10 Things All Superhero Games Can Learn From Batman: Arkham
7. A Gameplay Focused Studio.
Whilst there are many ingredients that make up the recipe to a successful superhero transition to gaming, gameplay is the most important one. The guys at Rocksteady have re-iterated constantly that their main aim with the Arkham series is to make the player feel like Batman a goal that then spurs on the gameplay mechanics featured in the series. This formulae is comprised of two parts, namely free-flow combat and invisible predator. Due to their knowledge of Batman and his various iterations, Rocksteady was able to apply gameplay aspects that fitted the character in order to really immerse the player in the cape and cowl. Obviously different heroes hold different characteristics, so this means that stealth and hand-to-hand combat shouldnt always be the norm for superhero games to follow. THQ's 2008 take on The Punisher played to that character's strengths, grounding the title as a third-person shooter ala the Max Payne series, and it worked a treat. Spider-Man on the other hand, has receiving a plethora of fantastic gameplay mechanics over the years - but no one developer has yet been able to crack the formulae and deliver a truly phenomenal title on the level of an Arkham release.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
