According to character designer Albert Feliu, a single character model in Arkham Knight contains as much detail as the polygon count that made up the entire environment of Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Gotham City was redesigned by building on the gothic architecture of the previous games; small touches such as neon lights, billboards, American-style cars and shops were used to create a more believable and dense city. Art director David Hego describes the final design as 'slightly out of time'; somewhere between twenty years ago, now, or ten years from now.
Batman's armor was redesigned using the same textures and shapes to achieve visual and functional harmony with the Batmobile.
Nightwing, who never spoke in a DLC for Batman: Arkham City, speaks for the first time in this game series.
Rocksteady gave up developing Batman: Arkham Origins and focused directly on Arkham Knight so that this game would meet next-generation standards. For this reason, both for continuity and artistic reasons, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill did not voice Batman and the Joker in Origins.
This was Kevin Conroy's favorite Arkham game.
According to the story chronology, the series begins with Batman: Arkham Origins and proceeds respectively through Batman: Assault on Arkham, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City and finally Batman: Arkham Knight. Rocksteady's own trilogy consists of Asylum, City and Arkham Knight.
The image of the Batman statue included in the collector's edition, bearing the inscription 'In Memory of the Gotham Knight, From a Grateful City', was accidentally uploaded to Amazon. It was soon removed and replaced with an alternative version with the text erased.
The statue used to access the computers in the clock tower is the same statue used to enter the Batcave in the 1966 Batman series.
This is the first game in the series to use the Apex physics simulation engine, which makes fabrics such as Batman's cape react realistically to movement or wind.
After Batman: Arkham City, Mark Hamill had said he would quit the role of the Joker unless an adaptation of 'The Killing Joke' was made. In this game, the opening pages of 'The Killing Joke' are recreated through the Joker hallucination Batman sees due to fear gas. Hamill later fulfilled this wish and voiced the Joker in the animated film Batman: The Killing Joke. He then announced that he would continue to play the character as long as Kevin Conroy voiced Batman.
Batgirl appears for the first time in the entire game series with the DLC story 'A Matter of Family'. The story takes place between Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Asylum and tells of Barbara Gordon's period before she became Oracle following the crippling injury that changed her life. In Arkham Origins, Barbara had also begun helping Batman by trying to establish a relationship of trust with her father, James Gordon.
Kevin Conroy repeats his famous line from Batman: The Animated Series here: 'I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman!'
Loren Lester, who voices Man-Bat, had also played the character Dick Grayson (Robin/Nightwing) in Batman: The Animated Series.
In the second chapter, you can find Scarecrow's old mask in the mixing room at Ace Chemicals.
That famous scene from the comic book The Killing Joke, in which the Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, is shown in this game.
The idea of Scarecrow as the main villain and the Joker returning through hallucinations was taken from the script of Joel Schumacher's canceled film 'Batman: Unchained'. This film was planned as a sequel to Batman & Robin and was to complete the live-action series that began with the 1989 Batman.
The game's autumn atmosphere led to changes in character designs compared to the midwinter setting of Batman: Arkham City: Scarecrow's costume looks more decayed and damaged; Penguin has lost his long coat, is dirtier (there are sweat and food stains on his clothes) and has a shaved head; Riddler keeps his question-mark green shirts but constantly changes his costume in reaction to the plot; while Two-Face's costume does not change much, his burned flesh and duality are emphasized.
If you try to leave the orphanage when the Riddler gives you the riddle in which you must rotate the question mark with a mirror, the Riddler accuses Batman of deliberately testing his patience and, as a mockery, solves the riddle for you.
After Batman is exposed to fear gas, some billboards and signs in Gotham have the potential to transform into more frightening, Joker-themed versions when you look at them. When you look away, they return to normal. For example, the 'Johnny Charisma Live!' sign on Grand Avenue can turn into the Joker on a red background instead of Johnny on his usual green background.
