How to Play the Batman Arkham Games in Chronological Order

Below, we outline two ways to approach a game of Batman: Arkham: by release date or by story. Which one you choose is up to you. Both possible paths are outlined below, starting with the narrative timeline.

With newcomers to the series in mind, these brief plot synopsis contain only mild spoilers such as broad plot points and character introductions.

1. Batman: Arkham Origins

The first Arkham game is chronologically 2013. Batman: Arkham OriginsSet on Christmas Eve in snowy Gotham, the Origins include Joker, Black Mask, Penguin, Mad Hatter, Bane, Deadshot, Firefly, Killer Croc and more. The ending alludes to the resumption of his Asylum in Arkham, setting up the future events of his eponymous Rocksteady game.

In particular, Origins stars Roger Craig Smith as Batman and Troy Baker as The Joker, and subscribes to the Arkham recurring superstar duo of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill. Although established, Origins was developed by WB Montreal, the studio behind Gotham Knights.

A mobile version of Arkham Origins has also been released. It’s played very differently from the console version (it’s a brawler developed by Mortal Kombat studio NetherRealm), but the narrative beat is the same.

2. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate It is set three months after the events of Origins. Unlike the third-person adventures that make up the mainline Arkham games, Blackgate is an Armature Studio (Resident Evil 4 VR).

In Blackgate, Batman investigates a famous prison where an explosion freed a prisoner. As the Caped Crusader, explore his three main areas ruled by one of Gotham’s most notorious villains: The Penguin, Black He Mask, and The Joker, respectively. Other notable characters include Catwoman, Amanda Waller, and Rick His Flagg.

Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker return as Batman and The Joker.

3. Batman: Arkham Underworld

Batman: Arkham Underworld is a mobile game that positions you as Gotham’s newest criminal mastermind, where you can command Batman villains like Harley Quinn, The Riddler, Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, and Killer Croc. This is basically a free-to-play Gotham gangster who builds criminal lairs, recruits henchmen, and fights his recruiters. Kevin Conroy will reprise his role as Batman following the mainline Arkham trilogy.

Arkham Underworld is set before Arkham Asylum, but is of little importance to the overall Arkhamverse story. can no longer download (Arkham Underworld closed in 2017, just one year after its release).

Bonus: Batman: Assault on Arkham

Batman: Assault on Arkham is an animated film set in the Arkhamverse, about two years before Arkham Asylum. Skipping the movie won’t do much if you’re only interested in the game, but if you’re interested in the full Arkhamverse story, check it out, it’s streamable on HBO Max and it just so happens to be an entertaining movie. gave it an 8.8, calling it a “great heist movie”.

Like Arkham Underworld, Arkham Assault puts Batman’s foes in the spotlight, with Harley, the Joker, the Riddler, and more infiltrating Arkham Asylum and finally freeing many of its most notorious inmates.

Kevin Conroy will return to voice Batman, while Troy Baker will voice The Joker. Notably, Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian, Breaking Bad) is responsible for voicing his Black Spider.

4. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Rocksteady’s first Batman game, Batman: Arkham Asylum Introducing the Arkhamverse version of the Caped Crusader (voiced by Kevin Conroy). It’s his fourth game on the chronology, but the first to be released. The Joker, played by Mark Hamill, is the main villain, but the characters also include Harley Quinn, Commissioner Gordon, the Scarecrow, Bane, and Poison Ivy.

With Harley Quinn’s help, the Joker infiltrates a mental institution and obtains a super-powered serum called Titan. The Crown Prince planted bombs around Gotham City and threatened to detonate them if anyone came to Batman’s aid, leaving our heroes to deal with the fugitives in the Exile alone.

The story of Arkham Asylum was written by Paul Dino. Paul Dino has a long history with the franchise, with many notable credits in his series Batman: The Animated and Batman Beyond.

5. Batman: Blockade of Arkham City

Released right after Arkham City, Batman: Blockade of Arkham City A fighter set between Asylum and City events. This is the first Arkham mobile game released and his second developed by NetherRealm (the other being the aforementioned Arkham Origins mobile game).

Arkham City Lockdown features the main characters of Arkham including Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill), Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Penguin, Solomon Grundy, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke, Robin and of course Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy). Many will appear. ). The story centers around yet another jailbreak that Batman has to clean up.

The plot is relatively unimportant, and Arkham City Lockdown is no longer available for purchase, so we’ll spoil this. Batman wins and returns the escaped prisoners to the asylum.

6. Batman: Arkham City

The second Rocksteady game in the series, Batman: Arkham City A year and a half after Arkham Asylum. Following the Asylum events, Mayor Quincy Sharpe opened Arkham City, a section of Gotham City that was walled in to house criminals. In Arkham City, we see Batman navigating the lawless land, working to thwart a nefarious and sweeping conspiracy apparently orchestrated by Hugo Strange.

Batman also has to deal with another threat than the Joker.

The Arkham City story, like the Asylum story before it, was written by Paul Dini.

7. Batman: Arkham VR

The only virtual reality game in the series, Batman: Arkham VR It is set just before the events of Arkham Knight. This is a narrative-driven game that focuses on the detective work of Batman trying to solve the murder of his close associate.

Given the nature of the story-driven game, there’s not much to say here, but if you have access to a VR headset, Arkham VR is certainly worth playing, especially given its short 90-minute runtime.

The supporting cast includes Robin, Nightwing, Alfred Pennyworth, Penguin, Killer Croc and The Joker. Arkham VR will star Conroy and Hamill’s Batman and Joker.

8. Batman: Arkham Knight

The final installment in the Rocksteady trilogy of mainline Batman games, Batman: Arkham Knight puts the stakes in the series’ largest version of Gotham, the most diverse cast of characters, and the introduction of a fully playable Batmobile. to raise.

Arkham Knight takes place on Halloween night, probably less than a year after the events of the City. The Scarecrow (voiced by John Noble in The Lord of the Rings) is terrorizing Gotham City with a toxic terror, but a new threat is emerging from the mysterious Arkham Knight. Batman, all the while, is dealing with an internal affliction as an effect of previous games.

All three threads are finished by the end of Arkham Knight’s ~16-hour campaign, but you’ll need to achieve 100% completion to see the game’s true ending.

In addition to Scarecrow and Arkham Knight, the supporting cast includes Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon.

9. Suicide Squad: Defeat the Justice League

Rocksteady’s next game will be away from Batman and Gotham, but officially ” Continuation of the Arkhamverse, according to the developer. Rocksteady said, “We are committed to providing many threads and storylines. [from past Arkham games] will bear fruit. It’s unclear how long it’s been since Arkham Knight, but these comments clearly indicate that it will be set further in the future than Akhamverse games to date.

Defeating the Justice League shifts focus to Task Force X as players explore Metropolis as Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, or King Shark. Scheduled for release in Q2 2023.

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