Many fans consider the storyline of Arkham Knight lackluster and the weakest in the franchise, but why so? Let’s find out.

Batman: Arkham Series is one of the most incredible franchises out there. Bringing the DC superhero to life and giving the players a chance to actually become “The Batman,” the Arkham series truly surpassed all expectations. Although the whole series gets a good enough reception, some consider Batman: Arkham Knight a subpar title in the franchise.

Despite releasing in 2015, the game looks gorgeous | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studios

Batman: Arkham Knight is Rocksteady’s fourth installment in the series and was released worldwide on June 23, 2015. It became the fastest-selling game of the year, with over 5 million copies of the title sold globally within October of that year. So why are some fans still disappointed?

Why are fans disappointed with Arkham Knight?

While Batman: Arkham Knight has some of the best graphics and gameplay, the title seriously lacks quality in its plot. Many fans of the installment agree that it has a below-average story and is the weakest among all the other titles in the franchise.

Players are disappointed in how the plot unfolds and are let down by how poorly Batman is written in this release of the franchise.

This decline might be linked to the change in writers for the game. Rocksteady decided to use their in-house writers coupled with comic book writer Geoff Johns, instead of Paul Dini who had worked on the stories for the previous two Arkham titles.

The sequel made a really strong effort to be a proper continuation of its predecessor, Batman: Arkham City, but Rocksteady’s approach to a shift in the story led to Arkham Knight’s downfall.

Is Arkham Knight truly a blunder by Rocksteady?

Being the fourth offering of the franchise, Batman: Arkham Knight exhibits numerous phenomenal features. The redesigned character models and the atmosphere of the game that truly brings Gotham to life were the best aspects of the title in the whole franchise.

The visuals are so good that the title even surpasses some modern games that were released years later. The seamless flow of combat and traversal using the Batmobile integrated with smooth gliding ranks among the greatest gameplay experiences.

The Joker comeback was fun but unnecessary | Image Credits: Rocksteady Studios

However, one notable shortcoming of the experience is the overuse of the Batmobile. When the title first started and the Batmobile was introduced, it was an exciting and thrilling experience, then Rocksteady developers decided that the players should get hit with this adrenaline and dopamine boost every single time.

In more than half of the side missions in the installment, the players don’t need Batman at all and it was also incentivized in the game to use the Batmobile as much as possible. The exhilarating factor of the Batmobile was literally snatched out of players’ hands because the Batmobile was so overused.

Another drawback of the sequel lies in the comeback of the Joker. Despite the Joker being killed off in the last title, Rocksteady decided to bring him back from the dead and give him a significant role in the installment as the twisted voice in Batman’s head.

The Joker’s hallucinations in the game and his just randomly appearing in the environment to deliver witty comments added a fun and engaging touch to Arkham Knight. However, turning the climax of the story as this bizarre showdown between the Joker’s psyche and Batman’s psyche felt unnecessary and out of place with the theme.

However, let’s not forget that it still truly is a landmark in the history of WB Games. Its graphics and gameplay are still top-notch, and remain relevant in the AAA gaming scene in 2025.

Rocksteady really stumbled the hardest with Batman: Arkham Knight, but their most disappointing game was still yet to come years later. What do you think about it? Was Arkham Knight truly a disappointment? Let us know in the comments below!