Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition

can safely say definitly love this game and definitly one of the bests, i recently played the game doing essentienally a speed run with no health upgrades and no quiting the game and beat the main story at 7.783 hours, and got 47% of the games completion done as well as solved puzzles and beat side missions i've never beaten before, definitly play this if ye got the money.

I think this is the best Batman Arkham game. Took everything good about the first game and built upon it. Just buy it on sale its cheap.

A pretty solid improve in every aspect of Arkham Asylum. It's still a really good game, aging very well. A must play.

best arkham game ever. expands on the first and adds a brilliant story.

best arkham game imo. perfect balance of story quality and expansive gameplay. not as sprawling and overwhelming as knight but more in depth than asylum (which are both still great games). one of my fav games of all time

What I like:

1. The storytelling
2. The cutscenes
3. The combat
4. The character designs
5. The look of the setting
6. The voice acting
7. The equipments that are used in the game
8. The atmosphere/vibe


What I dislike:
N/A

Hard to hate an Arkham game. Sometimes the stealth shows its age but otherwise solid as always.

Batman Arkham City was and excellent sequel to Arkham Asylum. It took the great foundation that Asylum laid out for it. It is more open world vs the more linear style of the first game but open world suites this type of game really well. If you liked Arkham Asylum then this game is a must play.

I had never watch any batman movies but after the purchase of the 3 asylum games I watched all batman movies and after all batman is one of my favourite super hero. I recommend that the whole arkham game is worth it

Loved this game since the PS3 release, it's a fantastic experience for anyone who is a big fan of Batman!

There's 4 playable characters, versus how Arkham Asylum had only Joker as an extra if you're on PS3 or with the latest remasters, Here, we have Catwoman as a part of the story actively, down to being playable in the open-world map. We also have Robin and Nightwing as other extras akin to how Joker was used on Arkham Asylum: They're essentially here to be usable in challenges, and at most Robin is a huge part of the post-end-game-DLC story called "Harley Quinn's Revenge".

What isn't so easy to deal with, is how much extra content there is, if you want to actually finish it for the sake of the story details involved in the Riddler Challenges, being 440 in total.

A great game at the very least, just do know what you're in for when taking on those challenges in the open-world... It WILL take quite a while...

Not bad, not good. But it still gives you great experience and atmosphere, so far so good but not like Arkham Aslyum.
8/10

Batman: Arkham City GOTY is a dark, action-packed superhero game with fluid combat, an engaging story, and a rich open-world filled with iconic villains. Best one out of all arkham game

🎮 Completed on PS4 During My Prime Gaming Years

I played and finished this gem on PS4 back when I was at the top of my game. It was everything a Batman fan could’ve hoped for thrilling, emotional, and just the right amount of chaos. Revisiting it now on Steam feels like coming home.

🌆 A Masterclass in Open-World Design

Arkham City expanded the asylum’s tight corridors into a full-fledged, living, breathing slice of Gotham. Gliding over rooftops, swooping down on thugs it gave you freedom and purpose in every corner.

🥋 Combat Refined to Perfection

Building on the excellent mechanics of Arkham Asylum, City makes every fight feel like a choreographed dance of punches, counters, and gadgets. It’s smooth, satisfying, and endlessly replayable.

👥 An Iconic Cast of Villains

The lineup here is legendary — Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Hugo Strange, Ra’s al Ghul each villain feels unique, and the writing gives them the gravitas they deserve. Freeze’s boss fight? Easily one of the best in gaming.

🧠 Tons of Side Content Without the Fluff

Riddler challenges, political prisoners, side missions involving lesser-known rogues — it never felt like filler. Everything ties into Batman’s world and character.

🎭 Emotional Storyline with Real Weight

From Joker’s deteriorating health to Batman’s moral dilemmas, Arkham City carries a darker, more emotional tone than its predecessor. The ending still hits hard, even when you know it’s coming.

🦇 Peak Batman Power Fantasy

You don’t just play as Batman. You are Batman. Whether it's stealth takedowns, aerial glides, or cracking skulls with explosive gel — it delivers the full Dark Knight experience.

📝 Final Thoughts:

Arkham City is not just a great sequel it’s one of the best superhero games ever made. Playing it during my prime on PS4 was unforgettable, and diving back into it on Steam is just as rewarding. If Asylum lit the Bat-Signal, City answered it with vengeance.
THIS IS ALSO RECOMMENED FOR NEW GAMERS , TRY THIS TO GET YOU HOOKED IN GAMING.

I never leave game reviews. This game is absolutely incredible. Do yourself a favour and play it - now.

Batman: Arkham City is an amazing action-adventure game set in a dark, open-world Gotham prison filled with iconic villains. The combat is smooth and fun, with great stealth options. The story is exciting and features memorable characters like Joker and Harley Quinn. The graphics and voice acting add to the immersive experience.

