- Just a few years back, Batman Arkham’s free-flow combat was being copied by nearly everyone in the industry.
- With the industry currently focused on tropes like RPG mechanics and Souls-like combat, seeing this gameplay style returning would be a major breath of fresh air.
- Multiple superhero titles are lined up for the future, setting the stage for the return of Batman Arkham’s free-flow battles.
Rocksteady set new trends and raised standards across the industry after Batman Arkham Asylum’s debut many years ago. Beyond the attention to detail, Batman’s portrayal, and excellent traversal, the series immediately became popular for its combat.
Batman Arkham Asylum saw the caped crusader swiftly moving from enemy to enemy, delivering powerful and crushing blows, topped off with an incredibly satisfying sense of fluidity and momentum.
The industry quickly caught on and began to adapt Rocksteady’s free-flow combat system for different games. At one point, the Batman Arkham combat was everywhere, and it was difficult to avoid running into titles without this gameplay style.
However, just as quickly as the trend caught on, it seems to have vanished altogether. While it’s true that the industry suffered from an oversaturation of games using this melee combat, perhaps it’s time to bring it back.
Why it matters: Studios have avoided this style of gameplay for long enough, setting the stage for a grand return that capitalizes on Rocksteady’s excellent foundations.
Games Taking Direct Inspiration From Batman Arkham
Because Rocksteady’s work on the Batman Arkham franchise was so good, it was easy to see why everyone rushed to take inspiration from the system or, in some cases, outright copy it.
Also, it should be noted that many credit 2004’s Spider-Man 2 for Batman Arkham Asylum’s combat. Like Batman, Spider-Man could counter enemies with the press of a single button, but his unique acrobatics meant that the character dodged attacks instead of countering when the button was pressed.
The fact that Rocksteady took clear inspiration from Spider-Man is quite ironic when considering the fact that things came full circle in 2012 when developer Beenox chose to stick with (pun intended) Batman’s counter-based formula for The Amazing Spider-Man.
The same mechanics returned in 2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but this was far from the only Marvel IP using this system. Just one year prior, Captain America: Super Soldier had already dabbled in Batman’s free-flow combat, and to the developer’s credit, the system was quite fitting for Captain America.
Movie tie-in releases, while fun, were never known for their creativity, so it was easy to excuse the developers for falling back on something that had already worked in the past. However, various other AAA releases, including many of Warner Bros’ future titles, quickly adapted Batman Arkham’s melee systems into different combat styles.
Mad Max showed what would happen if Batman stopped pulling his punches and became a ruthless killing machine with plenty of gore to boot. On the other hand, Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War highlighted just how well the combat worked with a sword.
Even Ubisoft jumped on the bandwagon at one point, infusing Assassin’s Creed counter-based combat system with a familiar sense of free-flow momentum in Assassin’s Creed 3 and 4. At the time, I certainly didn’t mind.
It’s Time For A Comeback
Perhaps the biggest compliment for Rocksteady’s work is how well the Batman Arkham series’ combat translated to other games. Whether it be for the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man or the Orc slaying Talion, the combat’s fluidity and accessibility seemed to always fit any and every type of game.
However, it didn’t take long for fatigue to set in. I remember spending hours just beating up street thugs in Batman Arkham City and killing guards in Assassin’s Creed 3, but even I understood that the industry was too reliant on this type of gameplay.
Something had to change, and it definitely did. Unfortunately, this change has meant that you’d be hard-pressed to find similarly satisfying gameplay in modern titles, with most AAA studios finding FromSoftware’s Souls-like approach more appealing today.
In my opinion, this is the perfect time to mix things up and return to this gameplay. The biggest reason I hope to see developers bring back Batman Arkham’s free-flow gameplay is the fact that modern melee systems lack the simplicity that Rocksteady pioneered nearly two decades ago.
I’m tired of seeing obligatory RPG and Souls-like elements in every other release. Skill trees, gear, and stat modifiers have become all too common, and even Rocksteady’s highly disappointing Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has fallen into the same trap, albeit with a looter-shooter makeover.
Both Avengers and Gotham Knights had similar problems, and neither felt half as satisfying to play as Batman Arkham Asylum or any of the other entries in the franchise. This problem isn’t limited to superhero games since stiff combat has practically become standard for most releases today.
Hope For The Future?
A slew of superhero games are coming in the future, and I don’t think anybody would mind Black Panther’s combat bringing back familiar counter-based gameplay that everyone loved just a few years ago.
In many ways, seeing that style of gameplay returning would be nostalgic and fresh. I can also see Monolith Productions falling back on Shadow of Mordor’s pillars for Wonder Woman, especially since the gameplay would be quite fitting for her arsenal. This is also something leaks have already alluded to.
Perhaps Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’s failure will prompt Batman’s return to glory in some form, serving as the catalyst for Rocksteady’s signature free-flow gameplay’s return in the industry.
