izigame.me

Not the best Batman game but definitely not the worst either, Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate is a lot more focused on the Castlevania style of metroidvania gameplay and also in terms of the perspective in this game. Now is this a good port? Its definitely prettier to look at, this coming from the guy who played it on 3DS almost a decade ago, but to answer the question; Yes and no, yes in the sense that you have a controller to play it on, no in the sense that the keybindings are kinda terrible and you can't really customize the controls despite there being the option to do so. Other than that this game is half way decent, it tries to fill in the shoes of a full blown castlevania game just Batman is included in the mix along with his moveset and abilities. It is fun to move around (once you get used to the controls for PC) and fight the thugs of the three big bads in the game that you can fight in any order, Joker, Black Mask, and Penguin and they're not alone they're also accompanied by the likes of Deadshot, Solomon Grundy, and Bronze Tiger as mini boss encounters (while a little underwhelming to say the least they are interesting inclusions). Though that being said this is a Batman game after all and what better way to go through a Batman game besides fighting dudes till they're unconscious? Solving crimes like a detective! Now uh..... this portion of the games side content is..... mediocre at best, some of these items for the cases at hand are a little too well hidden, pretty much to the point that without a proper guide you couldn't find some of the last few remaining pieces on your own, I can fully attest to this as I have never 100%ed the game on 3DS when I had it back in the day. The cases aren't really required or anything they're mostly for unlocking concept art (just like rewards for collecting the Riddler Trophies, which are sadly replaced fully in favor of these Case file missions), but those aren't the only collectibles obviously, you can also unlock health and armor upgrades via small boxes strewn throughout black gate in secret spots, as well as pieces of unique costumes with I believe their own special attributes(?) I could be 100% wrong on that front but none the less they are very worth while in the long run to collect and unlock, because some of my most favorite costumes are in this specific game. And there are multiple optional path ways you can lead to depending on one of the three top dogs you wanna go after and acquire their endings to unlock a secret ending that leads to events of future games, (since the Origins games are prequels obviously no surprise there, its in the title after all). Overall I would say unless you have a controller, you like 2D metroidvanias, and you got some time to kill; definitely get this game on sale when you can. I personally enjoy the game myself but I know as well that this particular Batman title isn't very well loved and I get why, I have my frustrations with it for sure but at the end of the day I still can appreciate this game for at least expanding on the Arkham Origins side of the Batman Arkham games just a tad bit more. But I digress if you like it cool, if not that's fine too. Thanks for taking the time to read this review I hope you have a lovely day.