10 Most Underrated Batman Video Games You've Never Played
An Animated Series tie-in? It's been under your nose this whole time.
Although the common myth is that superhero games were the absolute devil until 2008's Arkham Asylum, the subgenre has actually amassed a rather strong selection of titles over the years.
But the general stigma around licensed games has meant that a lot of superhero releases are written off, long before they hit store shelves (a fate that almost befell Arkham Asylum too, lest we forget), yet upon closer inspection, a good majority of these games are worth revisiting with a fresh pair of eyes.
Batman himself has always had way more great video game outings than the general consensus would have you believe. While yes, it's true that there's plenty of utterly terrible shovelware out there starring the Caped Crusader, there's just as many excellent experiences waiting to be uncovered - you just have to be looking in the right places.
From epic open-worlds that were ahead of their time to mind-bending crossovers you never expected to see, the Batman license has been used in more imaginative ways than to simply cash-in on the titular character's fame.
So, with the Arkham series completely finished and Telltale also wrapping their surprisingly brilliant tale of being the Dark Knight, these are the underrated Batman games you should be getting your hands on.
10. Batman Begins
Although it came out in a time where movie licensed games were particularly terrible, the tie-in to Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was actually a rather impressive title that paved the way for the likes of Arkham Asylum years later.
Taking a more stealth-oriented approach to combat, EA's adaptation played up the horror elements that made the movie it was based on so memorable. Equipped with a wealth of gadgets and environmental attacks that you could utilise to terrify your enemies, the experience was one mostly played from the shadows, striking against your enemies only when the time was right.
However, EA's release didn't lose sight of the distinctive beat-em-up combat that you'd expect from all the best Batman games, and the bone-crushing combat proved to be an excellent reprieve from the more methodical stealth sections.
Plus, Begins featured the entire voice cast from the movie (bar Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon), and in an era where that just doesn't happen anymore, it's refreshing to pick up a good movie adaptation that doesn't suffer because it shares its DNA closely with the source material.