This is the first game in the series written entirely by the Rocksteady team, without the help of Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini.
Although Rocksteady sees Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight as a trilogy, it acknowledges many times throughout the game that the events of Batman: Arkham Origins are canon. In the GCPD, items belonging to villains from Origins, such as Electrocutioner's shock gloves, can be found. In addition, Deathstroke and Firefly, who appear only in Origins, show up in Arkham Knight and reference specific moments from Origins, including their defeats by Batman.
DC Comics writer Geoff Johns was brought onto the project to create the game's new villain, the Arkham Knight.
Scarecrow returns as the main villain after his absence in Batman: Arkham City.
This game is the final chapter of the Arkham series (though the first game in continuity is Batman: Arkham Origins) and also the first game that lets the player drive Batman's iconic vehicle, the Batmobile.
After bringing Killer Croc in during the 'Season of Infamy' DLC, his severed hand is found in the evidence locker in the corridor. Aaron Cash says he feels a kind of sympathy for Croc over the loss of his hand, but adds that at least Croc's hand can grow back.
The game's ending references Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns', particularly the destruction of Wayne Manor and the supposed death of Batman/Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, the game's ending offers no closure for Batman/Bruce Wayne.
The widespread performance problems in the PC version drew a major backlash from players. Shortly after release, Valve pulled Arkham Knight from the Steam store and announced it would republish it in the fall of 2015 once the issues were fixed. Gary Schaal of WB Games apologized and asked for patience. However, the PC version still struggled with numerous bugs, and WB Games had to issue full refunds.
The reason Arkham Knight received an M (Mature) rating in the US is the disturbing cutscenes at key points in the story, the pools of blood in the game, and the ability to execute hostages. But the main reason is most likely the scene in which Batman nearly crushes a thug's head under the Batmobile's tire. They kept the M rating because they did not want to cut anything from the story.
The cinematic showing Batman being carried in the back of a truck trailer is a shot-for-shot remake of the opening sequence of Batman: Arkham Asylum; the Batmobile is replaced by the truck, and the asylum's exterior is updated to look decayed and overgrown with vegetation.
A new DLC pack will add a mission series called 'Season of Infamy'. These missions will include encounters with Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, Mad Hatter and Ra's Al Ghul's League of Assassins.
In various places in the game (especially in the elevator leading to Batman's laboratory beneath the film studios), you can find posters for 'The Gray Ghost' starring Simon Trent. In the 'Beware the Gray Ghost' episode of Batman: The Animated Series, young Bruce Wayne idolized the television hero Gray Ghost, played by Simon Trent (voiced by Adam West); as an adult, Bruce teamed up with Simon to stop a terrorist and drew inspiration for his attacks from an episode of the show.
At one point in the main story, while Batman and Robin are rescuing the 'Jokers', Johnny Charisma is hiding in the stage section of the film studios. To reach the stage, Batman reviews the security camera footage and sees Charisma enter the code. The mirror reveals that the code is 0539. Looked at more closely, 05 stands for May and 39 for 1939; this is the date Batman first appeared (May 1939).
The name of Penguin's front company is 'North Refrigeration'. This is a nod to Nolan North, who voices Penguin.
Players will be able to control other characters such as Catwoman, Robin, Nightwing, Azrael, Harley Quinn and even Batgirl and Red Hood for short periods. This makes Batman: Arkham Knight the Arkham game with the most playable characters.
In the 'The End Begins' trailer released on June 19, 2015, Game Director Sefton Hill is said to make a cameo as he exits a diner. His cameo in the game can be spotted in the opening prologue as Officer Owens enters the diner: a man turning back toward the bar passes by Owens; it is Sefton Hill's likeness.
At the start of the 'Friend in Need' side mission, as Bruce Wayne enters Wayne Tower, there is a hint that he is not the real Bruce Wayne: earlier, while listening to Bruce's voice messages, mocking messages come from the Joker part, which are happening only inside his head; when 'Bruce Wayne' checks the messages, he hears only four messages from real people.
