Outside of Spider-Man, Batman has the greatest video game history of any superhero. Here are the best Dark Knight games of all time.
Once upon a time, DC’s Batman seemed to get a new game every other year. The Dark Knight was the talk of the town, and his run under Rocksteady’s banner arguably helped usher in a new era of superhero games that is still going strong today. If Arkham Asylum was not a success, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League would likely not be in development at the moment.
However, in recent years, Batman has taken a backseat in the video game department. The Caped Crusader has not received a proper standalone outing since 2017’s The Enemy Within, and no news has come out to suggest that will be changing anytime soon. While comic fans have plenty of upcoming superhero titles to look forward to, if someone wants to wear Bruce Wayne’s cowl, they will need to look to the past to find the best Batman games.
Generally, only games starring Batman will be included. The only exceptions are the Injustice series since The Dark Knight plays a central role in the stories of those titles and Gotham Knights since the Bat Family is an extension of Batman. 24 Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
The Batman Arkham brand is synonymous with quality. Even the weakest console release (Origins) is an above-average action-adventure game. Unfortunately, the franchise’s single attempt to transfer over to the handheld market resulted in a significant decline in quality.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a side-scrolling Metroidvania set within the titular prison after it has been taken over by a myriad of DC villains. Not the most original of stories, but it gets the job done. The game adjusts Arkham’s influential combat system to complement the limitations of portable consoles, but the transition could have been a lot smoother. Ultimately, this is a mediocre game in a subseries known for excellence. 23 Batman Forever: The Arcade Game
Despite being based on the highly successful Batman Forever movie, Batman Forever: The Arcade Game is forgotten by many gamers due to being released on home consoles almost a year after the movie had come out in theaters. While it isn’t a great game by any means, it is so off-the-wall crazy that it has to be included.
Just as how the Batman movies changed direction under Joel Schumacher from Tim Burton, this game tosses out the window any seriousness the previous games based on the films had. In the place of moody and tense cutscenes are Batman and Robin smashing endless armies of criminals with screen-clearing super moves and Street Fighter-esque button combos. This beat-em-up is certainly flashy, and while most people likely won’t play it more than twice, Batman Forever is a sensory trip any Batman fan should try out. 22 Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu
Batman: Rise Of Sin Tzu occupies a unique place in Batman gaming history. Although it uses the designs and overall continuity of the New Batman Adventures TV show, it stars an original villain named Sin Tzu who seeks out the toughest opponents to defeat them in combat. Naturally, this draws him into the cross-hairs of Batman.
At its core, this game is a surprisingly difficult beat-em-up where Batman fights through legions of henchmen before ending each stage with a boss who has been broken out by Sin Tzu. You can level up and buy new combos but most importantly, you and up to four friends can play as Batman, Robin (Tim Drake), Nightwing, or Batgirl. Rise of Sin Tzu is at its best with four players, and while it will never be topping any best Batman games lists, it is a fun enough time to play once. 21 Batman: Vengeance
Context is important when revisiting aged products; for instance, Batman: Vengeance does not have much to offer a modern player looking to experience a Dark Knight-themed 3D romp. Based on The New Batman Adventures, the game is a fairly faithful adaptation of that series, and Vengeance is at its best when focusing on its narrative.
The gameplay is not awful for its era, but it is never anything more than just acceptable. Still, if someone has a deep fondness for Batman AND early 3D action-adventure games, they might get a kick out of Vengeance. 20 Batman
While not one of the easiest titles to revisit in the modern age, the Caped Crusader’s debut game was ambitious for its era. Prior to closing shop in 1998, Ocean Software was a prolific developing team that produced some great titles, including 1987’s Head over Heels and 1992’s The Addams Family, and Batman ranks among the company’s better projects. An isometric platformer, the game guides players from one impressive room to the next, challenging them to find Batman’s equipment, avoid traps and enemies, and make the occasional decision.
Although dated, Batman’s visuals hold up reasonably well, provided someone goes in expecting 8-bit graphics. The map is essentially a labyrinth that regularly forces players to make choices that could lead to dead ends, which could be literal considering the game’s overall difficulty. To combat the gameplay’s potentially frustrating nature, Ocean incorporated a save system, which was an innovative move in 1986.
Batman’s sequel, 1988’s Batman: The Caped Crusader, is also pretty good. 19 Batman Begins
While the story of the canceled The Dark Knight game has been told before, what’s often forgotten is that the film’s prequel, Batman Begins, actually did receive a moderately successful game of its own.
Developed by Eurocom, Batman Begins can best be described as a cross between Splinter Cell (because of its stealth sequences)and, of all things, the Burnout series (because of its Batmobile driving sections). While the game never comes too close to the level of quality of either of those series, it nonetheless is a fun adventure that arguably set the template for the Arkham series that came after it. 18 Batman: The Brave And The Bold – The Videogame
An animated throwback to the 1966 Batman show, Brave and the Bold is an acquired taste for most people, and the same could be said for its game.
