Batman games in order: Arkham & beyond in story or release order

If you're anything like us, playing them is a yearly occurrence. But if you're new, you might not know where to start.

Let's take a look at all the games, and their corresponding DLCs.

How to play the Batman Arkham games in story order

If you want to play through the Batman Arkham games in story order, so you can really get into the head of Bruce Wayne without breaking the continuity at any point, this is how it goes:

• Arkham Origins
• Arkham Shadow
• Arkham Asylum
• Arkham City
• Arkham VR
• Arkham Knight

Those four games, plus a couple of VR spinoffs, should keep you busy for a while! You'll be in full Dark Knight mode, sleeping upside down and berating your imaginary butler by the time you're finished with them.

The most recent addition to the series is Batman: Arkham Shadow which is exclusively available for Meta Quest users. It's believed that the game slots into the Arkham timeline between Origins and Asylum.

Where does the Arkham DLC fit in?

However, you might be wondering about the various DLCs that came out with a few of the titles. Again, the chronology matters here. So if you want to play them all in story order, this is where they fit in with the full game releases:

• Arkham Origins DLC: Initiation
• Arkham Origins
• Arkham Origins DLC: A Cold Cold Heart
• Arkham Origins DLC: Blackgate
• Arkham Knight DLC: Batgirl - A Matter of Family
• Arkham Shadow
• Arkham Asylum
• Arkham City
• Arkham City DLC: Black Mask Challenge Campaign
• Arkham City DLC: Catwoman
• Arkham City DLC: Harley Quinn's Revenge
• Arkham VR
• Arkham Knight DLC: Batgirl
• Arkham Knight DLC: Harley Quinn
• Arkham Knight
• Arkham Knight DLC: Catwoman's Revenge
• Arkham Knight DLC: Red Hood
• Arkham Knight DLC: Robin - A Flip of a Coin
• Arkham Knight DLC: Nightwing - GCPD Lockdown

Batman Arkham games in release date order

If you'd rather play through these games in the order they came out, so you see the graphics and gameplay improving (in theory) with each instalment, this release date order will serve you well...

Arkham Asylum (2009)

Available on: PC, Mac, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

To some, this is still the best of the bunch of the Arkham games and it is easy to see why. Restricting the game to the confines of the titular and iconic asylum was a brilliant move that fully absorbs the player in the twisted way the place is being run under the control of Joker. It dazzled us upon release and it remains re-playable all these years later.

• Buy Arkham Asylum from Amazon (prices from £14.99)

Arkham City (2011)

Available on: PC, Mac, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Wii U

Leaving the asylum behind, Arkham City once again pits Bats against Joker, along with many other foes, and takes us to the streets of Gotham. This is a far bigger game than the first and one that is just as well regarded by most fans as Asylum. We get another tight story here too that is compelling from start to finish, and the Riddler challenges are taken to another level with the larger playing field.

The DLCs for this game featured a couple of the most famous femme fatales of the DC universe. Both the Catwoman DLC and Harley Quinn's Revenge were released later, and shouldn't be missed.

• Buy Arkham City from Amazon (prices from £14.95)

Arkham Origins (2013)

Available on: PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Wii U

While Rocksteady Studios were behind the Arkham series, it was WB Games Montréal that took the reins for Arkham Origins - and it would be fair to say the game is not on many people's favourites list. It isn't a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but this prequel lacks the spark of the previous entries - although we did appreciate the lean into Batman's detective skills.

The DLCs for Origins were A Cold Cold Heart and Blackgate. The latter is particularly interesting, with it's 2.5 dimensional side scrolling gameplay.

• Buy Arkham Origins from Amazon (prices from £17.42)

Arkham Knight (2015)

Available on: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

The final game in the series was the biggest, but not quite the best. There is a lot to love about Arkham Knight, especially the story, and it features some brilliant set pieces that remain riveting to play even the second time around. But there were some issues, largely surrounding the overused Batmobile (we still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about tank fights), that made it feel like a disappointment to some - but it does enough right to make it feel satisfying overall.

The only DLC for Arkham Knight is A Matter Of Family, in which Barbara Gordon jumps into the Batsuit and joins Robin to save her father, Commissioner Gordon.

• Buy Arkham Knight on Amazon (prices from £12.85)

Arkham VR (2016)

Available on: PC, PS4, PS5 (PSVR, HTC Vive or Meta headset required)

The first game in this series to embrace virtual reality, Batman: Arkham VR lets you experience Detective Mode like never before. Playing from a first-person perspective, you will solve puzzles and use gadgets to unravel a mystery involving sidekicks going missing.

The game is quite short, clocking in at under two hours for its main story, so we wouldn't say it's essential. If you have a VR set-up, though, why not give it a go? Although it's the last game to launch with 'Arkham' in its title, it actually fits into the story timeline between City and Knight.

• Buy Arkham VR on the PS Store (£15.99) or CD Keys (£2.99)

Arkham Shadow (2024)

Arkham Shadow is the second game to utilise virtual reality to deepen the immersion even more. Players will find themselves kicking baddies to the kerb in addition to completing puzzles to unravel the mysteries.

It's a short and sweet game, meaning it's not necessarily essential to understand the full Arkham timeline – but if you're in possession of a Meta Quest headset, it's certainly worth playing.

• Buy Arkham Shadow on the Meta Store (£38.99)

What about Gotham Knights?

Available on: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

The makers of Arkham Origins, WB Montreal, released a game called Gotham Knights in 2022. It follows Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and Red Hood on a mission to clean up Gotham without The Dark Knight's help.

If you're planning on playing all the Batman games, we'd recommend playing Gotham Knights last. Gotham Knights is technically set in a different universe to the Arkham games — so you can play it whenever you like, to be honest — but it does assume a lot of knowledge about Batman's past and all his sidekicks.

• Buy Gotham Knights on Amazon (prices from £29.99)

What about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?

Coming to: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S

The makers of all the other Arkham games, Rocksteady, released a game called Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League in February 2024.

This one is set in the same timeline as the Arkham games, after the events of Arkham Knight, so we'd also recommend playing it after you've done the others.

• Buy Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League at Amazon (prices from £22.95)

Read more: Is Suicide Squad crossplay? | Suicide Squad DLC | Is Suicide Squad down? | Suicide Squad plot | Suicide Squad Batman | Suicide Squad reviews situation | Suicide Squad PC requirements | Suicide Squad cast

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