders from tearing the city apart. So yeah, one of Batman's longest nights.
Through the story you'll encounter a lot of villians, from the Joker, Riddler, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, the League of Assassins, Penguin, you know, the classics, and more but I really don't wanna spoil the surprises.
Length wise, the story is about as long as it has to be,not too long and not too short, with the pacing,the story never let's up. Something is always happening, keeping your attention.

Gameplay - Same formula from over Arkham Asylum. Combat, stealth, and puzzle solving are the main things that carry the game, all of them are improved and polished.
-Combat never felt so satisfying,even though it's mostly the same "FreeFlow" from A.A., but it's way more reliable, responsive, and looks great in motion.
It's not difficult to pull off, but mixed with the handful of new enemy types, mastering it can be quite the learning experience.From the timing of punches for critical strikes,gadget usage for higher variation bonuses,dodges and using takedowns as a "get out of tough situation" card.
Once you mastered the combat, there's just something so great about pulling off a flawless 100x+ combo or 600x.
Since A.A., Batman learned a couple of new moves.The classic bone breaker is there, but now you have blade takedowns, disassembles, bat swarm stuns, ultra stuns, and my favorite, the beatdown. The combat is really incredible, and I would even go as far as to say, it's the best part of the game.
-Stealth is mostly remained the same, but now you have more options on distracting and taking down enemies thanks to the new gadgets (which there is a lot of), and enviromental options, like floor grates, and wooden walls. Except this time, the enemies are equipped with some better gear, forcing you out of your comfort zone even harder, and it provides some pretty challenging scenarios, but hell, these moments can really immerse you into being Batman, due to the difficulty.
-The game relies on a lot of puzzle solving to progress, and the levels were designed in a way, that utilises these new gadgets in new and clever ways,never feeling like a drag, or a sudden stopping block in the story whenever they appear. Since some gadgets are tied to the progression of the story, some places will only be accessible once you gathered them.
Boss fights make a return,and there's a bunch of them, and they are...pretty good actually. They are not long, but all of them are different, with unique ways of beating them, but some of them are treated more like spectacles, which is actually fine.It doesn't take away from the experience.

World - This game is completely open world, not the biggest, but it doesn't have to be. The world is incredibly detailed. Details, references, and secrets are everywhere. Light snow falling from the sky down to the run down streets, to the messy alleys. Trash everywhere, abandoned and crumbling buildings, shops, bars, and landmarks. It really gives off that impression that this used to be a part of a city but thanks to corruption and crime, now its just a hell hole.
Each area of the map has it's own atmosphere, and themes based on the leader, and as you progress through the story and missions, the world will change in subtle ways.
Traveling through the city is easy, and fun, now that Batman can finally glide,dive bomb,and grapple boost through the city.While gliding, the world immerses you more into its atmosphere by having random goons chatting about, with a lot of dialogue, to make the world more lived. Thanks to the great level design and objectives, the game fully embraces and uses the city, taking you on a journey to see every place Arkham City has to offer.

Graphics - Graphics wise, I say this game has aged pretty well. It still looks sharp, the snow falls on to the terrain, and onto Batman's cape and melts away. The lighting on signs, on the streets, indoors, and on different surfaces still looks great, and things looks colorful and stylised, so they look really pretty, and adds to the atmosphere. Puddles in the streets reflect the environment nicely, and the buildings in the world are, almost all of them, are uniquely detailed and have their own architecture, and the skybox looks great and moody.

Soundtrack - The score for this game is an absolute masterpiece. From the excellent Main Theme, that captures the mood and the darker themes of the story, to the stealth and combat tracks, that reacts to the situations intensity, and the excellent ambient score that fits and flashes out the atmosphere perfectly. A really memorable score all around.

Content - Other then the main story,the game provide a lot off Riddler trophies to find, and mysteries to solve, that rewards you with character trophies, concept arts, and Challenge Maps.Plenty of unique and lengthy side missions with their own flashed out stories. So Challenge Maps return, both Combat and Predator, with dozens of maps from the main story, each map having 2 versions, normal, and extreme, and extremes are no joke. They really put you to the test. Next to these are things called "campaigns", that are basically Challenge Maps, collected into a 3 part sessions, but there's a catch to them. You get modifiers to pick from, and you have to use all of them in order to finish the entire campaign.From a few buffs, to a lot of debuffs, and you get only 3 retries, if you mess up a level. Also, each, and every single Challenge Map, can be played through with Batman, Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing. All of them having 213 medals to acquire. An entire side campaign with Robin, called "Harley Quinn's Revenge". And an excellent New Game+ mode. Replaying the story with tougher and faster enemies, disabled counter icons, and different predator scenarios, actually makes the game more immersive and enjoyable, because the risks are way higher, and it really tests you skills.

So in conclusion, Rocksteady's care and attention to the source material, and game design, really came together in this masterpiece of a game. From the art design, character models, world building, soundtrack and atmosphere, they all had a vision behind them, and even after all these years, this game still stands the test of time. This is where passion about your game will lead a company, to a game that will always be rated as one of the greatest, not only action game, but game in general, of all time. It has aged gracefully, and I highly recommend this game to everyone. Even if you are not a fan of Batman, you'll definitely find something to enjoy in this game, but if you are one, well this will be a Fan Service City for you.

A Serious House on Serious Earth

Everyone has that one game from their childhood that they look back on fondly, well to me, it's this game.But even if I put my nostalgia glasses down for a minute, this game remains an amazing experience from start to finish, and the best part is, you don't have to be a hardcore fan to enjoy it!
+Great gameplay, mixed with the level design and exploration that utilizes Batman's gadgets in fun ways.
+A great story with great pacing, that never felt like suddenly stopping. Includes a lot of Batman's villains, that stay true to their origins, who all have flashed out moments, mixed with in the story that includes a lot of memorable moments and surprises.
+A fun and addicting, but simple, although hard to master combat system,that looks and feels satisfying.
+Stealth where you are the predator and everyone else is the prey, that is great to play, that gradually becomes harder, to push you out of your comfort zone.
+Detailed "open-world", that is fun to traverse and explore, mixed with graphics that still to this day hold up excellent.
+The atmosphere is on point, giving Arkham Asylum this creepy and unsettling vibe, mixed with the great soundtrack, that flashes out the world even more, making it feel like a character in itself, especially as the island changes as the story goes on.
+A surprising amount of content, collectables, trophies, riddles, combat and stealth challenge maps.
+Great voice acting that includes original voice actors coming back tho their roles and absolutely nailing it.

And now a couple of negative stuff about the game.
-Lame boss fights that often result in the same formula. Hit the head, evade, and punch until the boss gets out of the stun, then repeat.
-Sometimes the combat system is inconsistent and unreliable,basically either Batman decides to hit the wrong guy, resulting in ruining your combo, or enemies sometimes sprinting up to you than deciding not to hit you, even if you take his mate down in front of him, while other times they hit without a second thought, but a random guy across the map slides all the way to you to punch you in the back.It's frustrating and ruins the rhythm of the combat, but this is something that mostly noticeable in the combat challenge maps.

In conclusion, after all these years, this is still an amazing game, and it's definitely worth a try. It doesn't wear out it's welcome story length wise, and it shows that Rocksteady really cares about the source material, giving us an amazing Batman experience, and an amazing game. Thank you Rocksteady.

It is a very nice game
-Nice graphics
-Nice guns
-Nice characters
-Nice gameplay
-Nice in general
-Nice environments
-Nice lore that's rewarding to research
-Cayde-6 is nice too
Now the not nice things
-Story is on the weaker side of the experience,and the game from start is not beginner friendly at all, which is not really nice.