Arkham Origins Blackgate Is NOT An Arkham Game... 

Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate is the best Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate game, selling about 3 Battillion dollars. My favorite cutscene of this piece of art was when the Batman came in and said "It's battin' time" and you had to bat all over those guys. Both RU-vid and Twitch exploded with so many streamers playing Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate, and the stream chats went nuts as well.

Can we take a minute to acknowledge that the origin games set up the suicide squad as Deadshot, Deathstroke, and Bronze Tiger only for it to not matter at all. Now almost a decade later the suicide squad game they were trying to tease only has one of the three in it.

Still better than the mobile game.......

The Deadshot fight using a 2nd person perspective is a highlight of this game

Listen I’m one of the 3% who played this game multiple times to get all the endings and upgrades and that’s all cool. My only real gripes is the combat and the puzzle lay out of the prison. Why did Gotham Architecture hire Riddler of all people to make the prison floor plans-

Its so nice to see an actual review of the game instead of hearing someone just go "Oh Blackgate? Yeah its terrible, dont play it."

Fun fact, Origin actually ran better on Wii U than it did on PS3/Xbox 360, it crashed less.

For me the game is ok. I LOVE the alternate ending challenges, the camera, puzzles, and especially the ability it do the bosses in any order. It falls apart for me for 3 reasons. The combat witch is self explanatory. A repetitive story. We just had origins were blackgate was overrun twice doing it again was boring to me. Finally my biggest problem moving from place to place. The way you have to scan everything, constant traps, and generally clunky movement makes exploring tedious. Maybe this is because I went for 100% and got all the endings so I had to run back and forth more but it got really annoying. I don’t think it deserves the title of cash grab or bad game because it isn’t but I understand why some really don’t like it.

Watched this review a few times and I just now had a realization. The Grundy fight was definitely designed for Croc, and at the last minute somebody realized Croc is much smaller in Origins, so devs scrambled for another villain to put in his place. The only other big bois Batman deals with in these games are Bane and Grundy, and Bane was important to the story so they couldn't have him as a boss. Every boss fight has a 2D cinematic before it except Grundy Fight is underground in a sewer system, which usually is Croc territory, Grundy should probably be underneath the museum anyways, since I'm not even sure Penguin would have it at this point in time Like Puncher mentioned, electricity is his weakness, which should actually empower Grundy At the end he's just incapacitated and Batman leaves, also how he usually treats Croc since his lair is already in police custody

Tbh, I feel like this game gets so much hate due to its janky controls on the 3DS, predator sections feel awful due to the thugs being hyper aware in this game for some reason, the combat can feel alienating for the Arkham veterans and the overuse and unpracticality of analysis mode.

Arkham blackgate is hugely underated in my opinion. I think there's some pretty cool features such as the shock baterang or gel launcher.

I think price has a lot to do with why some people are less forgiving of this game. We're in the Golden Age of Metroidvanias and absolutely spoiled for choice with better games at the same or cheaper price, and Blackgate rarely if ever goes on sale too. Plus you can get pretty much any of the other Arkham games often with their DLC included for about the same price nowadays and they go on sale much more frequently. Blackgate is decent enough in a vacuum but when graded on a curve and especially when price is factored in it's not gonna be compared favourably. For what it's worth I think it's an a'iight game it's got some glaring flaws but nothing that completely ruined the experience and it is especially fun to replay, but when I can get Hollow Knight or Castlevania Symphony of the Night, just to name a couple far better Metroidvanias no matter how you slice it for 5 dollars cheaper I can't in good conscience recommend it to most people simply because it's value for money is lacking when graded on a curve, and can only recommend it to people who already own most other Metroidvanias or are complete Arkham fanatics who already have all the other Arkham games and even then I suggest waiting for a sale. It's sad because I do think the game deserves more credit even with all that being said.

To be fair, from this vid. _I kinda wanna play Blackgate now, looks alright._

I actually tried playing this game for the sake of lore and just could not get through it. Its so tedious and the amount of backtracking is insane

I casually replay this game every once in a while, still a decent (if not incredibly flawed) experience in my opinon

I really enjoyed the story, writing, graphics, cutscenes, and villains and exploring blackgate.

