Overview:
I am conflicted about this game. I think that the visual style, incredible style of storytelling, and numerous borderline-flawless dives into the human psyche while using Joker as its medium are osme of the best things I've ever seen in gaming. However, I really struggled to play this game. The gameplay felt incredibly janky, i was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of dumb button prompts i had to memorize, and the enemy variety was so repetitive, it started to feel like a rhythm game by the end. I also hated trying to stealth enemies, as there was little-no actually competent stealth mechanics, and it was always confusing whether or not the enemies actually could see me. Take notes from dishonored 2. The puzzles/ random side objectives were also bafflingly frustrating and slow to finish. They didn't make me feel smart, I just felt more dumb and like it was wasting my time. However, I reaaaaaally enjoyed the story, characters (particularly harley ifyky), and I love the sequences that brought themselves up pertaining to Batman's sickness. The narrative was captivating for the entire length of the game, and I dreaded having to play, because I was excited to get back to the cutscenes. A special shoutout to the last mission, in this regard. Incredible mission, no spoilers... I also kept frothing over the visuals. It is INSANE TO ME that this game released in 2015 and still looks better than almost every other game to ever have been released. So, so, so beautiful. The city was breathtaking at all times, and I had a hard time NOT taking screenshots constantly. Also, about gameplay: I did enjoy the driving in the city. I thought that was the best gameplay this game had to offer. I also enjoyed when they switched up the formula, and kept it quick. For example, the mission where you teamed up with Robin, that was exciting for a while, and then dragged on too long. Everything in this game felt repetitive by the end of its runtime, even though I only played 13 hours.
Seriously though, I do really like this game, and I have to give it 4/5 stars for a really nice experience. It is excellent, and deserves a play from anyone who seems interested. I would have probably actually preferred a tv show with the same story, because I felt the GAMEplay of this GAME was the downside. Thank you for reading! Definitely comment if you want to have any discussion regarding this game.
Notes while playing:
Sights and Sounds:
- Incredibly Beautiful psuedo-realistic artstyle
- Not RDR2 Beautiful, but still genuinely breathtaking in its own way, especially for being released in (INSERT YEAR HERE)
- Satisfying sound design for the most part, but no notable music or general sounds
- Can't reiterate enough just how incredible the visual style really is
Gameplay:
- The fighting feels like an early version of spider-man's
- Definitely less smooth, enemy ai is terrible, models/ collision is a tad buggy
- But is cinematic, making you feel like a badass
- Often frustratingly janky
- Clearing out enemies and infiltrating enemy camps is repetitive, boring, and rarely interesting or rewarding
- Fun gameplay is in the car
- A stupid amount of dumb required mission objectives with little-no significance besides just taking up time : NOT FUN
- Makes you feel like batman
- Just a very cool looking and feeling game
- The car feels really nice and is quite fun
- tank missions get less and less fun over time
- The skill tree was overwhelming and too large, in my opinion (im a certified rpg-mechanic and skill tree hater though so my opinion may not be valid)
- Such an incredibly beautiful and dazzlingly intricate city environment
- Looks incredibly good flying around, although it doesn't feel so incredible
- Confusing button prompts sometimes, easy to forget all the different combinations of button presses
- Puzzles/ objectives were often unengaging, painfully linear, and had no room for any improvisation. Everything had to be done in a certain, way, which I was not the largest fan of
Narrative/Story/Characters:
- The mature tone lent a lot to the stakes and fleshed out the world nicely from the beginning
- The story takes some wild turns
- Is quite compelling for most of the runtime
- Joker is a brilliant addition to the game
- Provides comedic relief, interesting dialogue to listen to
- Also helps figure out puzzles in game when things aren't clear, as well as helping to explain some of the story
- Bad pacing
- Too much time spent staring at batman's wrist screen face-timing his colleagues
- Could've easily been voice calls meshed with gameplay
- Some incredible cutscenes/ set pieces throughout the game
- Particularly the sequences that happen when you are sick
- Incredible Joker sequence in second to last mission
Performance:
- From the get-go, has a bunch of really nice customizability options, as well as a pc test run mode where it allows you to see how the game will run
- Capped at 90 fps but not really a big deal
- Super nice quality of life options, like telling you how long ago your last save occurred
- Runs very well, no frame stutters, screen tears, and very minor graphical/textural bugs
