Batman’s had a tough life. Orphaned as a boy… Miserable and rich as a man. His only joy in life comes from slipping into a tight-fitting rubber onesie, sans nipples, and punching criminals repeatedly in the face.
In the first two Arkham games — developed by Rocksteady — Batman was tempered by battle and more disciplined than a Shaolin monk. The Batman we see in Arkham Origins – developed by Warner Bros. Montréal – feels much more human by comparison. More prone to mistakes. In fact, you could say the same of the game itself.
If you enjoyed the other Arkham games, you’ll most likely enjoy Origins. It feels like an Arkham game wearing the same clothes as its older, cooler sibling. It’s all there: the Metroidvania-style exploration, the freeflow combat with its emphasis on timing instead of depth, rafts made out of glue so you don’t wet your Batsuit, and that iconic suit degrading as the game draws on.
All the core tenets are present and correct, and it’s a testament to the team at WB Montreal that it feels so close to Rocksteady’s efforts. But, if you look close enough, the absence of Rocksteady’s experience is clear to see. In the city itself, its snowy confines open from the very start, you can encounter enemies – like knife attackers – before you’re taught by game how to deal with them. This isn’t a problem for seasoned players, of course, but with it being a prequel it should be more noob-friendly.
The world also feels devoid of life, with Batman rarely required to feel the crunch of Christmas Eve snow under his jaw-crunching boots. You can happily glide and grapple across the city and, as before, nearly everyone you meet is just a combatant. You don’t have to think about it, just glide down and double-kick someone in the face – you won’t see revelers in these streets. Of course, the same criticism could be levied at Arkham City but, in that game, at least there was narrative justification for the lack of civilians.
Not that the fault is all with the new developers, however. Some of Batman’s movement and skillset feels dated now. Like the ground attack, where the animation takes so long (if it works) there’s a big chance you’ll get hit in the head with a metal bar. Or the boss battles, which are still terrible, but at least an improvement over the previous games’ recycled wall masochists.
There’s also the way Batman moves – oddly cumbersome on his feet outside of combat. Batman shouldn’t keep missing jumps and falling into water, having to grapple out of it like he’s trying to fill up his blooper reel. Things like this take you out of the experience slightly, as do the unconscious enemies who disappear almost immediately more often than not.
They’re unconscious, of course, because Batman doesn’t kill. Unless he accidentally knocks a sleeping sentry into fetid sewer water with a reckless haymaker. The game shrugs its shoulders and carries on when discrepancies like this occur. Even though the story is based around Batman’s unflinching morality.
It is a good story, telling the tale of Black Mask’s attempts at taking out the Dark Knight by offering up a large reward for his death. A good excuse for anyone who hates Batman to turn up in Gotham. The concept of Batman’s strange moral code rears its head at more than one point during the narrative, and this jarring discrepancy, which can happen during gameplay, is tough to ignore. As are the awful English accents of Penguin and his assistant – especially his assistant – which sound like they’re rejects from an Oliver Twist film, directed by Nick Love.
The combat, although mostly unchanged, feels slightly faster than before. This is a younger, non-brokeback Batman. It’s a graceful thing, the combat. Rhythmic taps and flicks of the stick toward enemies are still order of the day, with an indicator telling you when to tap another button to counter. You can also stun enemies with your cape, allowing you to perform the fastest punches outside of anime in what’s called a ‘beatdown’. You can also evade and dive over assailants’ heads to avoid those attacks that you can’t counter. It’s ultra simple.
Sure, you can use your gadgets, but regular attacks will see you through most of the time. Later on, the introduction of a pair of shock gloves add a few new animations to Bat’s repertoire, and electrocuting people is always satisfying. On top of this, there’s a new enemy type, the martial artist, who can counter your attacks – which really only means you have to counter his counter.
The combat is shallow in comparison to similar games, but there’s still something really enticing about it. There’s a crunch to each attack and encounters all feel extremely physical, with Batman hurtling across the room and methodically taking the henchmen out. Each final strike shows a zoomed-in and slowed down hit land with a bone-shattering crack.
It all flows smoothly and, once you master the timing, not many games are better at making you feel as capable as a protagonist like Batman. The grace of the combat does have a downside, however, as it serves to highlight how shit Batman is at walking.
The stealth sections also make a return, gargoyles and all. Again, it’s pretty much a copy and paste job in this regard. These predator arenas, where the enemies are all armed, are still about isolating and picking off enemies one by one. The fun comes from experimenting with different ways of incapacitating your foes: string them up, jump from a vent, blow a wall onto them, pull them over a ledge… the list goes on.
You can pretty easily use your gadgets to pass these areas with very few issues, though. Find a guy near some railings and use the batclaw to pull them over the edge. Their friends come to investigate, and before you know it you’ve pulled five guys over that railing with just a few repeated taps of a button. Speaking of tapping buttons repeatedly, that’s another annoying thing the game likes you to do every time you open a door or a vent.
Although slightly disappointing in a few areas, the game still shines aesthetically. As we know, Batman adopted his darkness, but he operates best in the shadows. The game does a grand job of representing a snowy, night time Gotham – its looming architecture, with both modern and gothic influences combining to make something that feels authentic. The moon is a constant presence, providing light, which usually splits and filters through industrial constructions as you perch on a high ledge – and at ground level glistening on the perpetual snow.
The only substantial addition to the formula is an interesting, if a bit needless, multiplayer offering. The online mode was outsourced to Splash Damage, creators of Brink and experienced in the online arena. The premise is intriguing, with Batman and Robin trying to take down a team of six other players who all have guns and a third-person shooter setup.
The dynamic duo must use stealth and cunning to silently take down the gunmen, filling an intimidation gauge. The gunmen must stop them by shooting them. There’s also a pure guns deathmatch mode for fans of ‘shoot the mens simulations’. (Caveat: there are better examples of shooting the mens.) The servers are already almost completely barren and you can be sat in a lobby for twenty minutes before getting into a game, however. So, good luck with that.
It’s really not all bad, though. At times it feels like revisiting an old friend, it’s just that they need a haircut and you’re too polite to tell them. This review wasn’t originally intended to read so harshly, but these are the impressions Origins leaves. It’s very similar to the other games, which are both great. This too, is a good game, but at times it just feels a bit phoned-in. There’s still an enjoyable core here, but the problems present in the other Arkham games are slowly becoming visible the longer the light of Gotham’s moon shines down on them.
Final Verdict
7 out of 10
A copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
