What are the best Batman games? The Caped Crusader has protected Gotham’s streets for decades now across many media franchises. And naturally, the philanthropist-turned-superhero has, from time to time, swooped his way over to the world of video games.
Thankfully, unlike many other superhero games, most of the Batman games on PC have been quite good. Whether you’re fighting criminals through the dank halls of Arkham Asylum or taking a more light-hearted romp through Gotham as his Lego counterpart, there’s something for all fans of the Dark Knight. However, most of them come in the form of action-adventure games, and one or two could be argued to be some of the best PC games. We’ll only be covering games where Batman, or Gotham, is the star, so no Injustice or Multiversus here, as good as those fighting games are, or anything that isn’t easily accessible anymore.
Here are the best Batman games on PC:
Batman: Arkham Asylum
For many, Batman: Arkham Asylum will be their first foray into the world of Batman. Although released shortly after The Dark Knight, Arkham Asylum was not a movie tie-in game. Instead, it took players to the titular facility in all its dark, grimy glory. Batman’s long-time nemesis, the Joker, manages to take over the asylum, with our hero aiming to wrestle control back over the course of the game.
Batman: Arkham Asylum pioneered a style of combat that allowed Batman to take on multiple enemies easily, dodging and retaliating satisfyingly. As the first game in the Arkham franchise, it comes across as a little simplistic nowadays, but Arkham Asylum still fulfills the power fantasy of becoming Batman. You’ll also see this free-flowing combat in other superhero games like Marvel’s Spider-Man, making it the most influential game on this list.
Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City takes you out of the asylum into a larger open-world game. Much of the gameplay is still familiar to Batman’s escapades in Arkham Asylum, but now with more gadgets and enemy types thrown into the mix. An open world also means more side content, breaking up the main story as you encounter new characters — though avoid hunting for every collectible if you want to maintain your sanity.
This sequel also introduced some new playable characters via DLC— Catwoman, Robin, and Nightwing. While the Catwoman DLC was the only one to include more story content, having the option to play as other characters was a nice change of pace.
Batman: Arkham Knight
Batman: Arkham Knight didn’t have the best of starts on PC. However, after several patches and easier access to better hardware, Arkham Knight is now an enjoyable entry for PC players – though that wasn’t the case when we did get around to our proper Arkham Knight review. Thankfully, years later, none of these issues remain.
Visually, it’s easily the most impressive game in the franchise, especially during the numerous Batmobile sequences. The Batmobile plays a big role in Arkham Knight as you tear through Gotham City’s rain-soaked streets.
Batman: Arkham Origins
Batman: Arkham Origins was the first entry in the franchise not made by Rocksteady Studios, taking players back to events before the first two games. It sees Batman in his early crime-fighting days, hunted by assassins and a corrupt police force.
While one of the less memorable entries in the Arkham franchise, Batman: Arkham Origins is still an interesting take on the superhero. It’s not quite an origin story, but it offers some new perspectives on Batman and the world he’s trying to protect.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
Released alongside the main game, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate was originally a handheld-only title. Receiving an enhanced port for PC less than a year later, Blackgate is a side-scroller instead of a fully open-world game.
While this limitation is clearly due to the original hardware, Blackgate was developed for, most of what you’d expect from an Arkham game is still present. You’ll be using gadgets for area traversal, taking down gangs with Batman’s usual agility, and the story introduces some mainstay characters during its short runtime.
Gotham Knights
Okay, so we know Gotham Knights is not technically a Batman game, but it briefly has the Caped Crusader in it. With Bruce Wayne dead, it’s up to Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood to protect Gotham City from villains seizing the opportunity to take control for themselves.
It borrows the stealth gameplay from other Arkham games, even though it doesn’t take place in the same storyline, and combat plays more like an action RPG game. It also has a co-op mode for the entire game, so you and a friend can ambush criminals in tandem. Some of our guides cover things like the Gotham Knights styles and all the characters, while our Gotham Knights review covers whether it’s worth picking up.
Batman: The Telltale Series
While the Arkham games did allow for some detective work, there is a greater emphasis on traversing the world and fighting bad guys. Batman: The Telltale Series instead slows things down a little, letting you play as both Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman. The second series, Batman: The Enemy Within, improves upon the story even further, with better overall writing and a satisfying conclusion. If you’re looking for a good superhero-themed detective game, this episodic adventure is for you.
Lego Batman: The Videogame
Lego Batman: The Videogame is the right game to play for a more light-hearted time. It’s another classic Lego title, taking the usually stoic Batman series and injecting a lot more humor and goofy scenes into the mix. As with most Lego titles, this is also a co-op game that’s way more fun to play with family and friends.
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
As you can probably guess, Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes features more Batman and more DC characters as a whole. Batman still takes the leading role, complete with a new set of suits and gadgets, but now some familiar faces like Superman and the Flash appear for the first time. You even get an open world to explore, similar to the later Arkham games.
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Lego Batman 2 was still a Batman game with a light sprinkle of DC characters. Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, on the other hand, takes things even further, bringing the roster to over 150 characters across the DC universe. It’s perhaps the least Batman-focused title on this list, but he still gets a decent array of new tools to play with during his adventures in space.
Batman: Arkham VR
Virtual reality technology was still in its relative infancy at the time of Batman: Arkham VR’s release, giving players a taste of what might be to come. It won’t exactly blow your mind as a modern VR game will, but it’s still fun to mess around with Batman’s various gadgets and solve some light puzzles.
This concludes our list of the best Batman games on PC in 2023. There’s a lot to go through for newcomers, though you might already own some of these games as freebies on the Epic Games Store. If you’re instead after the best PC games we’ve got the list for you, chock full of top-notch experiences found on the platform.
Additional entries by Dave Irwin.