I think it would be so cool if this was a full game with the gameplay and stuff of other arkham games. Just being in Blackgate the whole time trying to take down different sectors sounds so cool

Blackgate reminds me of the assassin creed chronicle games while they have the title the game doesn’t fit.

Having played it on 3ds, im not going to say it's great because it feels clunky often enough but I really like the concept of what is essentially a side-scrolling epilogue to arkham origins with a unique style for the presentation. I will say, I encountered a big error at the end of my game that prevents me from completing and that weighs it down heavily for me. Overall though, when it's working it ends up being pretty cool and unique given what they were going for.

It’s cool they brought back the gel launcher it originally was supposed to be in Arkham origins to replace the explosive gel

I got this game when I was 5 as a present from my Nana. It was one of the only other DS games I had. I also had no idea at the time that there were other and WAY BETTER arkham games out there. I've beaten it and gotten 100% completion and for a very long time I thought this was the best game ever because the only other batman game I had was Batman Brave and The Bold th Video Game for Wii.

9:05 I'm atting you dawg. Dark Souls combat is amazing. No animations, just pure inputs.

Agree with basically almost everything you said except for one thing. Dark Souls combat is pretty great and fluidly good. Maybe you just couldn't get into that style of gaming? Anyway I'm not saying your opinion isn't valid but I also wanted to comment mine thanks for the Vidya man

I love seeing a positive review for this game! I quite enjoyed it when I played it for the first time a couple years back. It’s a bit of a hidden gem in the franchise

I couldn't finish it because of a bug in the penguin boss room that causes me to lose all my health when entering the room, also numerous camera bugs in the vents but I think that may just be my 2DS f*cking with me

i love how ur username is like if batman had an xbox 360 gamertag lel

Very based review I still haven't gotten to play it

First time a have played Origins Blackgate (my first batman game) on PS Vita, i stumbled upon Grundy and from the shock I had I threw shock batarang into the water pool and instantly incapacitated him haha. I hadn't knew then that you could have whole boss fight with him haha.

Sure, it might not be a full triple A game, but it was still a blast to play through. I did so with a guide, and to begin with, I already couldn't get over the fact that batman's mouth wouldn't open during gameplay. Good times.

Wait... the batclaw isn't the grapple hook? How did I not realise

I feel so stupid for judging black gate without ever giving it a try. I'll definitely play it now.

Nice to hear a positive review of this gem!

That deadshot bit looks so cool man what the hell was that disappointing fight in city

I've always thought that this game was so cool ever since I watched a walk through of it a long time ago.

Of course it isn't. The Arkham series isn't some metroidvania series, it is a groundbreaking, revolutionary experience for both gaming and the Batman franchise

This was a childhood game for me so its always had a place in my heart.

Pretty sure the comic style cutscenes were due to budget/time limitations, not hardware. The only hardware limitation I could see leading to that decision would be cartridge space, but I’m pretty sure it was the buget

Sentences that will start arguments:

I played this game years ago and i liked it. I tryed 100% it but i had a bug that didn't allow me to do it, so i played it a couple of times and i enjoyed it even if i already knew the puzzles. The predators sections were fine and i never had problems with the fighting, but maybe this is just me beacouse i enjoy almost every mechanics the devs give me (even the ones that are bad). 9/10 in my opinion.

The biggest difference between versions is the retooled minimal system in the console port. I haven’t played the original but I’ve heard the map was basically indecipherable

This and Arkham asylum was my favorite only bcuz of nostalgia reasons, I played this one A LOT on my 3DS XL, and when people started picking up on it and picking on it I felt like it was largely underrated, plus most ppl played it on they're PC which is not what it's meant for

I didn't really care too much for the game when I tried it. Though, I do wonder why Bronze Tiger never showed up in anything Suicide Squad related after this game while Deadshot did. Same with Deathstroke; if his recruitment was important enough to get an ending scene in Origins, you'd think they'd actually follow up on the fact.

Average dark souls fan: 🤓 Average arkham enjoyer: 😎

It baffles me that the guy who voices Cobblepot here is the same guy who voiced the wacky woohoo teleporting pizza man, Deadpool. I mean, seriously, he's really versatile.

