Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are probably one of the most famous game titles of the previous console generation. It introduced us to Freeflow combat and Detective Mode, gameplay mechanics that were such a hit that other developers took some inspiration from them to use in their own projects. Now, many years later, both games return in one package with all the DLC and improved graphics for PS4 and Xbox One.

Be the Batman

For those who haven’t played the original versions of both games, let me give you an explanation of what the core gameplay is. In both games, you play as Batman and have to stop the main bad guy from executing his plans (Joker in Arkham Asylum and Hugo Strange in Arkham City). During the investigation, you’ll have to take out dozens of hired goons by using either stealth or melee combat. The melee combat uses the Freeflow mechanic, which makes you able to beat down multiple goons in one continuous flow. The Freeflow combat feels overpowered at the end of Arkham Asylum, but Arkham City fixes this by giving your enemies more unique ways to attack you (like using swords or shields). The stealth mechanic or Predator Mode is used when you have to clear a room or area filled with fire-armed enemies. You can use gargoyles and vents to silently take down goons, one by one. Both games do a good job of balancing both game mechanics and steadily increasing the difficulty of dealing with your enemies.

You’ll also have to investigate some crime scenes in order to progress the story (or side mission in Arkham City). This is done by activating Detective Mode, a mechanic you also use in stealth sections. This lets you see fingerprints, scent trails, blood and whatnot which you then have to follow back to where it came from. While it’s a simple design and not used that much in both games, it is a nice addition that gives you a taste of what it’s like to be the ‘world’s greatest detective’.

Return to Arkham adds nothing new in terms of gameplay, but it does include all the DLC. Even the Joker Challenges, a PS3-only DLC which lets you play as the Joker instead of Batman, are included in both versions. If you want the full Batman experience, Return to Arkham is the best deal you can ask for.

Unnecessary changes

Instead of making Rocksteady Studios (developer of the original Arkham games) port the game to PS4 and Xbox one, Warner Brothers Entertainment instead chose Virtuos to take this responsibility. While it’s certainly not the first time that a remake of a game gets made by an outside studio, it does raise the question on why WBE chose to do so. The original Arkham games were made with the Unreal 3 engine. Even the most recent Arkham game, Arkham Knight was made in this engine instead of Unreal 4 and still managed to look amazing. Rocksteady has shown their vast knowledge and understanding of the Unreal 3 engine. So why did Virtuos decide to port Arkham Asylum and Arkham City to Unreal 4 for the remaster? The graphics are better, yes, but only slightly and are not noticeable unless you compare the textures to the ones in the original games.

The main characters of both games have also undergone some changes. Not that their designs themselves have changed, but some details have been altered or removed. The Joker, for example, looks less rough now and a little more colorful. His wrinkles are less noticeable and his hair looks less messy. This applies to every main character in both games. Sometimes they look better, sometimes they look worse compared to their original versions (for example, pic below shows the Penguin in both games).  Here’s what’s bothering me about these changes. Why did Virtuos decide to make these? It doesn’t make the games better (or worse), but they did it anyway. Are these changes terrible or do they ruin the games? No, but they are unnecessary and questionable.

What does look worse are the lighting effects, especially in Arkham Asylum. The claustrophobic atmosphere is still there, but it’s not that impressive as in the original version. Shadows look worse or are sometimes simply non-existent. The colors are also a little more vibrant, which on its own is not a bad thing but has a negative effect in a game where dark areas are everywhere and a necessity to build the atmosphere. If you haven’t played the original games, then you’ll probably not notice this but it immediately stands out to those who have.

Framerate mess

And now we’ve come to the biggest problem Return to Arkham has. The framerate in both Asylum and City are downright abysmal. It should be running at a stable 30 frames per second, but that is something both games apparently can’t do. Simply walking through a corridor is too complex for the engine to maintain a decent framerate. To make things worse, the frames completely tank when you’re fighting more than three enemies, something the previous versions could handle with ease. Locked 30 fps shouldn’t be a problem for the PS4 and Xbox One. Hell, even 60 fps should be possible, given how much more powerful those consoles are compared to their predecessors. To be fair, framerate is something that can be fixed with future patches. However, this shouldn’t be an issue for a game that’s already released by now and costs around 50 euro/dollars.

Conclusion

Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are both great games and deserve to be played by those who haven’t. Return to Arkham offers both and all their DLC for a reasonable price, although that would be the case if it weren’t for the terrible framerate and lower lighting quality compared to the original versions. As a remake, Return to Arkham fails in giving fans of the originals a reason to buy the upgraded versions. If you’re new to the series, I advise you to wait until some patches have been released that fix the engine. As a remaster of the originals, I can not recommend it unless you can ignore the unstable framerate or if you’re willing to wait for those patches.

6,5/10

Tested on Xbox One