Uploaded October 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Batman Arkham City is a great game that at times feels so close to perfection and as a whole is almost perfect. I plan to obviously expand on this thesis within this Arkham City Review. With Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad being announced it's important to look back on the Arkham series to see what is up to this point, the pinnacle of Batman in video games. I have already done an Arkham Origins Critique, an Arkham Asylum Critique, and an Arkham Knight Critique, and you can find links below to those videos. I recommend you watch them after watching this Batman Arkham City Critique. You could also use this series as a Batman Arkham Explained series too. I noticed a lot of people being upset at the Gotham Knights Trailer but I am personally excited for some new Batman IP's. I know a lot of you are looking forward to my Arkham City video which is evident by the number of searches I have seen for That Boy Aqua Arkham City. Ok, enough rambling please enjoy this look at Batman Arkham City Years Later
Twitter: twitter.com/ThatBoyAqua
Patreon: patreon.com/thatboyaqua
Channel Memberships: youtube.com/channel/UCwKY6YKl0-amtFsfYEDpMkA/join
Discord: discord.gg/VBJwTUa
All music created exclusively by 444aidan: youtube.com/channel/UCnsQizvIUJs9bAdEFd2iLew
NAM12399: youtube.com/channel/UCynMazSgjLBoA0qO3WcbdLg
Other Essays: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hudNq_z8tDAoBj0iR1bO2f0U8TRQDu8
Batman Arkham Origins: An Identity Crisis: youtube.com/watch?v=18Ff9kBKfJo&list=PL0hudNq_z8tCnZqOw1BeDCos5OiumVLpb&index=2&t=1256s&ab_channel=ThatBoyAqua
Batman Videos Playlist: youtube.com/watch?v=T8oPQS0DCsA&list=PL0hudNq_z8tCnZqOw1BeDCos5OiumVLpb
In Defence of Batman Arkham Knight: youtube.com/watch?v=T8oPQS0DCsA
Batman Arkham Knight Season Pass: DLC Done Right: youtube.com/watch?v=nEtNnV_m9uw&t=1009s
If You're Not Convinced to Play Batman Arkham Asylum: youtube.com/watch?v=JTffKKkh8YE
- Chapters -
Pre Script: 0:00
Introduction: 0:22
Presentation: 2:23
The Map: 4:40
Traversal: 9:28
ComBAT: 9:48
Stealth: 14:27
Boss Fights: 16:09
Catwoman DLC: 19:52
Side Quests: 21:51
Skins & Challenge Mode: 28:43
Story Synopsis: 28:59
Story Thoughts: 31:33
Harley Quinn's Revenge: 37:36
Conclusion: 40:13
Post Script: 42:13
Post Script: 44:35
Batman Arkham Asylum was a really great game, and a lot of people, including myself, were patiently anticipating it’s sequel. It had great characters, afun map, and gameplay that is still addictive to this day. Topping such a great product is not an easy task however somehow Rocksteady took what made Arkham Asylum so good and improved on and expanded upon it in every way. The combat had more depth, the map was greatly expanded, the story was longer and more complex, and the boss fights saw a significant upgrade. That however does not mean that there are not some problems.
Batman Arkham City is one of the most requested videos on my channel and that’s for a few reasons. The first is likely because it's the most popular Arkham game and it’s widely considered to be one of the best superhero video games ever made. The other reason is because it’s not my favourite. Now I know this is probably one of my more unpopular opinions but I want to clarify that it’s not like I don’t like Arkham City nor do I think it’s terrible by any means. I just don’t think it’s the masterpiece a lot of people make it out to be. I believe that while on paper, everything here is excellent but when it's all within the same context of this game, it appears to be lesser than the sum of its parts. It’s not like everything here is excellent but most things here are fantastic and I overall rank this game highly amongst the games I’ve played even if I don’t rate it the highest within the Arkham series. I have in previous videos mentioned where I rank some of the Arkham games and alot of you know that generally speaking Arkham Knight is my favourite and origins is up there too. I will try and give a definitive ranking of the games at the end of this video as the order of my list has changed.
While the main campaign was a lot of fun for the most part it was unfortunately bogged down by some repetitive gameplay and a plot that felt more like a wild goose chase rather than accomplishing a grander goal. The world while being fleshed out lore wise and while it looks very aesthetically pleasing, traversing this map is made to be quite boring by the end of the game due to its strange horseshoe design. All of this left me feeling really torn on whether or not I really liked Arkham City because it felt like the highs were so high but the lows were so low. Regardless I will give my thoughts on the game and try to explain my praises and grievances to the best of my ability.
