Summary
- Rocksteady's decision to release a skin of The Batman's Batman in the Arkham Knight game is a wonderful addition, but it overlooks the fact that the Bat Family companions are in more desperate need of additional skins.
- Characters like Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Batgirl, and Red Hood have limited or lackluster costume options compared to Batman, despite being playable in the game. It is an oversight not to provide them with more alternate skins.
- While it's unlikely that new skins will be made for the Bat Family, fans who have been waiting to return to Arkham Knight and are excited about another Batman-led game will likely be thrilled with the new skin.
Batman: Arkham Knight—and truly the Arkham franchise in general—remains one of the most influential superhero-related games. There will likely never be a DC game released in the future that won’t be compared to it, whether from a gameplay, narrative, or visual standpoint, and for good reason. Many fans are disappointed with the direction Rocksteady and Warner Bros. Games have taken the universe with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, too, which is evidence that Rocksteady of all developers might never be able to step out from the shadow of the Batman it forged.
Recent proof of that is in the fact that Rocksteady is re-releasing its Arkham trilogy in a collection of Switch ports. This also happens to allegedly be where a skin of The Batman’s Batman will be introduced after having been revealed prematurely and subsequently delisted.
The suit, previously worn by Robert Pattinson, looks immaculate in its Arkham Knight adaptation. Still, while a wonderful addition to a nearly nine-year-old game, Arkham Knight has overlooked suits for playable Bat Family companions long enough.
Batman Arkham Knight’s ‘The Batman’ Skin
The Batman’s suit coming to Arkham Knight makes for a wonderful addition, but Batman isn’t who direly needs additional skins years later. Robin, Nightwing, Catwoman, Batgirl, and Red Hood are all playable in medal-awarding challenges from the main menu, but their costumes are limited if not largely lackluster.
There isn’t a skin for Robin that has been widely agreeable, for instance, while Nightwing only has a couple of alternate skins. Of course, the demand for such skins is undoubtedly lower now than it would’ve been around the time of Arkham Knight’s release, but if more suits like Zur-En-Arrh or The Batman’s are being added to the game years after launch still then it seems like an oversight not to toss in one or two suits for the Bat Family as well.
The Bat Family Has a Limited Selection of Suits Compared to Batman
These supplementary characters need skins far more desperately than Batman, even if Batman is the primary protagonist, especially because these characters share playable roles in the story. Therefore, having alternate skins for them becomes as important and immersive as if they were dressing Batman differently.
It’s highly unlikely that new skins will be made for them, particularly for characters like Nightwing or Batgirl, but Catwoman not receiving her own skin adapted from The Batman now seems like yet another missed opportunity. Regardless, fans who have been itching to return to Arkham Knight and are in anticipation of another similar Batman-led game will likely be thrilled about this new skin.
If it truly is dropping as part of the Arkham Trilogy on Switch with other suits as well that would be a fun incentive to get those ports, let alone any other edition of Arkham Knight that fans can get their hands on. In the meantime, though, The Batman suit is not yet included in the game, and fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about any previously unseen skins for Bat Family characters making their way into any of the Arkham games from this point on.
Batman: Arkham Knight
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 86 /100 Critics Rec: 82%
- Released
- June 23, 2015
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Games
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 3
- Franchise
- Batman
WHERE TO PLAY
Batman™: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion. Developed exclusively for New-Gen platforms, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady's uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. The highly anticipated addition of this legendary vehicle, combined with the acclaimed gameplay of the Arkham series, offers gamers the ultimate and complete Batman experience as they tear through the streets and soar across the skyline of the entirety of Gotham City. In this explosive finale, Batman faces the ultimate threat against the city that he is sworn to protect, as Scarecrow returns to unite the super criminals of Gotham and destroy the Batman forever.
“Be The Batman” – Live the complete Batman experience as the Dark Knight enters the concluding chapter of Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy. Players will become The World’s Greatest Detective like never before with the introduction of the Batmobile and enhancements to signature features such as FreeFlow Combat, stealth, forensics and navigation.