A must-play for Batman fans and action game lovers!

BEST SUPERHERO GAME EVER MADE! Arkham Knight definitely has a better gameplay experience, but Paul Dini made Arkham City's story the best in the franchise. 10/10 definitely recommended. Go get yourself a copy and start experiencing a timeless masterpiece by the original Rocksteady.

TLDR: An improvement from Asylum on nearly all aspects, this is a game absolutely worth playing and still holds up in 2025 as an excellent example of world building and combat fluidity.

PROS:

➕Amazing art style
➕Responsive and fluid combat
➕Tons of collectables and puzzles
➕Various non-campaign activities
➕Different playable characters that offer gameplay variations (EX: Catwoman)
➕Open world gameplay
➕Voice acting

NEUTRALS:

🔹Alfred is kind of a sarcastic d*ck lol
🔹Potentially too many collectables, the majority of the game is collectables/optional content

CONS:

➖Basic movement can seem slow and clunky
➖Narrative has highs and lows


Batman Arkham Asylum (AA) review: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/35140/

Content (Game world/Narrative) – [8/10]

The game world is constructed very well, and what I would consider a good improvement over AA. What's the same is the excellent Batman lore and worldbuilding. What’s new and improved is a playground much larger and more open ended than Asylum. The freedom is there to explore and do side quests. There’s just a much more actual Batman feeling from traversing around AC.

The narrative was okay. First, it's a bit short. I finished the main story to 100%, and while still doing side missions throughout, I still ended with around 45% total completion, meaning the story itself isn’t even the majority of the game. Take that as negative or positive as you will. Second, the game tries to jam in so many Batman villains that their stories are either hit or miss. Villains like Bane or Mad Hatter are largely left on the sidelines to the point where I wonder if they should have even been included.

Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) – [7/10]

Solid and in my opinion another improvement over AA. There are more tools for Batman, and other playable characters, to use. Which also means that the enemies have more too. The combat system is fluid, dynamic, and just straight up fun to feel like such a bada**. My biggest complaint with the mechanics is how slow characters walk. I am not a big fan of their slug-like pace where you need to hold down a button to make them run. Plus, Batman has no native jump, lol.

Difficulty is generally well-balanced. I played on Normal and experienced no roadblocks.

Graphics (Quality/Technical) – [9/10]

The quality is superb considering this game is from 2011 and easily holds up to today's standards. Furthermore, the art style of the gritty Arkham City looks and feels great.

The technical side was fine. I experienced only a few small non-game breaking bugs, like enemies stuck in walls. This game also does not have DLSS, so I played it entirely using Lossless Scaling and it's smooth as butter.
i9-13900KF | RTX 4090 | 64GB RAM | 1440p @ 240hz | Windows 11 installed on SSD

Audio – [7/10]

I found it a step up from AA. Aside from the typical excellent voice acting from Mark Hamill and Kevin Conroy, AC comes with some pretty epic music. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen as often as I’d like, but there’s some great moments here that really make you feel like the Dark Knight.

Replay Factor (Longevity) – [7/10]

I’d say pretty good. There’s a ton of content and it’s fun enough to play through - challenges, collectable puzzles/riddles, side quests, so so much to do. Perhaps my biggest complaint here is that despite a lot of replay value to take part in, there’s little-to-no player choice or possibility for builds/customization.

Final Verdict – [8/10]

Batman: Arkham City (AC) is the sequel to Arkham Asylum (AA). This time, the game focuses on a much larger and more open world than AA ever was.

For my biggest negatives, I would say it's probably the slow movement and the uninteresting narrative, and these are overall minor complaints.
For movement, it pains me how utterly slow Batman, and all controllable characters, move. In fights it's like I’m some sort of street fighting god - leaping 20 feet away to smack some guy in the face. But when just generally walking around, Batman hobbles along like your grandpa who was in ‘Nam. I get that it could just be part of his dark and brooding persona, but it's just janky and lacks a sense of urgency.
Also the narrative can be boring at times. Some villains are clearly sidelined for others. I almost wish that instead of trying to jam almost every villain in the game, they instead focused more on strengthening the story of a few.

As for my positives, I would have to say it would be the graphics/artstyle and the combat.
The graphics and artstyle just show a fantastic world of Arkham to play around in. Dark aesthetic with neon lights and snowy weather is the perfect vibe for its release in October, as it's a great build up to the Halloween look. I absolutely love it.
As for the combat, as a hallmark of the Batman: Arkham series, and what has started as a somewhat genre-defining combat system, has further been improved in AC. It just feels so smooth and pleasing to rack up a huge combo score and watch as your martial arts prowess takes out dozens of henchmen at a time. It's just so impressive seeing multiple attacks and counters flawlessly intertwine within a whirlwind of beatdown. Not many games have such a system where I become so engrossed in repetitive combat that I don’t mind it, but I keep coming back to it in AC.

