REMASTER BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

Batman: Arkham Origins, released in 2013, was met with a very mixed perception. This was likely due to a switch in developer, from Rocksteady to WB Montreal, a buggy/glitchy launch, an apparent lack of innovation and reused assets, the marketing, or maybe the narrative and gameplay content of the game. Either way, Arkham Origins became the most hated Arkham Game in the series, whether it was truly genuine or a bandwagon. After almost 8 years, the smoke cleared and some of us stuck with the game--admiring it for its many strengths in our eyes. Every year I find that more and more people are expressing their love for this forgotten game. In 2015 I would have told you a minority of Arkham players liked Arkham Origins, now...I want to say that this group has dramatically risen either because of veterans revisiting it, new players experiencing it, or the backlash for admitting that Arkham Origins is a good game has faded away. This game has newfound respect and understanding. Many fans of the game want a remaster because they would love to experience the game again with a new perspective, others want it simply because they do not have access to the game anymore. Only Xbox players have the opportunity to play the game on a new console, if they have the disc that is.

Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City were given remasters that intensify and detail the original experience. Batman: Arkham Knight still holds up to this day. Every Arkham game besides Arkham Origins has a modern feel--I, and many others, believe that Arkham Origins deserves the same. Having been given to a new, young studio with a short development period, Arkham Origins is a consequence. This consequence could be remedied with a remaster. New assets could replace reused Arkham City ones, the map could receive more visual detail to match the concept art, textures could be upresed and made consistent, etc. There is a lot that could be improved with the game beyond graphics as well--I'd love to see what Arkham Origins would have been like with another year of development. I haven't even mentioned the multiplayer, some of us have kept the very low player count alive, but a few years ago many of the servers were shut down. There is DLC content many of us haven't been able to play due to exclusivity between the PS3 and Xbox 360, such as the Knightfall Batman skin. The remaster Arkham Asylum gave Xbox players access to Joker in challenge mode, I'd hope all of the games would receive this treatment.

There is an opportunity for Warner Brothers to capitalize off of the new Batman film and its impending trilogy beyond Gotham Knights. A Robert Pattinson skin in Arkham Origins would tie in very well with the film, since both stories take place during year two of Batman's activities in Gotham.

Finally, I would like to share how impactful this game was on me. This was the first game I got on launch day and I loved it. The story had some issues here and there, but the good parts were very strong and powerful. Batman and Joker were no longer static characters, they evolved and learned over the course of the game. We saw Batman in furious rage and isolated sadness. Their complex dynamic was amazingly executed and that touched me as a kid. As someone who didn't collect comics in childhood much, Arkham Origins showed me everything there was to love about these characters. I believe a remaster of Arkham Origins would catch the attention of many people, there is an opportunity here.