Batman: Arkham Knight - 10 Things It Must Learn From Asylum

8. Batman Should Feel Like Batman

That opening shot from Asylum where Bats drops Joker off is just quintessential Dark Knight; the hulking figure of cloaked justice towering over those who seek to abuse it - there's nothing better. However, character aesthetics will only get you so far - and make no mistake, the version of Batman Rocksteady designed is spot on visually - and therein lies the rub; the Batman in Arkham City was closed off and super-serious to the point where you were essentially playing as a bit of an ignorant jerk. From randomly choosing to save Talia instead of the entire population of Gotham (only to be stopped by Alfred of all people) to being saved himself by Catwoman and Robin yet only responding in a "What took you so long?" style of tone, there's nothing in the way of relatable dialogue that'd make you get behind Bruce's motivations other than the usual untouchable defence of "He's Batman". Asylum's introduction to the character showed someone very much out of their depth once Joker reveals his plan, and then a team effort to get Bats out in one piece, relaying plenty of information and having multiple scenes of interaction between cops and side characters throughout that realised the character far better.