In Batman: Arkham City, Batman had teamed up with the villain Mr. Freeze. In this game, he cooperates with another villain, Poison Ivy.
After gassing Batman on Stagg's airship, Scarecrow asks him what he sees: 'A city drowned in fear? Betrayal by those you trust most? Your darkest secrets laid bare?' Though it sounds like typical villain boasting, by the end of the game he manages to accomplish all of them: the Cloudburst briefly drowns Gotham in fear gas, Gordon shoots Batman on Scarecrow's orders, and the world learns that Batman is Bruce Wayne.
If you listen carefully to the background noise whenever Joker appears, you can faintly hear echoes of his signature manic laugh.
The prologue DLC 'Batgirl: A Matter of Family' is the only time in the Arkham universe that Harley Quinn wears her original red-and-white costume. However, a variation of this costume can be seen in Batman: Assault on Arkham.
In the Red Hood DLC mission, Red Hood goes after mob boss 'Roman Sionis/Black Mask'. In terms of continuity, Batman: Arkham Origins comes before Batman: Arkham City. However, in Arkham Knight's Red Hood DLC, Black Mask appears just as he does in Arkham Origins.
This is the first Batman Arkham game in which Joker does not appear as the main villain. Even so, he frequently shows up through hallucinations.
In the prologue expansion 'Batgirl: A Matter of Family', you play as Batgirl in a new location. This expansion is part of the season pass.
It shares the same release date as the Batman (1989) film: June 23.
The only Arkham game that doesn't begin with Bruce Wayne/Batman entering a prison.
The story resembles the cancelled 'Batman: Unchained' film, which was planned as the fifth and final film in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher series. One major difference is that in Arkham Knight, Harley Quinn is Joker's girlfriend, whereas in the cancelled film she was his daughter seeking revenge for her father's death.
While listening to voicemails in Bruce's office at Wayne Tower, the voices of Vicki Vale, Lex Luthor and Kate Kane (Batwoman) can be heard. Lex's message appears to concern a failed business deal, while Kate Kane asks Bruce whether he will attend her wedding to Maggie Sawyer. Maggie Sawyer is a police officer prominent in Superman media.
Jonathan Banks and Bryan Cranston, who appeared together in Breaking Bad, both voiced Jim Gordon. Banks (Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad) voiced Gordon in this game, while Cranston (Walter White in Breaking Bad) voiced him in the animated film Batman: Year One.
Joker's first words after revealing himself to Batman in the ACE Chemicals building are, 'We're going to give Gotham the Batman it deserves. A new Batman. A better Batman. Darker, more— anyway, we'll come back to that.' As seen in the Golden Ending, Gotham got exactly that.
The game opens with Joker being cremated, accompanied by Frank Sinatra's 'I've Got You Under My Skin'. Later in the game, we learn that traces of Joker's toxin remain in Batman's blood and are activated by Scarecrow's new fear gas. This causes Batman to hallucinate Joker and leads to the threat of Joker taking over Batman's personality.
Near the end of the story, as Batman goes to surrender to Scarecrow, check the wall outside; you will see a red Bat symbol drawn in spray paint. This is also the symbol of Red Hood, signalling to the player that Hood has been following Batman before rescuing him from Scarecrow.
In Barbara's 'death', there is a hint that the scene is a ruse: the Joker hallucination visibly moves the gun before Barbara picks it up.
Newspapers scattered around the Clock Tower with the headline 'BATGIRL SAVES COMMISSIONER' seem to foreshadow the 'A Matter of Family' DLC, in which Barbara does exactly that.
Ashley Greene replaced Kimberly Brooks in the role of Barbara Gordon/Oracle.
In this game, Batman is at the peak of physical human perfection.
