Batman Arkham Origins serves as a worthy prequel to the acclaimed Arkham series, exploring Batman’s early years as a vigilante in Gotham. While it refines many elements of the series’ formula and offers a darker, grittier narrative, it struggles to reach the polish and impact of its predecessors.

Pros

• 🌃 More open and detailed Gotham city to explore
• 🦸 Familiar, fluid combat with refinements
• 🎯 Intriguing story focusing on younger Batman’s struggles
• 🔓 Improved mission variety and side content
• 🎨 Strong voice acting and atmospheric audio

Cons

• 🐢 Progression system feels more restrictive and less rewarding
• 🏙️ Some missions feel repetitive and padded
• ⚙️ Technical glitches and bugs occasionally break immersion

I don’t really get the hate for Origins, especially in retrospect when newer Batman games have come out. Origins just continued the Batman Arkham series, retained most of the gameplay and refined it, while introducing a new story, a prequel at that. Its sad that this game gets flak even up to now and not even considered as part of the series in some releases, like being omitted from the “Arkham Trilogy” release.

Like other Arkham games though and contrary to the “Origins” title, we still get an experienced Batman here, albeit way less than previous games, and still skips right past the actual origin of the character. I feel like the story here is better than City purely because it is paced better and isn’t as convoluted. The setup of assassins being hired to take down Batman is actually dope AF in setting him up for these various villains, no overly complicated reason for every one of these villains was needed other than just the “kill batman contract”. You also get intrigued with what happened in Batman’s early years, such has his early interactions with Police, Gordon, Barbara, Alfred, and the Villains.

The open world also feels much better for me. It now feels like a regular night in Gotham because there isn’t a hellish grandiose event happening, unlike in Arkham Asylum or City where it goes to hell and you’re stuck in it. It even reinforces that feeling by allowing you to go back to the Batcave any time and you can fast travel around the city. The game features several interesting side quests and activities, though some can feel repetitive and padded, diminishing the overall pace.

I still hate the Riddler collectibles. Yet again, similar but not to the same extent as in Arkham City, the main villain is underutilized in favor of THAT villain, who ends up dominating much of the narrative yet again.

One additional thing I disliked about it was the progression system which was a huge step back, and how restrictive it felt compared to Arkham City. Upgrades are now locked behind unrelated upgrades, and some upgrades require completing specific challenges instead of being unlocked with the usual skill points gained from leveling up.

The graphics look awesome as well and have aged well, but there are diminishing returns from Asylum/City and it doesn’t look much significantly better but consumed way more resources than Asylum and City. I like the new Batsuit, although it is more live action-looking instead of comic-book looking. While others may say it breaks immersion by being more advanced than the later Batsuits, you can kinda make sense of it by explaining that Batman needed more protection in his early years, while in the later years he is more confident now of his skills, and prefers to reduce protection for better agility. Or the Batsuit tech has improved that it has less volume for the same amount of protection.

Combat remains tight and satisfying, closely following the successful freeflow system. The refinements make fights feel smoother, especially with new gadgets and counter moves. However, the progression system is a step back, locking upgrades behind unrelated challenges or missions rather than straightforward skill points, which can feel frustrating.

Technical issues, such as bugs and occasional frame drops, sometimes pull you out of the immersive experience, but the strong voice acting and sound design largely compensate.

Conclusion

While Batman Arkham Origins may not reach the heights set by Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, it remains a worthwhile prequel that deepens Batman’s lore and offers a compelling, if rougher, take on the Dark Knight’s early vigilante days. Fans seeking a darker narrative and expanded Gotham will find plenty to enjoy despite its flaws. If you want to play the whole series from start, Definitely don’t skip it.