While Rocksteady’s first two Batman: Arkham games have been rereleased on modern hardware, the franchise’s most underrated entry is most deserving of a remaster. Each entry in the beloved superhero franchise puts players in Batman’s stealthy boots as he fights iconic villains to defend Gotham. The Batman: Return to Arkham compilation remastered Arkham Asylum and Arkham City back in 2016, but one adventure was sadly left out of the collection.
Released back in 2016, the Batman: Arkham series HD remaster collection gave Arkham Asylum and City a modern facelift. The compilation boasts fully remastered and upgraded visuals, intending to create a definitive version of Rocksteady’s first two Dark Knight simulators. Return to Arkham also compiles every piece of DLC for both games, including bonus challenge maps for Arkham Asylum and additional playable characters for Arkham City. While the Return to Arkham collection lets players experience the first two entries in the Arkham series in a brand-new light, the package sadly failed to include the game most in need of a modern remaster.
Batman: Arkham Origins Would Thrive With A Remaster
Developed by WB Games Montreal rather than series creator Rocksteady, 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins delivers a unique portrayal of the Caped Crusader’s early career. While often considered the black sheep of the franchise, some aspects of Arkham Origins are better than Rocksteady’s Batman games. The narrative is considered particularly engaging, with the younger and more emotional Batman coming to blows with loyal butler Alfred and struggling to embrace his heroic identity. Arkham Origins is also praised for its boss fights, with players finding themselves in memorable battles against villains like Bane and Deathstroke. Despite these achievements, Arkham Origins has sadly been denied an official remaster.
Arkham Origins Failed Due To Technical Issues
Despite the game’s interesting story and engaging boss fights, Batman: Arkham Origins needs a modern remaster. Upon release the superhero adventure was plagued by bugs and technical issues, some of which could actually make the prequel adventure unplayable. Graphically the game is inferior to Rocksteady’s gorgeous Arkham trilogy, with many animations and locations being simply reused from Arkham City. However, a fan’s Batman: Arkham Origins graphics mod proves that the open-world title would thrive with a fresh coat of paint. A modern rerelease could fix many of the game’s bugs and enhance its snowy visuals, perhaps even adding new animations to help it stand out from its predecessor.
While many fans remember Batman: Arkham Origins as a lackluster holdover between Arkham City and Arkham Knight, a modern remaster could easily transform the heroic prequel into the best Batman game of all. The game’s technical problems and disappointing graphics make it sub-par, but improving these issues would leave an amazing open-world superhero game with an interesting story and epic boss fights. Since its performance and visuals kept it from reaching its full potential, Batman: Arkham Origins is easily one of the Batman games most deserving of a remaster.
