Can I play Batman: Arkham Knight without playing the first one?
The short answer is yes, you technically can play Arkham Knight without playing the previous Arkham games. However, to fully understand the intricate storylines and complex characters that have been built up over the series, playing the games in release order is highly recommended for the best experience.
Summary of Previous Arkham Games
As a passionate Batman fan and gamer who has completed the entire critically-acclaimed series, allow me to summarize the previous games to provide you some context around Arkham Knight:
Arkham Asylum
The first game released in 2009 centers around Batman capturing his arch-nemesis Joker and taking him to the high-security Arkham Asylum mental hospital built specifically for housing Gotham City supervillains.
But through the brilliant mind games of the psychopathic Joker, he soon breaks free and sets out to take over control of the Asylum along with numerous other inmates. Our Dark Knight hero has to quell the chaos and defeat the clown prince of crime before Gotham is in jeopardy once again.
Arkham City
In this 2011 sequel, the mayoral hopeful and former Asylum warden Quincy Sharp converts a section of Gotham into “Arkham City”. This open air walled-off superprison houses the worst criminals and gangs from all over the city, giving them full reign to descend into anarchy and criminal wars amongst themselves.
A dying Joker conspires to break out himself after being poisoned by toxic blood in Asylum, racing against time to find a cure. Batman gets imprisoned inside by the sinister "Protocol 10" and has to uncover the truth behind it while putting a stop to the maniacal Clown Prince yet again.
Arkham Origins
A prequel from 2013 set early in Batman’s crimefighting career, this story revolves around the sadistic Black Mask placing a $50 million bounty on his head on Christmas Eve. This brings in notorious assassins like Deathstroke.
Batman also encounters the antagonist Joker for the first time in this origin entry. Meanwhile Gotham is embroiled in a bloody gang war between Black Mask‘s group and the crooked COPS special forces unit.
Background on Arkham Knight
Taking place about 9 months after Arkham City, Arkham Knight‘s story kicks off on Halloween where the Scarecrow returns with a new and deadlier version of his fear toxin that would potentially spread all over Gotham.
He coerces Gotham to evacuate completely within 24 hours or face devastating biological attacks across the city. To ensure Batman‘s demise he joins forces with the mysterious Arkham Knight – a formidable new antagonist armed with an endless supply of military firepower including drone tanks to wreck havoc.
The caped crusader gets support from allies including Robin, Nightwing and the debut of tech-savvy Batgirl. This final installment in Rocksteady‘s acclaimed quadrilogy aims to provide a definitive conclusion to their landmark superhero video game series.
Can You Play Arkham Knight By Itself?
While Arkham Knight was designed to fully wrap up plot threads and character arcs from the first 3 games, I believe gamers playing only this title would still find it reasonably enjoyable as a self-contained experience.
That said you will miss out on plenty of context around relationships and motivations that give more emotional resonance. Recurring villains like Scarecrow and especially Joker (appearing a major role again) have immense history at this point so brand new players may be scratching their heads frequently!
Rocksteady does try filling in backstory using dialogue, database files and such. But ultimately these function more as reminders for returning fans rather than to properly introduce new players to the universe.
In my opinion the trade off of some confusion and lack of depth is still worth it just to witness the cinematic set-pieces, riveting combat and state-of-the-art graphics. After all it is the culminating pinnacle of everything the developers have achieved so far!
| Playability as Standalone | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Story | Not Recommended |
| Gameplay | Recommended |
| Visuals | Highly Recommended |
So I would urge newcomers seeking the full experience to play all the previous entries if possible. But Arkham Knight alone remains compelling in its production values. Just brace for confusing moments amidst the gritty complex narrative!
Should You Play Arkham Games in Order?
To those committed to diving into Rocksteady’s Batman Arkham saga I wholeheartedly endorse tackling them in chronological release order:
- Arkham Asylum
- Arkham City
- Arkham Origins
- Arkham Knight
It is truly meant to be appreciated as an evolving tetralogy. The studio iteratively builds upon world-building, gameplay systems and narrative threads with each successive title. Both technology and creative ambition scale upwards in gratifying fashion.
Seeing the ruthless imposing Batman from Asylum gain vulnerability after heartbreaking losses across the series makes his final sacrifice in Knight all the more poignant. Meanwhile the maniacal foe Joker transitions from playful trickster to nihilistic terrorist obsessed with their symbiotic hero/villain dynamic.
According to ScreenRant, hardcore fans may argue Arkham Origins best played last as a flashback that bookends the saga thematically. But for continuity I prefer release order. Either way just commit fully to appreciate these landmark superhero games!
So in summary, Arkham Knight is playable on its own purely for the exceptional freeflow combat and breathtaking production. But unlocked real emotional resonance lies with the entire quadrilogy from start to bittersweet finish.