Garfield Lynns/Firefly appears for the second time in an Arkham universe game. Although Rocksteady does not consider Batman: Arkham Origins (developed by WB Montreal) part of its own Arkham Trilogy, the game's continuity is acknowledged and referenced through Firefly mentioning the bridge where his boss fight in Origins took place.
Bruce Wayne/Batman, Captain/Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara Gordon, Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Jack Ryder and Riddler are the only characters who appear in all four Batman Arkham universe games. Those following them are Alfred Pennyworth, Penguin, Vicki Vale, Quincy Sharp, Black Mask, Bane, Aaron Cash, Victor Zsasz, Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze; these characters appeared in three of the four games. Alfred, Black Mask, Vicki, Penguin and Mr. Freeze did not appear in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Cash, Zsasz and Ivy did not appear in Batman: Arkham Origins; Bane is absent from Batman: Arkham Knight; and Sharp does not appear because he died by suicide between this game and Batman: Arkham City. Jack Ryder is only heard over the radio in Batman: Arkham Asylum; Barbara Gordon is likewise only heard talking to Batman over the radio in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, and Alfred is likewise only on the radio in Arkham City. Joker appears in Arkham Knight only through hallucinations; Mr. Freeze appears as DLC missions in Arkham Origins and Arkham Knight; Killer Croc appears in DLC and some hallucinations; and Zsasz turns up as a brief Easter egg.
The first and only Arkham game released on eighth-generation consoles. The reason for this is the memory demands of cutting-edge graphics and the detailed scale of Gotham City.
When Arkham Knight appears with the drill machine, he says, 'I asked if it came in black, but then I thought: no, you'd just be jealous.' This is a nod to the Dark Knight Trilogy; Bruce Wayne frequently asks whether gadgets and vehicles come 'in black'.
This game is the first Batman Arkham game in the series and also the first Batman game to receive an M rating in the United States.
In the flashback scene where Joker shoots Barbara Gordon, his hat reads 'Flash Back'.
The first game in the Arkham video game series to receive an M rating and the only one given an '18' certificate in the United Kingdom (previous games were rated '15').
A sequel game was planned in which Damian Wayne, the illegitimate son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, becomes the new Batman after his father's supposed death. Although concept art was produced and some pre-development began, the game was ultimately shelved in favour of Gotham Knights (2022).
The four 'infected' individuals each represent an aspect of Joker: Albert King, Joker's power; Johnny Charisma, Joker's charisma and showmanship; Christina Bell, Joker's obsession with Batman; and Henry Adams, Joker's deceit and intelligence.
Although Rocksteady does not include the previous game, Batman: Arkham Origins, in its own Arkham Trilogy, both Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and Garfield Lynns/Firefly return in this game through side missions. Both of them mention the events of that game to Batman.
After Arkham Knight removes his mask, the Joker hallucination grows nostalgic about the asylum the Knight is named after and says 'maybe one day we'll go back there!' Scarecrow brings Batman back to Arkham Asylum for the final act.
The first line of the Joker's song, 'take me home, to the asylum,' foreshadows Batman's return to Arkham Asylum, where the Joker takes full control and is then banished to the deepest corners of Batman's mind.
In the Shadow Wars mission in the Season of Infamy DLC, while passing through the asylum's morgue, there is an empty compartment with Talia Al Ghul's name written on it. It is implied that her body was taken by the League of Assassins and brought to a Lazarus pit to be resurrected.
In every game in the series, the Batwing has a different design.
In the opening scene, the person smoking at Paul's Diner is wearing a red hood, implying that he is the Red Hood. However, an Anarchy symbol carved into his table also suggests that he could be Anarky. Later in the game, you can hear some of the Arkham Knight's men commenting on Anarky's disappearance, which strengthens the possibility that the smoker is Anarky.
On Founders Island, one of the three islands in the Arkham Knight story, there is an area called 'Otisburg.' This is a reference to the Christopher Reeve Superman film (1978); Otis, played by Ned Beatty, had asked for a small piece of the new California coastline that would be created by Lex Luthor's (Gene Hackman) plan to sink most of California into the ocean.
