Why There Aren't More Truly Great Superhero Games
3. The Arkham-Verse
Born out of a cancelled tie-in to Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight, Rocksteady were given free reign to do whatever they wanted with the character. It was creative freedom which could have been daunting, a far cry from every little detail having to be okayed by movie execs only interested in advertising a different product. The developers ran with it, though, for the first time having the tools necessary to nail what it’s like to actually be the Batman.
More than just revitalising the superhero genre, Asylum redefined third-person action games as a whole, birthing a combat system which is still ripped off to this day. And it was all drenched in Batman lore and steeped in the mythos of the character, rewarding anyone with even a passing interest in the caped crusader.
While many expected Asylum to kick off a superhero boom, though, it never actually came to pass. Activision simply weren’t interested in putting in the same amount of effort, and Disney slowly pulled themselves out of the video game world entirely.
Even WB, who found continued success with Arkham and later Injustice, have struggled to get other projects off the ground. A Suicide Squad game from WB was infamously cancelled, and even Rocksteady’s next creation - presumably a Superman title - has been shrouded in mystery for years now.