As I was playing the game, I tried not to think of it as a sequel to Batman Arkham series, and not to compare it to the trilogy by Rocksteady. However, it's really hard to do. The combat system is similar, but worse (I specifically installed Arkham Origins to compare), the world structure is similar, but also worse, the side missions are very-very repetitive (and you have to do some of them to progress the story!), and the story (you guessed it!) is worse. Speaking of the story, it probably feels bad because it doesn't have Batman and Joker, but also because of mediocre writing and a lack of interesting developments (however, there are a couple twists). The final nail in the coffin are the boss fights: they feel very samey, and you mostly just attack and evade in all of them.

There's a saving grace about the game: Gotham City looks gorgeous, and if you are not opposed to participating in repetitive activities such as looking for batarangs or fighting gang members, it offers a lot to do explore. And maybe it is fun to do with friends: after all, the game offers four playable characters and supports coop. Still, I am thinking of it mostly as a singleplayer game, and I just cannot recommend it. Well, maybe with a huge discount or right now when it's a part of the Humble Choice and you can get a bunch of other games for just $12.

And even then, Batman Arkham trilogy (+Origins) is even cheaper right now, and if you want a more modern game, Spider Man 1 and 2 (+Miles Morales) are really good and offer a similar combat system, great story, amazing boss fights, and arguably a better super hero.

As I was playing the game, I tried not to think of it as a sequel to Batman Arkham series, and not to compare it to the trilogy by Rocksteady. However, it's really hard to do. The combat system is similar, but worse (I specifically installed Arkham Origins to compare), the world structure is similar, but also worse, the side missions are very-very repetitive (and you have to do some of them to progress the story!), and the story (you guessed it!) is worse. Speaking of the story, it probably feels bad because it doesn't have Batman and Joker, but also because of mediocre writing and a lack of interesting developments (however, there are a couple twists). The final nail in the coffin are the boss fights: they feel very samey, and you mostly just attack and evade in all of them. There's a saving grace about the game: Gotham City looks gorgeous, and if you are not opposed to participating in repetitive activities such as looking for batarangs or fighting gang members, it offers a lot to do explore. And maybe it is fun to do with friends: after all, the game offers four playable characters and supports coop. Still, I am thinking of it mostly as a singleplayer game, and I just cannot recommend it. Well, maybe with a huge discount or right now when it's a part of the Humble Choice and you can get a bunch of other games for just $12. And even then, Batman Arkham trilogy (+Origins) is even cheaper right now, and if you want a more modern game, Spider Man 1 and 2 (+Miles Morales) are really good and offer a similar combat system, great story, amazing boss fights, and arguably a better super hero.