I enjoyed Knight for the most part, but I gave up right near the end, I was just tired of doing the same mission types over and over again and I just couldn't bring myself to finish it.
I haven't played Asylum or City in years but I remember liking the more guided linear experience of Asylum more.
Arkham Collection as a whole is worthwhile purchase IMO. It nails the mood and atmosphere of Gotham. While emphasizing on Batman's ability as a detective as an important factor to the gameplay.
Arkham City is a sequel to Arkham Asylum. I say go in order.
Arkham City was for a long while considered the best, but age has arguably been kinder to Asylum (thanks to storytelling) and Knight (thanks to streamlining/modernization).
I don’t think there is any question on how to answer the literal post, though. If you could only get one of them, it’s Asylum.
Also, I would not recommend binging these games unless you are REALLY feeling it when you finish Asylum. The chief complaint about them was always that they did not change the formula around enough between games. I have to think playing them back to back exacerbates that.
I played Asylum last year for the first time (and haven't played other games yet). It honestly aged well. Yeah, the graphics look like crap; but the core gameplay, UI, and especially writing/dialogues all hold up. And it's linearity is great.
Actually looks like I'll only be playing through Asylum and City. Bought all three on my Steam Deck, but for some reason Knight is unsupported on there.
But, I'm happy to start with the original and enjoy it from there!
Might be a little unpopular, but my personal ranking:
Arkham Asylum:
It's the most linear, but that plays a lot in its favour. In my opinion, it has the best setting and story. The linearity allowed for a more tailored experience, and it was very well tailored.
Arkham Knight:
The largest world, the most polished gameplay, the best looking, and has a new mystery villain. If you're a big Batman fan you might guess who it is early on, but it's still very cool. I think it has the longest story too, as well as the most villains.
Arkham Origins:
It's a bit short, but it might have the most villains other than Arkham Knight, and it has great boss battles. The game takes place over Christmas, and I'd say it's a nice Christmas game. Gotham looks beautiful in the snow. I think you also get to hand around the Batman cave and with Alfred more than the other games.
Arkham City:
Not bad by any means, but I played it last year for the first time and I felt underwhelmed. There's nothing it excels at over the other games, and it feels a bit outdated. At least, according to myself.
I’m currently making my way through the series again after achieving 240% in Arkham Knight. So all are pretty fresh in my mind.
All the games have their strengths and weaknesses:
• Asylum is extremely linear but has some amazing sequences and really feels like you’re in an episode of the animated series. • City has a fantastic story and is more open world compared to Asylum. It definitely looks a bit dated these days and can be clunky to control at times. It is considered the best of the series for a reason though! • Origins is the prequel black sheep of the series. It wasn’t developed by Rocksteady and doesn’t have Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as the voices for Batman and Joker. The story is extremely short, but the boss battles are a ton of fun. It’s definitely worth checking out for at least one play through. Especially around the holidays! • Knight is the most polished and best looking of all the Arkham games. The story is a bit more generic / predictable than the rest, but the ending really wraps up the series nicely. The main issue people have with Knight is the Batmobile sections. While it does get overused, it’s not as bad as some make it out to be.
All the games tie into each other. Even events from Origins are referenced throughout Knight. I would recommend starting with Asylum and going from there. That way you get the full story. If you start with Knight right away, you might be confused at a lot of big events that are directly related to the other games. The opening cutscene to Knight completely spoils the ending of City as well!
TLDR: All are great in their own ways. For continuity, start with Asylum and work your way up to Knight.
Man Origins boss fights were great. I remember being in awe when fighting Deadshot. That fight was the definition of a slobberknocker. I don't remember much else from that game but that fight stuck with me.
@followthewhiterabbit I'm not sure if it's out of your price range, but the whole Arkham Collection (all 3 games) is on sale for $9 right now. It's definitely worth the extra $4 to get two more games. And they're all great for different reasons in my opinion.
When it comes to the secondary characters, while most of it can be fine, a lot of stuff in Knight is made better by having played the first two.
So I'd personally choose City. That said, Knight is fun. My only real problem was that to get the "true ending", you need to complete every. single. Riddler challenge, which can be... not fun.
It's funny, I used to think I prefer arkham asylum over city over knight. I replayed all of them (including origins) last year and arkham knight was my favourite by quite a bit. The batman gameplay is just so smooth and I liked the batmobile mechanics, too.
I think it depends on what you’re looking for. Arkham asylum and Arkham city are definitely the best ones but I’ve always liked the more linear story/gameplay of Arkham Asylum more. They’re both great though.
I bounced off Knight despite loving Asylum and City exactly due to the Batmobile. Admittedly driving sequences are a hard "meh" for me at the best of times, but they felt much worse here because they forced me away from the batsuit traversal.
The thing is, the Batmobile isn't terrible, at times it even feels cool to drive. But it's forced on you SO. MUCH.
By the time you finish the game, what felt like a pretty neat addition feels like a chore to use. I didn't buy a car game, I bought a Batman game. Let me be Batman >:(
If you can get it cheap, it's worth picking up after you've played the other 2 mainline Arkham games; so long as you go in knowing what to expect. There are worthwhile moments in the game, so long as don't expect the quality to be as high as City or Asylum.
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