Batman: Arkham Origins

Is It Worth Playing in 2026?

Batman: Arkham Origins — The forgotten entry to the series — Picture Used from Nintendo.com

Batman: Arkham Origins is often the most overlooked in the series, and considered the dark horse of the series. It’s the only game in the Arkham series to not be developed by Rocksteady Studios. Today, we will look at Batman: Arkham Origins, and see if it’s worth playing it nowadays.

Batman: Arkham Origins is a 2013 action-adventure game, which was developed by WB Games Montréal, and released by Warner Bros. It’s the 3rd entry in the series that takes us back 8 years before Arkham Asylum.

ORIGINS OF THE DARK KNIGHT

We play as the iconic Batman from the DC comics, who is a vigilante that tries to stop crimes in Gotham City. His real name is Bruce Wayne, who is the sole heir to his family’s fortune. His parents died during his early ages, which comes back to haunt him in the Arkhamverse multiple times. The story shows how Batman transforms from an unknown impersonator into Gotham’s guardian. It shows the terrifying nature of Joker, how his intelligence and psychopathic behaviors transform people into madness, like Harleen Quinzel into Harley Quinn, and how he affects Batman as well. The game also represents how the virus came to be, how it spread, and how it affects the user’s brain. It also shows how the relationships of Batman shaped everyday.

It answers to a lot, and fills up holes from the previous games. A good example for the virus is Bane. Before becoming an addict, he was highly intelligent, to the point that he figures out who Batman is. He knows his real identity, and how to counter him. But taking the TN-1 changed him from an intelligent, tactician to a brainless, mutated monster with nothing but killing in his mind. Shows the true nature of the virus.

An example for Joker’s manipulation is Harleen Quinzel. Before working with Joker, she still works as a psychologist in Blackgate prison. The game shows how manipulative Joker can be by affecting her mentally, and helping him escape the prison.

Harleen Quinzel — Before she became Harley Quinn — Own Picture Used

Batman’s inexperience is shown in his fights. Much slower, requires a sharper brain. It is also visible on him mentally. During the story he will experience multiple breakdowns and self-doubts, something that the older Batman got rid of. The mechanical part is challenging both story- and game-wise.

CITY, FULL OF VILLAINS

The game features a ton of villains. It has ‘Most Wanted’ and story villains both. Most of them are returning, but there are newly introduced villains as well. The main antagonist of the game is the Joker, who gets revealed later. Another important villain in the game, is Black Mask, whose real name is Roman Sionis. He will return in later Arkham games. There are ton of returning villains, like Penguin or Cobblepot, Bane, Killer Croc, while there are new villains, like Anarky and Bird. The variety of villains shows just how dangerous is it to live in Gotham City, and why Batman defends it. The ‘Most Wanted’ is a list, full of villains, and villainous acts. You have to complete each of them to close the cases, and get them behind bars, or stop their influence over Gotham. This gives the game a variety of side activities to do, making it more fun and enjoyable than repetitive.

Speaking of it, the game is played in Gotham City. Basically two cities, with a connected bridge between them. Previously, Arkham City only showed and allowed us to move between the upper parts area, like the Industrial District, where crucial moments happened. Since it’s 8 years earlier than Arkham Asylum, it’s still called Sionis Industry before taken over by the Joker.

Gotham City — City, full of villains — Own Picture Used

THE TOOLS OF THE KNIGHT

Arkham Origins uses gadgets mainly from previous titles. For example there’s the iconic Batarang that can knock enemies out, but there are new gadgets like the Shock Gloves that helps you with fights, making it easier, and less complicated. It also gives puzzles more variety and ways to complete them for the Riddle or Enigma.

Introduction of Shock Gloves — Own Picture Used

Lastly, the game features radio towers. They are observed as used by Enigma until Batman takes them over and hack into them. Taking over a radio tower will allow Batman to fast travel between districts making far objective travel quicker. It also has its flaws. If you play the game with DirectX 11, fast travelling to the Bat Cave will result in an infinite loading screen. To fix it, you need to change the file settings from DirectX 11 to 10. But this change will make the game have even more flaws. It’s more unstable, resulting in fatal errors. I encountered 2 fatal errors in total during my 35 hours of game time. After you take back all the radio towers, you can progress with Enigma’s Most Wanted mission. It’s a good addition for both side content and exploration.

In conclusion, this game is worth it. The story fills the holes that were created by Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, while giving us new angles to the characters and breaking them down for us to understand. Technically, the game can be felt that its older than usual by its limitations, but I still recommend playing it. This game is still worth it in 2026.