Batman: Return to Arkham

10 out of 10 "Two masterpieces, one package-Batman's legacy redefined for the modern era."

If you're a fan of the Arkham series-or action games in general-Return to Arkham is more than just a remaster. It's a full-on celebration of the two titles that changed how superhero games were made and how Batman stories could be told in the gaming medium: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City.

What You Get: Arkham Asylum - The claustrophobic, psychological descent into Joker's madhouse where it all began.

Arkham City - The open-world escalation that expanded the formula, deepened the lore, and cemented the Arkham series as the gold standard.

Both games are fully remastered with Unreal Engine 4, and while some visual choices sparked debate (like lighting shifts or certain character model tweaks), the heart of the games-the combat, story, exploration, and atmosphere-remains as razor-sharp and immersive as ever.

Why It's a 10:

Two Legendary Games in One: Arkham Asylum is still a masterclass in pacing and environmental storytelling. It traps you with Batman and his rogues gallery in a psychological gauntlet of fear, mind games, and tightly crafted combat.

Arkham City expands on everything. You're given the keys to a walled-off section of Gotham full of corruption, chaos, and villains jockeying for control. It's richer, deeper, more layered-and emotionally devastating by the end.

Refined Presentation: Visually rebuilt to bring out more detail and polish. From the steam-riddled corridors of Asylum to the neon-lit grime of City, Gotham has never looked sharper on modern consoles.

Improved lighting, character models, and ambient effects (though purists might still prefer the darker tone of the originals).

Bonus Content Included: All DLC for both games is included: Harley Quinn's Revenge, challenge maps, alternate skins, and more.

You get the full story experience from beginning to end, no paywalls, no missing content.

Combat Still Reigns Supreme:

The freeflow combat system-often copied, never matched-still holds up perfectly. It's punchy, rhythmic, reactive. When you time a counter just right or chain a 50-hit combo, it feels cool. Stealth predator sections still force you to think like the Bat: isolate, dismantle, and terrify.

Verdict:

10 out of 10.

Return to Arkham is an essential collection. Whether you're revisiting the world's greatest detective or stepping into the cape and cowl for the first time, these are two of the most expertly crafted action games ever made. The remaster might not please every aesthetic purist, but the experience? It's still damn near perfect.

This is where the legend truly begins-and if you're building your Arkham library, this is where you return.

Return to Arkham is the first two games in the Arkham Trilogy, yet this time around we have better graphics as we play through Arkham Asylum, and in my opinion the best Batman game ever made 'Arkham City'. With this remastered return comes some unwanted glitches compared with the ultra crisp original combat fighting system that once was. Often you'll be press triangle to no avail and get hit way more than you ever did in the original versions, especially if you play this on the hardest difficulty. It can be very frustrating to say the least as the original game was perfect. The control system just doesn't work as smoothly this time around. The original games were a ten for me but this slight issue with mechanics brings it down a peg for me. All the DLC is included though, so you won't have to find yourself spending unnecessarily to gain access to more content.

For me both these game were classics, however Arkham City edges it with a better story and the added advantage of playing as another character in the name of Catwoman. The second game also brings a lot of more the rogues gallery which is exciting to see as too often these characters are left out in films or games. Ultimately it's once more the joker show, still the side missions are intriguing leaving me always wanting more. It would've been nice to be able to switch between Batman and Catwoman but maybe that can be something brought to the table in future outings.

These Batman games to date are the perfect adaption of comic to screen we have ever had and that is a bar that has been raised pretty damn high in film. We had two perfect trilogies in the history of Batman released within close proximity one being the Arkham series of games and the other being the Nolan trilogy. I'll end on a positive saying, if you love Batman then you'll love these games and it's a must play game or games.