I would like if this game was remade as dlc for the console and pc version were you can roam around blackgate kinda like Arkham Asylum

One problem i have is that theres a specific cutscene that doesnt count for the fact that the player can fight each main villain in whatever order Basically black mask and batman talk about how black mask is the last one standing, even though the order i played the bosses was Penguin, Black Mask, Joker Other than this slight oversight and the awful latency during the 3rd phase of the final boss that left me stuck on it for weeks, its a pretty solid game, i definitely enjoyed it more than arkham knight

I also love the gadgets and the puzzles were interesting

This game was designed for handheld consoles and that is a lot of the problem people have with it. This was actually the first Arkham game I really sank my teeth into, on the 3DS. The PC port on Steam has a lot of issues that aren't present on the 3DS version, but that still don't make it worth seeking out. One of the main issues I had was how difficult the environments are to see on such a small screen like the 3DS. On PC, the movement feels like the Scarecrow segments of AA due to the side scroller design. The Metroidvania style design is reminiscent of Arkham Asylum, but as your criticisms point out, it's rushed in design much like AO was and just feels like it's lacking that special touch. I think this game would've done better if it was designed more around a serious side scroller, instead of putting half of the combat system in and taking away other things from the main Arkham games. I would chalk up much of this to the limitations of handheld consoles.

That dig at Dark Souls is crazy. As a mega fan of the series I respect your opinion though

10:39 "Did anyone ever tell you that with that cape you look just like an idiot?" Lol this had me laughing 😅

A bit off topic but I got a cool idea for a adult animated Batman tv show Where the main overarching villains are The Court of Owls

The game is great, and I understand it's only on under powered devices that would literally blow up would you even try to get the actual Arkham Origins on it, but I cannot agree with his mentions of 3DS graphics looking "good". Yes it's not supposed to be PS3 level of quality or anything but the 3DS version is simply the least gifted one for graphics, Batman and the enemies look OK, but the environment is simply too dark and too much details being compressed to not fry the console on the spot, you simply cannot see and will eventually have to just play the whole game with Detective mode on to understand anything because it requires less details and makes things easier to see. There are places that are well-lit and with some colors so you can see, but 90% of my playthrough was done with Detective mode on. Which is kind of pathetic when you see games like Metal Gear Solid 3 or Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate have much better graphics for the same system. If you plan on playing this game, get it on PSVITA or emulate it, the experience will be 100 times more enjoyable, trust me.

This is a great review that acknowledges a lot of the strengths this game had. I had more fun than I thought, especially since I initially only bought it to play a few skins. My only disagreement comes with the Penguin battle. It was a complete pain and probably the worst display of the game's attempts at stealth. I didn't know you could just take down the drones with explosives, though lol.

Gotta be honest, I really dig these cut scenes. Sure pre-rendered CG cut scenes would’ve been preferable but for the 3DS they would’ve been super compressed and Pixley so instead they went for a more artistic comic book style by having animatic cut scenes. Honestly I wish more games would do this if they don’t have the ability to create fully animated cut scenes

Fun fact, with the shock batarang, you can OHKO Grundy.

19:59 OK so not only does Batman canonically have the new 52 suit but it was some thing cat woman gave to him to “try it on for me some night“. God I love the Arkham canon. It’s so wacky yet mature at the same time

I actually own this game on my PS VITA and the visuals looks a lot better than the 3DS if you were to compare the 2 portable handhelds.

This is one of the earlier games I ever played, back in like 5th grade and I was so bad at it that I gave up lol but it wasn't awful from what I remember

Don't get the hate for this one.. I thought it was solid and fun.. I love these 2.5d games.. if they are done right.

I love that the skeletons are red again. Nice callback to Asylum.

I actually played it it was weirdly good Really nice to show how Batman meets Catwoman for the first time and Solomon Grundy.

I played this game like 9 different times on my 2DS and I loved it

They share a moment in the long halloween i think he stops grundy from killing someone. (Correct me if im wrong)

Only Arkham game I didn’t even bother to complete. It’s garbage.