I am conflicted about this game. I think that the visual style, incredible style of storytelling, and numerous borderline-flawless dives into the human psyche while using Joker as its medium are osme of the best things I've ever seen in gaming. However, I really struggled to play this game. The gameplay felt incredibly janky, i was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of dumb button prompts i had to memorize, and the enemy variety was so repetitive, it started to feel like a rhythm game by the end. I also hated trying to stealth enemies, as there was little-no actually competent stealth mechanics, and it was always confusing whether or not the enemies actually could see me. Take notes from dishonored 2. The puzzles/ random side objectives were also bafflingly frustrating and slow to finish. They didn't make me feel smart, I just felt more dumb and like it was wasting my time. However, I reaaaaaally enjoyed the story, characters (particularly harley ifyky), and I love the sequences that brought themselves up pertaining to Batman's sickness. The narrative was captivating for the entire length of the game, and I dreaded having to play, because I was excited to get back to the cutscenes. A special shoutout to the last mission, in this regard. Incredible mission, no spoilers... I also kept frothing over the visuals. It is INSANE TO ME that this game released in 2015 and still looks better than almost every other game to ever have been released. So, so, so beautiful. The city was breathtaking at all times, and I had a hard time NOT taking screenshots constantly. Also, about gameplay: I did enjoy the driving in the city. I thought that was the best gameplay this game had to offer. I also enjoyed when they switched up the formula, and kept it quick. For example, the mission where you teamed up with Robin, that was exciting for a while, and then dragged on too long. Everything in this game felt repetitive by the end of its runtime, even though I only played 13 hours.
Seriously though, I do really like this game, and I have to give it 4/5 stars for a really nice experience. It is excellent, and deserves a play from anyone who seems interested. I would have probably actually preferred a tv show with the same story, because I felt the GAMEplay of this GAME was the downside. Thank you for reading! Definitely comment if you want to have any discussion regarding this game.
Notes while playing:
Sights and Sounds:
- Incredibly Beautiful psuedo-realistic artstyle
- Not RDR2 Beautiful, but still genuinely breathtaking in its own way, especially for being released in (INSERT YEAR HERE)
- Satisfying sound design for the most part, but no notable music or general sounds
- Can't reiterate enough just how incredible the visual style really is
Gameplay:
- The fighting feels like an early version of spider-man's
- Definitely less smooth, enemy ai is terrible, models/ collision is a tad buggy
- But is cinematic, making you feel like a badass
- Often frustratingly janky
- Clearing out enemies and infiltrating enemy camps is repetitive, boring, and rarely interesting or rewarding
- Fun gameplay is in the car
- A stupid amount of dumb required mission objectives with little-no significance besides just taking up time : NOT FUN
- Makes you feel like batman
- Just a very cool looking and feeling game
- The car feels really nice and is quite fun
- tank missions get less and less fun over time
- The skill tree was overwhelming and too large, in my opinion (im a certified rpg-mechanic and skill tree hater though so my opinion may not be valid)
- Such an incredibly beautiful and dazzlingly intricate city environment
- Looks incredibly good flying around, although it doesn't feel so incredible
- Confusing button prompts sometimes, easy to forget all the different combinations of button presses
- Puzzles/ objectives were often unengaging, painfully linear, and had no room for any improvisation. Everything had to be done in a certain, way, which I was not the largest fan of
Narrative/Story/Characters:
- The mature tone lent a lot to the stakes and fleshed out the world nicely from the beginning
- The story takes some wild turns
- Is quite compelling for most of the runtime
- Joker is a brilliant addition to the game
- Provides comedic relief, interesting dialogue to listen to
- Also helps figure out puzzles in game when things aren't clear, as well as helping to explain some of the story
- Bad pacing
- Too much time spent staring at batman's wrist screen face-timing his colleagues
- Could've easily been voice calls meshed with gameplay
- Some incredible cutscenes/ set pieces throughout the game
- Particularly the sequences that happen when you are sick
- Incredible Joker sequence in second to last mission
Performance:
- From the get-go, has a bunch of really nice customizability options, as well as a pc test run mode where it allows you to see how the game will run
- Capped at 90 fps but not really a big deal
- Super nice quality of life options, like telling you how long ago your last save occurred
- Runs very well, no frame stutters, screen tears, and very minor graphical/textural bugs