Marvel’s Spider-Man Is Still The Best Successor To Batman: Arkham
Gotham Knights tries to follow the beloved Batman: Arkham franchise, but Marvel’s Spider-Man is a more effective successor.
While Gotham Knights tries to deliver an experience worthy of the Batman: Arkham franchise, Marvel’s Spider-Man series is still a more worthy sequel to Rocksteady’s trilogy. The beloved Arkham series delved deep into the mythology of the Dark Knight to create an idealized, interactive version of Gotham and its people. Gotham Knights tried to push this formula further by using younger sidekicks, but Marvel’s Spider-Man managed to stay truer to Arkham’s legacy.
The entire Batman: Arkham series, and Rocksteady’s main trilogy in particular, is all about making players feel like the Dark Knight. Arkham Asylum, the first game in the franchise, established a gritty tone and compelling game mechanics that would take the series to great heights. The series’ Freeflow Combat system allows players to rhythmically beat up massive gangs of thugs, while Invisible Predator units allow Batman to intimidate criminals and bring them out of the shadows. The expert voice actors of The Batman: Arkham games perfectly match the Caped Crusader with his large supporting cast and rogues gallery, and each game explores the hero’s complex psyche through iconic hallucination sequences.
Gotham Knights was no match for Batman: Arkham
The recently released Gotham Knights was developed by WB Games Montreal, developer of Batman: Arkham Origins, but the project doesn’t capture the strengths of the Arkham games. Gotham Knights repeats the boring story of Batman: Arkham by introducing a surprising new villain halfway through, but it fails to recreate the franchise’s tone and fidelity to the source material. Gotham Knights takes a lighter touch on the Dark Knight universe, and the open-world superhero simulator also features a few villains that feel less complex than their Arkham counterparts.
Gotham Knights also abandons the Freeflow Combat and Invisible Predator mechanics of the Arkham franchise, which hurts the experience. The simple, fast-paced combat of Batman: Arkham is replaced by an action RPG system that gives enemies special levels and heroes with upgradable equipment and weapons. This Gotham Knights RPG unnecessarily complicates the experience with less intense and impactful battles than Rocksteady games. Even the boss fights that WB Games Montreal achieved in Arkham Origins become puny damaged sponges in Gotham Knights.
Marvel’s Spider-Man is the ultimate successor to Arkham
While Gotham Knights may not live up to the Batman: Arkham franchise, Marvel’s Spider-Man is the perfect sequel to the series. The base game of the open-world superhero game and its sequel, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, sees the web-hero fight crime using fast-paced melee combat and aggressive stealth. The games also offer a truly original yet modernized version of Spider-Man, alongside allies like Aunt May and villains like Doctor Octopus. Like the Batman: Arkham games, Marvel’s Spider-Man features dream sequences that explore the reptilian psyche and a wide selection of alternate costumes drawn from its long history.
Insomniac said that the Batman Arkham games inspired Marvel’s Spider-Man, and that influence is easily seen. Like Rocksteady, Insomniac has delivered a modern yet timeless adaptation of one of the world’s most beloved superheroes using rhythmic combat, stealth, deep storytelling and masterful writing. Played by Kevin Conroy and Yuri Lowenthal respectively, these adaptations of the Dark Knight and the Web-slinger are considered by many to be the idealized versions of these comic book characters. While Gotham Knights tries to build on the foundation laid by Batman: Arkham, Marvel’s Spider-Man series is a more effective continuation of Rocksteady’s work.
