Summary
Rocksteady’s made an effort to divert away from the titular protagonist of its seminalBatmanseries while still retaining the Arkhamverse canon it’s spent nearly 15 years establishing sinceBatman: Arkham Asylum. This has resulted inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand, while it may have been a controversial choice tosubstitute a live-service multiplayer shooter in place of Rocksteady’s traditional action-adventure, it will be continuing the series nonetheless. The next Arkhamverse chapter is now less than a month away and still hasn’t garnered much positive excitement, and recent news won’t assuage fears of never receiving anotherArkhamgame.
Indeed,Rocksteady addressed the possibility of a newArkhamgameand it seems as if Batman won’t be the lead in another one any time soon. Killing the Justice League seems like a concrete way to ensure the Arkhamverse’s iteration of Batman won’t be returning altogether, but there are obviously many ways this could be retconned or pivoted to sneak anotherBatmangame into development. If there’s any chance that Rocksteady could have plans to continue the Arkhamverse with another Batman-led game, though, it would be wise to return it to where the series began, at least in terms of gameplay.
Rocksteady’s Next Batman Game Could Reprise Its Metroidvania Roots
Now thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas shared previews publicly and the closed alpha test’s NDA has been lifted, it’s becoming clearer what actual perspectives and opinions on it are shaping up to be. Still, until the game releases and begins to dole out post-launch content it’ll be unclear what the full picture ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelooks like, especially since the game will hopefully continue evolving throughout the year as a result of its seasonal developments.
There’s a chanceSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebecomes a terrific live-service game withRocksteady’s signature Arkhamverseflavormaking it wholly unique and engrossing, but it’ll be a while until that’s made evident.
Meanwhile,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueneeds to uphold itself by its story and its gameplay loop, both of which have already been heavily criticized whether details were learned via the closed alpha test, previews, orSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s unfortunate leaks. It would be a shame to seeSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueglossed over when Rocksteady will be dedicated to putting out post-launch content for it, but its best bet now seems to be returning to the single-player action-adventure genre for its next game and that’ll hopefully be encouraged without any friction on WB’s part.
Rocksteady’s Arkhamverse Needs a Hard Reset with Linear Metroidvania Gameplay
Returning toBatmancould be seen as reductive and as a clearer cash grab now since it’s what would make Rocksteady the easiest chunk of change followingSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. It could be more interesting for Rocksteady to tackle another DC character, perhaps one of Batman’s colleagues on the Justice League whom Rocksteady introduces inSuicide Squad, but depending on whereKill the Justice League’s story goes that may not be possible—namely if they are executed.
Prequels could always solve that issue, however. Regardless of who Rocksteady chooses to lead its hypothetical next single-player game, bringing it back toArkham Asylum’s tight Metroidvania designwould be a great choice. Batman didn’t have an open world to roam around in on Arkham Island, for example, and there were no side quests besides volunteering to pursue Riddler’s optional collectible hunts.
Gadget retrieval was required for story progression, making Batman seem truly out of his element while arming himself gradually with new tools for exploration. Plus, because almost every AAA superhero game now seems to follow the same open-world formula Rocksteady arguably perfected, it would make it even more distinct again to drop the open-world shtick and craft another lore-rich, linear environment like the eponymous institution inArkham Asylumfor its protagonist to traverse instead.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
WHERE TO PLAY
Return to Arkham and experience two of the most critically acclaimed titles of the last generation - Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Batman: Return to Arkham includes the comprehensive versions of both games and includes all previously released additional content.Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them into the depths of Arkham Asylum –Gotham City’s high security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Use Batman’s legendary gadgetry, strike from the shadows, and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious super villains.Batman: Arkham City sends players soaring into Arkham City - a heavily fortified sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City. Batman Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that draws together an all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as new and enhanced gameplay features.
