Spoiler Alert: We will be discussing spoilers in Batman: Arkham Knight in the article, and in the comments, too. Needless to say, if you haven’t finished Arkham Knight, steer clear of this post since it will spoil the game’s conclusion.
In case you didn’t know, Batman: Arkham Knight is Rocksteady’s last entry in its Arkham series. Now, if you’ve played it, that point is hammered home countless times especially near the end. With that in mind, we thought discussing the series’ ending is something we needed to do — and so we did in this entry of Now Loading.
Also of note, Batman: Arkham Knight has two endings: the “normal” one that you can get by initiating the “Knightfall Protocol” as soon as you can, and the other, wherein you need to catch everyone in the “Most Wanted” list (which you can watch here). We, naturally, talk about both, and offer our take on what really happened in the “real” ending and whether we liked it or not.
What do you think of Arkham Knight’s endings? And do you see Rocksteady making another Arkham game in the future? If so, how they should go forward with it?
Now Loading is a recurring staff-driven feature where PlayStation LifeStyle discusses anything video game-related under the sun (yes, even non-Sony platforms).
Essential Reading:
- Examining God of War’s Mythological Accuracy
- Now Loading…Destiny The Taken King Pricing and How It Should Be Valued
- The VOTE: Best Batman Arkham Game?
Now Loading...Batman: What Do You Think of Those Batman: Arkham Knight Endings?
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Now Loading...What Do You Make of That Batman: Arkham Knight Ending?
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Alex Co
I'm having mixed feelings with how Rocksteady ended Batman's tale in the Arkham franchise.
I'm a huge Batman fan and can see that Rocksteady's ending (and even the Arkham Knight reveal) pulled a lot from the comics, movies and animated shots the Dark Knight has gotten over the years. I'm personally fine with that, but I admit, the "regular" ending, which I gather is what most people will see is very lackluster. It's plainly obvious Bruce didn't die in the explosion, but instead of giving people a chance to see what happens next, it asks players to do all those Riddler challenges in order to see the "real" ending, which is just annoying.
Regarding the real, longer conclusion, it felt like it was open to interpretation; with the most obvious one is that Batman is back and is using Scarecrow's fear toxin in his fight against crime. I have no clue if that's what Rocksteady intended, as it's pretty much known by everyone that Bruce Wayne is Batman, so it could be someone else, the criminals hallucinating or something.
I'd definitely want to see a more concrete ending, but I doubt we'll get anything more from Rocksteady. They told their tale, and it's time they did something else. Kudos to the studio for ending on their own terms, though.
I did love how the studio used the Joker this time, I'll give them that.
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Chandler Wood
As a fan of Batman, from the comics, to the movies, to the games, I was a little disappointed in the culmination of their latest work. While it was a very well put together story, it borrowed elements from existing Batman story arcs far too much. The Arkham Knight is just a new waypoint on the path to Jason Todd becoming the Red Hood. The Scarecrow mass fear scenario is ripped straight from Batman Begins. The 100% ending is basically the end of The Dark Knight Rises.
Rocksteady had the freedom to tell their own story, and it feels like they were a bit afraid to break the mold. Characters that made a huge emotional impact in death miraculously weren't actually dead, and the ambiguous 100% ending was a disappointment after building up the "new Batman" to potentially be the Red Hood, a hero willing to kill in order to clean up crime. From what I understood, it was just Batman now using fear toxin against his foes after appearing to kill off his Bruce Wayne persona? Yay... That's not to say it wasn't very solidly written and executed. It just failed to surprise me all that much.The one element I was the most satisfied with was ironically the one I thought I would hate the most: the return of the Joker. The plot point wasn't a cheap "he's not actually dead" or "he came back to life" contrivance. I thought they performed this admirably and in a way that showed the eternal dance that Batman and Joker are destined to do. Bruce Wayne and his morals will forever waltz with the Clown Prince of Crime willing to do anything without reason. -
Dyani Wood
I enjoyed the complete ending quite a bit. I know that in this day and age writers need to be really creative and understand that not everyone likes the happy or easy ending, but this one was satisfactory at minimum to lovers of the Batman world. They could have done something really crazy and new with the story, but they didn't. It was entertaining and well-written, despite being somewhat predictable and "safe." I absolutely loved the dynamic of Joker being in Batman's head. It gets right down to the raw reasons those two are such a famous pair, without rehashing any actual Joker vs. Batman battles or story arcs. It was captivating to watch all the different times Joker would pop up and remark on ever deeper places in Batman's mind.
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Cameron Teague
After just watching the "true" ending...
I actually liked the ending more than I liked most of the predictable story. It left you on a fairly big cliffhanger because it looked like Batman was using Scarecrow's toxin to bring fear back to the criminals. I think if that is the case, it opens the doors for all sorts of things with the next game. The non-true ending was just stupid, leaving you with nothing. -
Dan Oravasaari
Honestly, I think there are only a few ways that any Batman story can end. While it is possible for the villains of Gotham to kill him, they would much rather destroy him and the persona that he has built over the years. So, while the ending of Batman Arkham Knight may be a bit underwhelming to some, I think it was a perfect way to wrap up the legacy of a man who has a plan for everything. It just made sense for the character.As much as I loved the ending to Batman Arkham City, and the vast open world I was able to explore, I think Arkham Knight gave me a more concise experience. Given the nature of Scarecrow's attack on Gotham, it would just make more sense for him to utilize a small number of allies, and not have a bunch of major villains thrown around a city that he is planning on destroying anyway. Batman Arkham Knight felt much more like it was a story driven experience than one filled with a bunch of content to bloat it out, which I felt was a for the best, and is why I think it is my favorite entry in the series.
