Batman’s mythology and the setting of Gotham City have always maintained a harrowing, dark tone in their subject matter.DC generally isn’t as lighthearted as Marvel, either, but Batman in particular stews and dwells in material that can be quite dark despite the World’s Greatest Detective being a do-gooder. If anything, this gives Batman stories an opportunity to be graphic, mature, or disturbing in ways that a Superman story might not ordinarily be, and it’s because of that riveting atmosphere that Rocksteady’sBatman: Arkham Asylumhas been pedestaled as one of the most iconic depictions of the character and his mythos.
Batman: Arkham Asylumtaking place entirely on Arkham Island did a lot of the heavy lifting in stamping Rocksteady’s signature on the DC universe, butBatman: Arkham CityandBatman: Arkham Knightwould go on to have equally distinct aesthetics in Old Gotham’s Arkham City and Gotham City, respectively. However, there’s a recurring theme prevalent in each of Rocksteady’s Arkhamverse games that, if the studio truly is working on a newArkhamgame, should absolutely be honored and reprised: horror.
Rocksteady’s Batman Trilogy is a Treasure Trove of Great Horror
Rocksteady’sArkhamtrilogyisn’t composed of horror games and yet each installment is peppered with some of the most successfully unsettling beats. The following examples are at least the most prominent or memorable:
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham Knight
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueeven indulges in horror and exploits its Task Force X perspective to demonstrate how terrifying Batman is when lurking in the shadows and swiftly taking out criminals, though this Batman—a purple-eyed clone created by Brainiac—has no compunction about killing. The Demon Bat concept that debuted inBatman: Arkham Knight’s Knightfall Protocol ending finally culminates inSuicide Squad’s Batman boss fight, too, and, yet again, Scarecrow’s fear toxin is wielded to craft a sequence that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror game.
Scarecrow may be the most logical and effortless way to infuse anArkhamgame with horror, and yet a future entry wouldn’t need to rely on him wholly, as evidenced by all the imaginative instances of genuine horror the series has exhibited thus far without Dr. Jonathan Crane’s toxins. Sometimes, all it takes is a body of water that would seem unassuming if not for the shark that lunges out of it.
