Just this year, Rocksteady wrapped up their highly successful and critically praised run of games featuring the World’s Greatest Detective, Batman: Arkham Knight. It’s hard to believe that back in 2009 when Arkham Asylum launched it was during a time where videogame adaptations of DC Comics’ most iconic characters were considered impossible. Now, it seems that major videogames involving Batman are everywhere.
It’s a trend that shows no signs of stopping anytime soon according to Warner Bros. Interactive. Speaking in a Playstation Blog interview, Ames Kirshen stated that the Arkham series had been, “finally able to realize the full potential of the character,” then went on to say that, “the possibilites are endless with a character as dynamic and loved as Batman.”
And in a few ways, this definitely shows when you look at most games based on the DC Universe that WB has published. Netherrealm’s Injustice: Gods Among Us which had the Dark Knight leading an underground resistance against a tyrannical Superman, and the LEGO Batman games that harken back to his more campy and lighthearted days. Both of which were successful because, according to Kirshen, they had the “core essence” of the franchise embodied in each new game while not being, “a slave to every single aspect of its history.”
These are some very confident statements and we can see why. While Batman has been around for coming up on eighty years, his style and tone has fluxuated throughout the decades, it can be very difficult to maintain and remember what makes him relevant and compelling now. But while the talent at Rocksteady and Netherrealm have remembered to retain that, there have been some misfires like the utterly forgettable Batman: Arkham Origins or the handheld and mobile games.
But as for not sticking to its history and WB wanting to make more Batman games, the possibilities are definitely out there. They could go to Elseworld titles, possibly bring back the abandoned Gotham By Gaslight game or even make a game out of the recent animated Gods and Monsters universe. What would you like to see for a new Batman game?