Batman: Arkham Knight takes Batman fans to their highest climax yet. You get to experience the continued hardships from the Batman: Arkham series, all with one extra character.
Batman: Arkham Knight is brought to you by the minds of Rocksteady Studios and is published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. The game is based on the DC comics superhero character that we’ve all grown up with. This game is a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham City where - SPOILER ALERT! - the Joker dies, having knocked the antidote to the Joker infection out of Batman’s hand, ultimately killing him.
This game sees fan favourite voice actors return for their prized roles. It features Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as the Joker, with support from John Noble voicing Scarecrow, Steve Blum as Killer Croc and Nolan North as The Penguin, plus many more. Kevin Conroy also voices Batman in the animated series and is very much seen as the voice of Batman from most fans.
This is the final game in the Batman: Arkham universe and is used to close the inner story of the Batman: Arkham Quadrillage. This covers Batman: Arkham Asylum, City, Origins and Knight. This game takes place nine months after the events of Batman: Arkham City, where Batman is struggling with the lack of Joker presence and realises that the two share a deeper bond than he thought. This night of events shows Batman’s mind unfolding after being infected by the Joker virus, as well as Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
On Halloween Scarecrow appears, claiming that he has placed bombs around the city which contain his new fear toxin. Fearing that this isn’t just a petty threat, the police and Commissioner Gordon evacuate Gotham City, which becomes free from civilians but is ripe with criminals throughout. Now every villain Batman has ever faced recoups from the darkness to take control of the now criminally taken over Gotham City. All the cast are here: Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow, Black Mask, Firefly, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Professor Pyg and many more.
Batman finds a previous hideout of Scarecrow where he also finds Poison Ivy, someone who decided not to join the other villains. Oracle (Batman’s sidekick, previously Batgirl) then locates Ace Chemicals as the source of where Scarecrow’s fear toxin came from. He finds out that the whole building was turned into a giant toxin bomb by Scarecrow. It is then revealed that Oracle was kidnapped by Scarecrow before he escaped the area. Batman exposes himself to the fear toxin because it’s ignited when he is there. That’s when he discovers a new player on the field. The Militia, led by The Arkham Knight. Then, Joker appears.
It’s shown in a flashback that during the time at Arkham City Joker sent his blood to hospitals for unsuspecting transfusions on patients. This allows for the Joker Virus to start to take over these five individuals infected, who start to transform mentally and physically into the Joker. Four were infected from the transfusions, with Batman revealed as the 5th. Batman Imprisons the four infected and hides the only empty chamber, where he knows that someday he will have to inhabit that cell.
Due to the mix of the fear toxin and Joker’s blood, Batman starts to see projections, mental images of Joker appearing in front of him, taunting him and even interacting with him in some cases. After Batman escapes from Ace Chemicals, he tells Gordan that his daughter has been kidnapped, revealing to him that she works with Batman. Gordon feels betrayed, so he hunts down Scarecrow by himself.
Batman is then left to find where Scarecrow has Oracle, but he’s being taunted by the concoction of the Joker virus and the fear toxin. He sees Oracle shoot herself because of the fear toxin, then is taunted by the Joker continuously.
This is a continuous cycle of cat and mouse, with Batman searching for where Scarecrow is but along the way has encounters with villains trying to stop him. All whilst Joker is killing him mentally and slowly taking over. Batman is helped in parts by Robin, Nightwing, and even Catwomen. But he is never alone, as Joker is always there with him, like they are one.
To not ruin too much of the incredible story told within Batman: Arkham Knight, you should definitely check it out for yourself. This is the Joker’s final hurrah. The epitome of the story has led to this, and it does not disappoint! This game allows fans of the series to be the Batman, as well as laughing at some of the quips that Joker says.
This rendition features musical numbers from Joker, catchy songs, and a heart wrenching final song in the credits. It features never seen mechanics in a Batman game, such as using the Batmobile and finding every Riddle trophy placed around the entire city of Gotham. It even features character swaps where you take over characters, such as Nightwing, Robin, and Catwomen. It has an insane twist which deeply links to the Batman lore.
There is even DLC (down loadable content) where you can play as Robin, Harley Quinn, Red Hood, and Batgirl. These go into some depth and gives you a different look at similar mechanics but used in different ways as its different characters. The UI is even changed to match the character dependent on DLC.
This is the final Batman: Arkham game and it did not disappoint. It closed off a story which was running for six years, concluding this wave of the Batman: Arkham Series.
Thank You, Kevin Conroy!
Check back next week where I’ll be discussing Five Nights at Freddy’s!
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