Rating
Batman: Return to Arkham
Batman: Return to Arkham sees the combination of two classic entries in the Batman: Arkham series make a return to modern consoles (PS4 and Xbox One) with improved graphics. Warner Bros. is remastering 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum and 2011’s Batman: Arkham City which will release in this collection package along with all of the associated DLC.
Release Date
Developer
Publisher
Similar Games
Batman: Return to Arkham Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
Overall
Despite the framerate issues and the absence of Arkham Origins though, I’d still consider Batman: Return to Arkham to be a must-buy for both fans of the series that seek to relive it and those that are somehow yet to dive in. It may not be the flawless remastering of two great titles that we hoped it would be, but the drastically improved visuals and the inclusion of all available DLC easily outweighs any disappointment caused. With Rocksteady turning their back on the caped crusader now that Arkham VR is out in the wild, this is your chance to own the defining titles that put them on the map,...
If you’ve never played Arkham Asylum and Arkham City and own a current-gen console, Return to Arkham is a fine place to start. But for those who already own both on PC or last gen, there’s no real reason to pick this up beyond a rather uninspiring and technically disappointing graphical upgrade.
Whilst many remasters retain the aesthetic identity of the original releases, Return to Arkham is a project that kind of breaks the look and feel of its source material. This is most prominently showcased in the newly remastered cutscenes, which often showcase severely different lighting than to originals. This is mostly due to the fact that many scenes are negatively influenced by the new lighting due to the fact that many of them have been needlessly brightened in nature, which is especially noticeable when existing assets are shown off in lighting situations that they aren’t suited for. A p...
While the underlying games hold up as well as they ever did, Batman: Return to Arkham as a remasterwas very disappointing -- especially compared to others that masterfully retouch games like Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection or Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Of the two, only Arkham Ayslum's remaster is worth playing through; with no additional content beyond both games' previous DLC, I would only recommend Return to Arkham to either die-hard Batman fans or those who don't have access to an Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.