Batman Arkham City is a great game that at times feels so close to perfection and as a whole is almost perfect. I plan to obviously expand on this thesis within this Arkham City Review. With Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad being announced it's important to look back on the Arkham series to see what is up to this point, the pinnacle of Batman in video games. I have already done an Arkham Origins Critique, an Arkham Asylum Critique, and an Arkham Knight Critique, and you can find links below to those videos. I recommend you watch them after watching this Batman Arkham City Critique. You could also use this series as a Batman Arkham Explained series too. I noticed a lot of people being upset at the Gotham Knights Trailer but I am personally excited for some new Batman IP's. I know a lot of you are looking forward to my Arkham City video which is evident by the number of searches I have seen for That Boy Aqua Arkham City. Ok, enough rambling please enjoy this look at Batman Arkham City Years Later
Twitter: twitter.com/ThatBoyAqua
Patreon: patreon.com/thatboyaqua
Channel Memberships: youtube.com/channel/UCwKY6YKl0-amtFsfYEDpMkA/join
Discord: discord.gg/VBJwTUa
All music created exclusively by 444aidan: youtube.com/channel/UCnsQizvIUJs9bAdEFd2iLew
NAM12399: youtube.com/channel/UCynMazSgjLBoA0qO3WcbdLg
Other Essays: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hudNq_z8tDAoBj0iR1bO2f0U8TRQDu8
Batman Arkham Origins: An Identity Crisis: youtube.com/watch?v=18Ff9kBKfJo&list=PL0hudNq_z8tCnZqOw1BeDCos5OiumVLpb&index=2&t=1256s&ab_channel=ThatBoyAqua
Batman Videos Playlist: youtube.com/watch?v=T8oPQS0DCsA&list=PL0hudNq_z8tCnZqOw1BeDCos5OiumVLpb
In Defence of Batman Arkham Knight: youtube.com/watch?v=T8oPQS0DCsA
Batman Arkham Knight Season Pass: DLC Done Right: youtube.com/watch?v=nEtNnV_m9uw&t=1009s
If You're Not Convinced to Play Batman Arkham Asylum: youtube.com/watch?v=JTffKKkh8YE
- Chapters -
Pre Script: 0:00
Introduction: 0:22
Presentation: 2:23
The Map: 4:40
Traversal: 9:28
ComBAT: 9:48
Stealth: 14:27
Boss Fights: 16:09
Catwoman DLC: 19:52
Side Quests: 21:51
Skins & Challenge Mode: 28:43
Story Synopsis: 28:59
Story Thoughts: 31:33
Harley Quinn's Revenge: 37:36
Conclusion: 40:13
Post Script: 42:13
Post Script: 44:35
Batman Arkham Asylum was a really great game, and a lot of people, including myself, were patiently anticipating it’s sequel. It had great characters, afun map, and gameplay that is still addictive to this day. Topping such a great product is not an easy task however somehow Rocksteady took what made Arkham Asylum so good and improved on and expanded upon it in every way. The combat had more depth, the map was greatly expanded, the story was longer and more complex, and the boss fights saw a significant upgrade. That however does not mean that there are not some problems.
Batman Arkham City is one of the most requested videos on my channel and that’s for a few reasons. The first is likely because it's the most popular Arkham game and it’s widely considered to be one of the best superhero video games ever made. The other reason is because it’s not my favourite. Now I know this is probably one of my more unpopular opinions but I want to clarify that it’s not like I don’t like Arkham City nor do I think it’s terrible by any means. I just don’t think it’s the masterpiece a lot of people make it out to be. I believe that while on paper, everything here is excellent but when it's all within the same context of this game, it appears to be lesser than the sum of its parts. It’s not like everything here is excellent but most things here are fantastic and I overall rank this game highly amongst the games I’ve played even if I don’t rate it the highest within the Arkham series. I have in previous videos mentioned where I rank some of the Arkham games and alot of you know that generally speaking Arkham Knight is my favourite and origins is up there too. I will try and give a definitive ranking of the games at the end of this video as the order of my list has changed.
While the main campaign was a lot of fun for the most part it was unfortunately bogged down by some repetitive gameplay and a plot that felt more like a wild goose chase rather than accomplishing a grander goal. The world while being fleshed out lore wise and while it looks very aesthetically pleasing, traversing this map is made to be quite boring by the end of the game due to its strange horseshoe design. All of this left me feeling really torn on whether or not I really liked Arkham City because it felt like the highs were so high but the lows were so low. Regardless I will give my thoughts on the game and try to explain my praises and grievances to the best of my ability.