Overall, Arkham City is an improvement upon Asylum in nearly every aspect of the game. And while I definitely do recommend you to still start with Asylum, City as the next game absolutely must be experienced if you enjoyed AA.

Recommend? [Y/N]

Yes

You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR

Honestly It is as good as Asylum but with minor con which is perk system that takes forever to level up unlike in Asylum.

BTW. Ragdoll physics good.

best adaptation of batman, innovative fighting mechanics, games made today still don't hold up.

This game is a masterpiece. It has replay value and a lot to offer for the price. I played it when it originally released on xbox 360 and played it multiple times over the years. Doing my first play through on PC now.

Amazing 100% experience, amazing gameplay, and an engaging, intricate story, with a unique world, gadgets, and upgrades that improve upon Arkham Asylum in every way. The characters and voice actors do an excellent job, and the Riddler, although annoying at times, is an excellent interpretation of what the actual Riddler would do—constantly trying to outsmart Batman and defeat him. Almost every boss outdoes the one before and is overall an amazing and perfect game.

Arkham City was a big improvement from Asylum as the graphics and combat was much better than Asylum. it also allowed us to have an open world through Gotham. It also introduced different characters to play as such as Catwoman, Nightwing, and Robin. The story felt more engaging than Asylum which was a plus. You should definitely pick up the Arkham Trilogy on sale as it can get you hours of gameplay.

A classic Xbox 360 era game, it's still a MUST PLAY in 2025.
if you change the values in the 'BmEngine.ini' file, you can play in whatever frame-rate you desire. Worth a re-play just to experience it in High FPS. (tested at 144fps)

Easiest to recommend out of all 4 Batman Arkham Games.
While i like Arkham Asylum's theme and style more, City feels better to play.
Arkham Origins is cool, and Knight is a different beast entirely, but they're both built upon the mechanics in Arkham City. If you got the time, start with Asylum. If not, Arkham City is a tier above, do not skip.

However, i do not recommend trying to 100% achievements, as there is some BS challenges especially with the Nightwing predator medals in the Riddler's Revenge DLC.
its not impossible, but its a big time and sanity sink.

Note: Nvidia PhysX 32-bit is no longer accelerated on 50-series GPUs, and will use CPU if turned on, leading to stuttering. That said, its feel like PhysX is more of a gimmick and maybe even immersion breaking at times, since some particles can look out of place.

Amazing game, only problem is that the predator sections don't allow me to have nearly enough prep time

The second game in the amazing Arkham series. The combat is smoother and the map is bigger with actual side quests compared to the more limited content in Arkham Asylum. Only thing I would like improved is the side quests. Many of them seem very interesting and unique but finish way too fast.

first arkham game, very nostalgic. i still suck at keeping the combo going but it's still fun

best of the arkham series in my opinion, the development of the characters is really cool to watch, and the gameplay is significantly better than asylum.

It's pretty clear why this is widely considered the Best of the Arkham games.

It takes everything Arkham Asylum did and greatly expands upon it; instead of being a semi-linear game, it's now an open world with a much more refined moment system. The combat was great in Arkham Asylum, and they now they added more to it, more gadgets, more enemy types, and entirely new moves.

You get to play as a few side characters; they're not as complex as the bat, but they're fun. Unless you're a super fan, I wouldn't 100% this, it's super tedious and outright unfair at points, but to each their own.

We yes WE all know how this game is. Batman arkham city literally defined the action games that we know and play today. The story is 10/10, the combat is amazing 100/100, the characters are well written and modeled and catwoman DLC is a good addition as well and the side contents is amazing as well. even after the story you still have so much to do like riddler revenges and the side missions so you will spend alot of time in this game. Best batman arkham in the entire trilogy. The literal backbone to all super hero action games

I recommend this game because it's very good. It's easy to play, nothing complicated, nothing unnecessary. The graphics are good. I'd say the game's story is pretty good. I give it a solid 8, I really enjoyed it.

Man, this game is already better than Arkham Asylum. The story is good, but what I really love is the combat. I'm playing on hard mode and I've died so many times but combat is so rewarding that I'll throw myself into big crowds to fight more. I bought this on a sale and I haven't regretted it so far. I suggest you try this game and Arkham Asylum.

it is a classic for the old days and the nolstolgia go back to this 200%

Batman: Arkham City takes everything that made Arkham Asylum great and expands it into one of the most ambitious and polished superhero games ever made!

After loving Asylum, I wasn’t sure if a bigger open world would lose that tightly focused feel—but Arkham City manages to deliver both scale and intensity.

