When Batman Arkham Knight was released way back in 2015, some wondered if it would be making its way to Nintendo's console at the time which was the Wii U. Around this period the developers responded that due to the destructiveness of the Batmobile and the way it is incorporated into the open-world gameplay design, the new entry would require next-gen hardware in the form of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. So color me surprised at today's announcement that Batman: Arkham Trilogy is coming to Nintendo Switch this fall.
What is the premise of the Batman: Arkham Trilogy?
The Batman: Arkham Trilogy features all three of the mainline Batman games which include Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, and my favorite Batman: Arkham Knight. The entire package will also consist of all the various DLC originally released for each game, now included at no extra cost.
The Arkham universe began with the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum which has players tasked with becoming Batman as Arkham Asylum is overrun by the criminally insane that were most likely locked up as a result of Batman's crime-fighting. It turns out that the Joker is behind this diabolical plan and Batman must use his combat skills and gadgets to discover the ancient secrets hidden at Arkham Asylum while simultaneously stopping Joker's unhinged goals.
Batman: Arkham City completely changes the formula as Rocksteady transforms its more linear gameplay into a vast open-world experience. Gotham City has its fair share of criminals and the most dangerous are imprisoned in an area referred to as Arkham City. The antagonist this time, Hugo Strange, is the warden and mastermind behind Arkham City which leads Batman on a quest to uncover and stop his sinister plans.
Batman: Arkham Knight concludes the Batman: Arkham Trilogy as you are presented a Gotham City facing unfathomable carnage and nefarious crime. A new threat introduces a heavily armed adversary called Arkham Knight that's out for vengeance against Batman. Not only must Batman save Gotham City from destruction but many iconic supervillains return which leads Batman on his most difficult mission ever.
As the toll of Gotham's destruction progresses, the psychological effects on Batman lead to a dark but fascinating narrative of the man behind the mask. This last entry also introduces the most controversial mechanic in the series which can be best described as a Batmobile tank. Not only will Batman engage with hand-to-hand combat the series is known for but he must now use his highly versatile Batmobile to take down heavily armored adversaries.
Can the Nintendo Switch run Batman: Arkham Knight?
I know the Switch has more performance than the Wii U but let's not forget that most ports from Nintendo's last generation were strictly resolution bumps from 720p to 1080p. Most titles don't need the processing requirements that a game like Arkham Knight comes with. Even on PC many unfortunately found out that yes Batman: Arkham Knight is very CPU intensive to run especially if you would like to experience a refresh rate higher than 60 Hz.
Ultimately the team over at Turn Me Up has their work cut out for them and if they can achieve a solid 30 FPS experience, I will be very impressed. The only question I have left is what amount of textures and resolution will be sacrificed to make up for the Switch's lack of blast processing.
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