12 Reasons You Were Wrong About Batman: Arkham Origins

8. Revitalised Combat

Not only did Origins improve Detective Mode, but it also introduced a flurry of additions to the combat mechanics that many already saw as perfect.

Whilst extremely rewarding, the freeflow system was not without its pitfalls - most notably its low level of difficulty. To rectify this and to shake things up a bit, WB Montreal introduced new enemy types that aimed to challenge the player and add greater variety to the series. Martial artists and armoured enforcers helped change the pace of combat and kept players increasingly more vigilant to different attacks.

In addition to these improvements, the developers made the decision to make enemy AI more aggressive - something a portion of the fanbase reacted negatively to.

However, upon reflection this move makes perfect sense considering the context in which Origins takes place. A less-established Batman wouldn't have close to the amount of reverence and reputation that the Batman of Rocksteady's games would have - it only makes sense that criminals would be less intimidated by the pointy-eared crusader.

Content Producer/Presenter

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.