Five Years Later: 10 Things You Learn Replaying Batman: Arkham Knight

Despite its shortcomings, there is no denying that Arkham Knight plays fantastically well.

Rocksteady were able to take the satisfaction of gliding, grappling and punching to astonishing new heights. Especially once the player has fully upgraded their grapnel gun, gliding around the city feels phenomenal as Batman is launched high into the air with every press of the right bumper. This, coupled with quality of life improvements, such as the ability to chain together grapples as you climb a building, makes traversing Gotham's skyscrapers just as thrilling as tearing through its streets in the seemingly indestructible Batmobile.

Both the hand to hand combat and invisible predator sections build on their already stellar framework to create best in their class experiences. Dropping into a room full of twenty goons and obliterating them with your bare hands is an experience unlike any other. Likewise, the introduction of the Fear Takedowns, as well as the myriad of gadgets on hand, allows the player to feel unstoppable as they terrorise increasingly large numbers of armed guards.

In a way, these combat and movement systems are so complete, that it poses the question of how future games can possibly build on them. Still, five years later, this combat system is among the best in all of gaming, and it is truly a testament to the Rocksteady's dedication to refining it, that a mechanic created in 2009 feels as fresh as ever.