Batman: Arkham

The Batman: Arkham series began in 2009 with Batman: Arkham Asylum from Rocksteady Studios, which locked players inside the title asylum for the criminally insane for one long, bad night. The game defined the superhero action genre with its Freeflow combat system, letting players chain hits fluidly across dozens of enemies, paired with a detective mode for reading clues, a dense gothic-horror atmosphere and hallucinatory sequences triggered by Scarecrow's fear toxin. From the start the series was carried by Kevin Conroy voicing Batman and Mark Hamill voicing the Joker, both of whom returned to their roles in later entries.

The sequel, Batman: Arkham City (2011), moved the action into a sprawling open district of Gotham turned into a walled-off prison packed with villains like Two-Face, the Penguin and Mr. Freeze, and is widely regarded by players and critics as the series' peak - it combines free movement via grapple and gliding with a dense web of side content, collectible Riddler trophies and a rogues' gallery of villains. Rocksteady did not return to the wheel until Batman: Arkham Knight (2015), which introduced a fully drivable Batmobile for the first time, added a stack of “Most Wanted” side missions and closed out the so-called Arkham trilogy with a finale pitting Batman against Scarecrow and an alliance of villains led by a new, original antagonist, the Arkham Knight; its PC release, however, was marred by serious technical problems.

In between, WB Games Montreal filled the gap with the prequel Batman: Arkham Origins (2013), set on a single Christmas Eve early in Batman's career, in which the hero is hunted by eight assassins hired by Black Mask, offering a slightly harsher tone and a multiplayer mode; a lighter 2.5D handheld spin-off, Blackgate, set inside the title penitentiary, released alongside it. The brand then continued with smaller side excursions away from the main story - the short-form Arkham VR for PlayStation VR and the mobile strategy game Arkham Underworld.

After years of silence, the series returned in 2024 with Batman: Arkham Shadow from developer Camouflaj, a Meta Quest exclusive set before the events of Arkham Asylum, proving that the series' concept and combat system still work in virtual reality. Arkham remains one of the most influential licensed action series - its combat system, detective mode and open-world style have shaped many other superhero and non-superhero games alike.