Batman: Arkham 2017 - 10 Perfect Ways To Continue The Franchise

2. Give Gotham A Break

After three games attempting a semi-open world Gotham, I think it's safe to say it didn't work out. Don't get me wrong, the environments featured in Origins and Knight are all remarkably detailed - they're just lifeless. Sure, we may have thugs to fill out some space, as well as a few GCPD officers too, but in what way is this anyone's idea of what an open-world Batman game should be? I'm more than willing to bet that the free-roam Batman game people had envisioned bore an uncanny resemblance to Spider-Man 2 - the licensed tie-in that defined the open-world superhero genre for years to come - than the one we got in Arkham's sequels. There's no sense of being able to glide around and do your own thing as the vigilante, because the setting you find yourself in is always hampered by a gargantuan threat from the character's main rogues. This isn't to say it's not fun, because it is - it's just that we don't get to see Gotham as its 'normal' self. Warner Bros. should either do a proper immersive open-world or return to the semi-linear days of Arkham Asylum, because the middle ground we currently have, whilst certainly impressive, just isn't the environment players have been asking for.