Batman: Arkham Knight Review

Rain slicked neon on a Gotham built for one console generation only is still among the best looking environments anyone has produced, and the ground level combat and predator systems arrive at their most refined, with fear takedowns and dual play encounters that let you swap characters mid string. The Scarecrow's staging of the city's evacuation gives the whole thing a hostile emptiness that suits a finale. Then there is the Batmobile.

It is a fine traversal tool and a poor tank, and the game insists on the tank, routing boss fights, puzzles and a large share of side content through drone battles that reduce the world's greatest detective to a turret. The title character's identity is a twist most players called from the trailer, and the Riddler content gates the true ending behind two hundred and forty collectibles. The PC release was so broken it was withdrawn from sale for months, which remains one of the worst ports a major publisher has attempted. Gorgeous, capable, and compromised by one vehicle.