Gameplay Highlights:

- The freeflow combat feels even smoother and more varied than before.
- Stealth predator sections remain a standout - smart and tense.
- Traversal is massively improved. Gliding across Gotham never gets old!
- Side missions are rich with lore and character-driven stories, they're not a filler.

What sets it apart:

- The setting of Arkham City is dark, layered, and full of atmosphere.
- The writing respects the Batman universe, pulling in a wide cast of characters without feeling bloated.
- Riddler challenges are more complex and rewarding.
- The story builds to a dramatic, unforgettable finale.

Presentation:

- Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill once again deliver phenomenal performances!
- Rocksteady’s art direction and environmental storytelling are top-notch.
- The soundtrack perfectly matches the tone - haunting, heroic, and tense when it needs to be.

Technical Notes:

- Excellent performance on modern systems.
- Looks great even today, especially with HD texture mods.
- A polished, complete experience with no unnecessary fluff.

If you enjoy single-player games that blend action, stealth, exploration, and narrative with precision, Arkham City is an essential play - even more ambitious and confident than its predecessor.

10/10 – Gotham’s reckoning delivered. Long live the Bat.

Great Batman game just like the previous one (Asylum), finished with the main story (1st May), have yet to collect all of the riddler trophies (the riddler trophies are the most annoying thing in all the Batman games I've played (for both Batman and Catwoman). 1st most annoying guy award goes to The Riddler ofc, only 2nd is the Mad Hatter. But I would 100% recommend all the Batman Arkham games (including Origins which I have yet to try out).

First time playing this game after 14 years of its release. I love Batman and I loved every minute of this game. Now looking forward to Arkham Origins and Arkham Knight.

One of the best games I've ever played. Achievements sucks balls though. Especially with the Catwoman challenges.

great game shows its age sometimes but overall good fun and if youre getting it on sale will 100% be worth your money. sometimes a bit unintuitive but simple enough

great game they took everything from arkham asylum and made it better with open world city and great story we also get to play as cat women and there are 2 dlcs included which are also great side missions are also great. flying around in city as batman is better than swinging as spider man i would highly suggest you should do augmented reality flying missions as it gives rope gun boost which makes flying more convinient and you can get that upgrade in early game and for this cheap bundle you should definatly buy arkham trilogy if you like batman

The people's favorite Batman/Arkham game. Now don't get it twisted, this game is FANTASTIC. It defiantly deserves the hype that surrounds itself. If you enjoyed AA then get AC. If you like Batman, get AC. If you like combo fighting games, get AC. Basically this is a game that EVERY gamer should have and should play. Honestly one of the best games ever made. Top ten for any gamer for sure.

Amazing game! Takes everything great from the first one and somehow finds ways to make them better. Literally every part of this game improved over it's predecessor and that predecessor was already a great game. Even all these years later the game still holds up really well too!

A game that iterated on Arkham Asylum in a way that really drew all the combat concepts together with more fluidity and a more open overworld to explore. Arguably the peak of the franchise,

This game changed my life its so good i cant describe the feeling when i played in for the first time i was so excited i reccomend it for sure

GOAT game, as a guy who loves guns in a game, i tend not to miss them in Batman Games

Whether you like collectibles or not, this game offers you 440 riddler trophies to find (good luck xd)
But seriously, Arkham City is huge step up from the already great Asylum and it deserves every praise it gets.

★★★★½ out of 5

very great story, good combat, good boss fights and also the hardest arkham game i've played in the series. i do reccomend for sure to play but I'd suggest to play arkham asylum first.

This game has really good graphics for its time. The game also has the best story of all the Arkham games and has one of the biggest plots at the end. As I would say for most of the Arkham games, one of the only downsides to the game is the Riddler trophies in which you have to collect. Also, travelling around the map is pretty slow without the Batmobile, and the obstructions in the way like the Wonder Tower restricted area, make it slower to get around.

Excellent story and gameplay

Peak Batman gaming! Awesome story, awesome combat, awesome gadgets, awesome everything! This game also has some surprisingly good ultra-wide monitor support, pre-rendered cutscenes are still in 16:9, and sometimes the finisher animations at the end of combat encounters will also change to 16:9, but otherwise the whole game is supported and works really well. The only negative is that the quality of the pre-rendered cutscenes is very poor, and looking into it it seemed like a common issue with the PC version but I never found a fix. Its not deal breaking but it is noticeable (and luckily there aren't too many).

You're not playing, you're managing a gothic version of Peronism in a cape. Arkham City is a self-governed madhouse, and you're the only one with the moral high ground to hand out punches like social programs. The Joker is the eternal union boss, and you're the messianic leader bringing justice with overpriced gadgets. No one rules here—they intervene. And while the city burns, you're out there distributing equity one batarang at a time.

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8/10 BATARANG

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Horrid i can't even use the batclaw without it getting stuck and refusing to get unstuck to something