Now Personally I’m quite excited about this even though I’ve played through both of these games so many times,it’s still exciting to have a reason to jump back into the world of Arkham. It does seem a little strange that they’re releasing this now as it would’ve made more sense to release this before Batman: Arkham Knight but this is probably Rocksteady’s way of tying us over with a sort of a filler game like Arkham Origins while we’re waiting for the next big Rocksteady game which is probably going to release within the next few years. Return to Arkham will include both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City so for those who were hoping for Arkham Origins to finally come over to current gen consoles that will not be happening with this collection.It will also include every DLC released with both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City which include various skinpacks and challenge maps, playable characters and story content.It also appears from the way the game is advertised that this is just a visual upgrade and does not include any new content or changes to the gameplay
Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games are some of the most technically brilliant games available on console, and last year’s Arkham Knight is amongst the most intriguing games of our generation, with finely detailed character models and beautiful settings. The Batman: Return to Arkham collection looks like it will bring the previous games very close to the high standards of the finale. The improvements can be seen straight away. Water now reflects an eerie, soft glow from the streetlamps above. The Dark Knight himself looks better than ever, Rain collects on top of his cowl, and his muscles cast a shadow on him that make his suit look a lot more spookier than before.Lighting effects indoors are also much better giving the game a dark, ominous atmosphere that wasn’t as effective in the original game. The Joker’s graffiti previously appeared to almost blend in with the wall’s textures, but it now stands out with sharper colors and a deeper green that can be easily noticed by even the speediest gamers.The improvements are slightly less obvious in the sequel, Arkham City, as Rocksteady’s masterpiece has held up incredibly well in the five years since it was released, but fire now looks a lot more realistic and the city’s neon signs give off an intense and realistic flicker.
The Batman: Return to Arkham was originally slated for release this month, but it seems developer Virtuous Games needs more time. The game has been delayed, and is currently sliding over to a possible November release date.
This could mean that it will be competing right around the time that the Xbox One S and the PlayStation Neo hit. This may suggest the possibility of a Batman bundle on one of the consoles, including Batman VR (for PS4), Batman: Arkham Knight, and Return to Arkham on its release date.
Batman: Arkham Knight had also been subject to two delays, one of which had moved it’s release date to late Spring. The other had delayed it a little which was likely due to the disappointing Batmobile which had been included in special editions. Similarly Batman: Return to Arkham‘s release date is also facing delay and the reason appears to be a frame rate issue. The graphical upgrade apparently ended up giving the game some programming problems, and Virtuous Games doesn’t want a repeat of the Arkham Knight PC release.
Initial releases of Batman: Arkham Knight on PC were recalled due to lacking textures, severe frame rate problems, and other things which made the game unplayable at launch. Looking at this scenario the delay of the Batman: Return to Arkham release date may be good news.It shows that Virtuous Games wants to get the game done right, even if it results in the game being delayed past November.November is the current release date, and if it doesn’t make it by then, it is likely we will see it early in 2017. Virtuous Games’ official statement mirrors their decision to delay it.
“We do not have a release date yet and will be sure to communicate that once we are sure the game will be ready. We know this is disappointing news, but we feel the extra time will allow the team to create the best gaming experience for our fans.”