I liked it Never beat it tho

yello hows it going can we have a list of enemies ranked? Like you know stun, ninjas from all the games. rate them on the difficulty or how annoying they are for me i hate shields they break to many combos and will you play gotham knights?

The gel launcher actually is in beta builds of Origins but was ultimately split back into regular explosive gel & the concussion detonators. So were Penguin’s drones which may have influenced their appearance in Knight, but apparently testers thought they were too easy in Origins.

I will not stand for Dark Souls slander

You finally uploaded brooo Gonna love watching this!

To be fair asylum had a lot of Metroidvania elements

W I'm the 500th comment

Blackgate was truly the game ever made

Blackgate is a side piece of Arkham origins.

how come this is a better black mask then actual origins

Only thing I really hated about this game was considering it was heavy on backtracking, once you cleared a room of bad guys, each time you went back, they wouldn't regenerate, making backtracking boring and empty

This was my favourite Batman game as a kid😭

You remember that Blackmask Train Mission we got for Riddler's Revenge in AC? Okay now take that concept, pan it out for an entire game, and you have AO: Blackgate.

Back when I played it on my 3DS I encountered a bug where I couldn't finish the catwoman boss at the end. Also I got stuck at Grundy by not having a certain gadget 😭 (don't remember which) but otherwise I had a great time with it.

I hate when I saw hate vids on this and truth be told they probably didn't even play it

Honestly, the game would have been recieved much better if the game was just called "Batman Blackgate"

I'm sorry but your line on dark souks combat sheesh

I have a chalenge for you. Can you beat arkham sity without countering

i need whoever did the cutscenes for this game to work on a Batman comic or full run because hot damn is his work so fucking good here. Just found the artist. his name is Calum Alexander Watt and not only did he already have concept for the sequel which looks absolutely gorgeous, but he's also extremely employed (even though he hasn't worked on a Batman comic) so good for him

I'm feeling a lot better after surgery I still remember playing blackgate on my ps vita and it's just as amazing as the regular Arkham games honestly

Finally someone who agrees. Its not perfect but its got a great story and just another thing that adds lore to this incredible series.

This game pisses me off, I played the same deluxe edition on my ps3. As a kid I spent 30 dollars on this game thinking it was actual Arkham origins. Much to my Dismay it was not. I still tried to play it and I never could finish it. So no, this game sucks, yes I hate it, and yes I loved the video.

I still feel it's a bad game. I got this thinking I'd get portable Arkham, instead I got a Metroidvania, and (I know it's a me problem) I don't like Metroidvanias.

Funny thing is I remember this game getting a lot of love compared to Arkham Origins, hell I'm pretty sure Game informer gave this games higher rating than Origins if I remember correctly

I actually enjoyed this game until it decided to stop working and not let me progress... then I restarted the game and got literally stuck Other than that it was your typical Arkham game only in Metroidvania style

I never played Blackgate because I just heard negative things about it but I might give it a go now Thank You!

I loved this game. It wasn't as good as the others but it's fun

I've never played this game, so I can't say if it's good or bad.

Why isn’t the Gel Launcher an upgrade/version of the Explosive Gel? I’m imagining it would function like the quickfire except you can actually aim it, also what if you could upgrade it to act as a long range Freeze Blast.

This game brought a whole new meaning to don't judge a book by its cover

BOY i sure wish this video appeared on my recommended literally 20 minutes earlier, i just bought this on CDkeys thinking it was just Arkham Origins with all the DLC. was VERY confused when i saw the install size was 2gb. Then i hop on youtube to sulk and see the title of this video and it feesl like my life is the trumam show. F*ck you algorithm

Map traversal can be confusing sometimes, and the game needed a bit more combat and stealth moments, but still, this is definitely an under appreciated game if there ever was one

I screwed up, I thought Batman Arkham Origins Blackgate was like an Arkham Origins like a deluxe edition, and bought it instead of the actual Arkham Origins

I just got through playing this and beating it 3 times and unlocking all the costumes. It’s nice to see someone else’s thoughts on this.

I remember actually loving it when I got it as a Kid, I didn't have a console back then and really wanted to play the Arkham Games so this being the only one I could really play on My 3D DS was cool.

So when are we getting a Blackgate no grapple run?