Credit: Rocksteady GamesThe Nintendo-produced online live event, Nintendo Direct, shined a bat-signal into the hearts of Dark Knight fans when they announced that the ‘Batman: Arkham’ trilogy will be available for the Nintendo Switch. The collection of these critically-acclaimed Rocksteady games plan to debut for the console in Fall 2023.
They featured an exclusive trailer that depicted the best of gameplay and cinematics from ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum,’ ‘Batman: Arkham City’ and ‘Batman: Arkham Knight.’ The collection will allow players to battle against the Rogues Gallery of DC Batman villains, such as The Joker, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, The Penguin, Bane and many more. The Arkham series will continue to be an innovative open-world platform where Batman can protect the citizens of Gotham from thugs, gangsters, and demented criminals.
Players will be able sneak, strategize and strike their way through obstacles as they uncover mysteries, explore the origins of famous DC characters, and search for unnecessarily difficult Riddler trophies. The renowned game series will feature the main story mode across all three games, plus every DLC (downloadable content) package. This will also include a multitude of “skins” that can change the Caped Crusader’s suit or even switch out a different version of Batman entirely.
This is the first franchise to make an appearance for the Nintendo Switch from Rocksteady Studios. Their reintroduction of this trilogy will be a welcomed addition to avid gamers. The British game developer were pioneers with the release of 2009’s ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum.’ Here are some of the foundational milestones this Studio created to reshape and change the superhero genre for gaming:
- Freeflow Combat – This combat system allowed Batman to nimbly transition from fighting one opponent to the other without having to “de-target” from each foe. This revolutionized fighting within third person, open-world platform games, which added to a dynamic gameplay experience.
- Stealth & Strategy – Since the World’s Greatest Detective is not immune to armor piercing weapons, certain level designs required stealth over sheer brutality. This gameplay forced players to hide in the shadows as they had to learn to anticipate targets’ patterns, blind spots and hidden abilities.
- Open World Map – While Rocksteady did not originate this structure, they innovated how it can be used in storytelling, as well as gameplay. Navigating the world map was an objective in itself and encouraged exploration.
Without the Arkham franchise, massive hits like ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man’ (2018) and ‘Marvel’s Avengers (2020)’ could not have been conceivable. The Batman: Arkham trilogy established that superhero games can tell captivating, original stories through this ever-growing medium. Moreover, it helped create another generation of fans who appreciate and embrace the lore of this brooding American icon.
Do you plan to buy the collection this fall?