In the orphanage, an open book can be seen on a table along with a deactivated robot. The book is Gaston Leroux's 'The Phantom of the Opera.'
The following characters in this video game are adapted from the comics: Bruce Thomas Wayne/Batman (first appearance in Detective Comics #27, May 1939); Timothy Jackson 'Tim' Drake/Robin (the third Robin, first appearance in Batman #436, August 1989); Barbara Gordon/Oracle (created as Batgirl, first appearance under the Oracle identity in Suicide Squad #23); Richard John 'Dick' Grayson/Nightwing (the first Robin, first appearance in Detective Comics #38, April 1940; as Nightwing in Tales of the Teen Titans #44, July 1984); Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth (first appearance in Batman #16, April-May 1943); Selina Kyle/Catwoman (first appearance in Batman #1, Spring 1940); Commissioner James Worthington Gordon, Sr. (first appearance in Detective Comics #27, May 1939); Officer Aaron Cash (first appearance in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #1, July 2003); Lucius Fox (first appearance in Batman #307, January 1979); Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow (first appearance in World's Finest Comics #3, Fall 1941); Jason Peter Todd/Red Hood (the second Robin, first appearance in Batman #357, March 1983; as Red Hood in Batman #635-650, February 2005-April 2006); the Joker (first appearance in Batman #1, Spring 1940); Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel/Harley Quinn (created for Batman: The Animated Series, adapted into the comics in Batman: Harley Quinn #1, October 1999); Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot/Penguin (first appearance in Detective Comics #58, December 1941); Harvey Dent/Two-Face (first appearance in Detective Comics #66, August 1942); Edward Nashton/Edward Nigma/Riddler (first appearance in Detective Comics #140, October 1948); Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley/Poison Ivy (first appearance in Batman #181, June 1966); Simon Stagg (first appearance in The Brave and the Bold #57, January 1965); Garfield Lynns/Firefly (first appearance in Detective Comics #184, June 1952); Dr. Robert Kirkland 'Kirk' Langstrom/Man-Bat (first appearance in Detective Comics #400, June 1970); Francine Evelyn Langstrom (first appearance in Detective Comics #402, August 1970); Slade Joseph Wilson/Deathstroke (first appearance in New Teen Titans #2, December 1980); Lazlo Valentin/Professor Pyg (first appearance in Batman #666, July 2007); Dr. Thomas 'Tommy' Elliot/Hush (first appearance in Batman #609, January 2003); Deacon Joseph Blackfire (first appearance in Batman: The Cult #1, August 1988); Ra's al Ghul (first appearance in Batman #232, June 1971); Nyssa Raatko (first appearance in Detective Comics #783); Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (first appearance in Batman #121, February 1959, as Mr. Zero; he received the name Victor Fries in Batman: The Animated Series).
At the end of the main story, when Batman's mask falls off, the dialogue of the side mission villains changes and they acknowledge that Bruce Wayne is Batman. This also applies to street thugs and the militia.
Prometheus and Black Mask were to have their own side missions for the Season of Infamy pack, but these were cancelled.
After Batman tells Jim that Barbara has been captured, they head for the clock tower, but they are attacked by the Knight's militia jeeps. The Arkham Knight demands that Jim be brought to him alive. The reason for this is that they plan to blackmail him into joining their side; while Batman is made to believe that Barbara is dead, Jim is still a captive and probably knows the truth.
Near the end of the first part of the weapon cache side mission (completed as part of the main story), as Batman closes the vault door to protect himself from the explosion, the Joker hallucination acts as if Batman is locking him inside the vault and jokingly begs and pleads not to be locked in. This is a reference to Batman trapping the Joker in a cell in the darkest corner of his mind forever at the end of the game as he purges him from his mind; the Joker hallucination similarly begs not to be left locked inside, but this time he is not joking.
