Here we are at the conclusion of Batman: Arkham Origins, a game I greatly enjoyed streaming with friend Shamus Young despite the technical difficulties. Even in the last stretch of gameplay we were griping about story and boss design, completely baffled by the decisions that led to this end product.

Shamus’ final thoughts on the game tackled many of the justifications for Batman’s behavior in Arkham City, Arkham Origins, and Arkham Knight. It should be noted that Paul Dini, responsible for much of the animated series’ quality in writing and chief writer of Arkham Asylum, had less involvement in Arkham City and then no involvement after that. The man that came to define Batman for many had little or no involvement in the games where he feels most out-of-character.

Even disregarding the animated series, this Batman feels out of character for the one found in Batman: Year One, Batman: The Long Halloween, and Batman: Dark Victory. Perhaps it’s a matter of preferring certain writer’s interpretations, or being ignorant of other notable Batman storylines, but it feels like the chief writers at both Rocksteady and Warner Bros. Interactive Montreal have very different ideas of just who Batman is compared to some of the authors of his best stories.

Which could also explain why none of the villains feel right, either.

I noted in a previous entry that a lot of how the Joker behaves feels on brand. This is in part due to some of the writing, but very much due to Troy Baker’s careful study and impersonation of Mark Hamill’s Joker. The further along we go in Arkham Origins, however, the more it feels like the writers misunderstood the relationship between the Joker and Batman. Or, at least, they misunderstood the most interesting relationships. Alan Moore’s The Killing Joke explored how the same cruel world that created Batman also created the Joker, but it’s a concept given only a single line of dialogue in this game. It feels confusing and completely inappropriate, and once again seems to misunderstand that, even within that comic, Joker is clearly an unreliable narrator. Alan Moore truly depicted Joker as a lunatic, uncertain of what is and isn’t real.

The problem is more than the game being too stuffed, it’s too disorganized and lacking any focus. The story is supposed to be about Batman learning to work with others, but the central conflict against Bane and Joker feels like it’s trying to imitate The Dark Knight instead, challenging Batman’s principles. If the game wanted to explore the origin of Joker and Batman’s rivalry, that would be fine, as it would involve Joker testing to see if he can break Batman’s own code. Instead, by the end, once he’s getting his face punched in, Joker is instead trying to convince Batman that they’re both the same. Why? Isn’t Joker fascinated by Batman because he’s different?

In truth, I don’t think the writers had an interpretation. They’re grabbing from a variety of sources and mashing them together without a sense of theme or purpose.

I still want that exposé on this game’s development. I truly am curious how much of this was dictated by Corporate and how much came from a development team tasked to create a game while being limited to someone else’s vision and continuity. If nothing else, I applaud the team for making a game that’s now awful, and under any other circumstance would probably be received more warmly (and certainly has its fans).

Thank you for watching this series. I will begin uploading the Resident Evil 5 playthrough next.