In a dialogue cut from the game, Deathstroke says he has waited 8 years for this 'rematch'. This means Batman: Arkham Knight takes place 8 years after Batman: Arkham Origins, which is set two years after Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. In total, Batman has been active for 10 years.
The game is exclusive to next-generation consoles such as PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It can also be obtained on PC (Steam).
The first thing we see in the game is the label on Joker's cremation chamber: 'ROBINSON'. If you read it with a space in between, it becomes 'ROBIN SON' (Robin's Son). One of the game's main themes is Batman seeing his sidekicks as family. The game's main villain is the former Robin Jason Todd, pouring out his rage at his old mentor and stepfather for changing him. This may also be a nod to Jerry Robinson, one of the co-creators of the Joker character.
In Batman's first face-to-face encounter with the Arkham Knight, the other soldiers are told not to shoot at the bat symbol on his armor, because that is where the armor is thickest. When Batman uses the remote control of the Batmobile to surprise the mercenaries, the Knight immediately escapes with a grapple, just like Batman himself or someone he trained. Much later, Gordon shoots Batman to escape Scarecrow's schemes, 'killing' him and sending him falling from the building.
Some of the voice actors in the game have also appeared in live-action films.
The various wanted posters in the GCPD headquarters give a nod to the game's developers. One example is Alick Goldenberg. Each poster contains a criminal description with their traits and humorous descriptions.
The smoker at Pauli's Diner wears a hood, so the player cannot see him before Scarecrow demonstrates the effect of his fear gas and everyone in the diner suddenly appears like zombies. The smoker was wearing a red hood, implying that he is the Batman character Red Hood; we later learn that he works with Scarecrow as the Arkham Knight.
Garrick Hagon, who voices one of the infected Jokers, Henry Adams, had previously played the tourist father mugged in the opening scene of the 1989 Batman film. That same year, he also voiced Ra's al Ghul in the radio drama Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome.
The Riddler is dressed in a way that is half-similar to Jim Carrey's Ace Ventura character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Jim Carrey had also played the Riddler in the 1995 film Batman Forever.
Robert Firth spent most of his time torturing his longtime friend Glenn Wrage in a series of extremely physical motion capture sequences. Firth also appears as Dr. Fitzgibbon in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), another comic book adaptation project.
When the Arkham Knight appears with his helicopter, he targets Batman and says, 'Time to die, old man.' Another meaning of the term 'old man' is 'Father'. A fitting remark for Jason, who feels betrayed by a father figure. Alternatively, AK may call him 'old man' because he knows Batman is significantly older than himself.
Regarding Henry Adams's disappearance: on the refrigerator at Pauli's Diner, there is a flyer stating that a local man named Henry Adams has gone missing. Indeed, it is later revealed that he was kidnapped - by Batman himself; as the only transplant recipient with a natural immunity to Joker's blood, he played a key role in Batman and Robin's attempts to synthesize a cure. Among the Joker-fied citizens, Henry is the one whose physical appearance most resembles the real Joker; he is like an older relative of his, without the skin or hair color. This is a hint that he is the most Joker-like of them all and that he is in fact not immune. A hint that Henry was not as immune as initially believed (and that he was the one who hacked the security system) emerges when Batman asks him to help hack a security camera. He says he doesn't know much about computers, to Batman's surprise, but then does what Batman asks much faster than would be expected from someone truly computer-illiterate. Although he says the interface is much simpler than a normal computer layout, in hindsight this seems like a kind of mockery. Similarly, billboards for the cocktail singer Johnny Charisma's live Halloween show appear all over the city. Although some fans' initial comments about a hidden message note seem exaggerated, it later turns out to be partly true; Johnny, an infected blood recipient, with a similar hairstyle and an equally flamboyant lounge lizard suit, is seemingly becoming increasingly Joker-like. Batman even later hallucinates billboard variations of Joker presenting the show.