Fans of the “Batman” franchise have been patiently waiting for the release of the latest collection, “Return to Arkham”, for a while. And now that the remastered pair of “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City” is here, critics have been sharing some interesting impressions from the games.
On one hand, the developers have done a remarkable job preserving the original atmosphere and gameplay quality, while also throwing a fresh coat of paint on the games that gives them a much-needed graphical refresh for modern times. That did not come without a price, however – the two games reportedly have performance issues in various circumstances, leading to disappointed responses from many reviewers.
The developers actually used an entirely new engine in their work on the two remasters in the collection, moving from Unreal Engine 3 to Unreal Engine 4. Assets are of a higher quality too, and all in all, it makes sense that the games would run at a lower framerate.
However, dipping below 30 FPS in various circumstances is far from an acceptable situation, and this is apparently exactly what the game does quite often. Players who don’t care about their framerates that much will probably still enjoy the overall experience, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind when purchasing the collection.
Speaking of the term ”collection”, the fact that the pack only features two games and “Arkham Origins” is missing from the list was also a negative mark in many people’s reactions. The game is an important entry in the overall franchise, and it’s a surprising move to exclude it from “Return to Arkham”. But there were probably development time and/or budget constraints which led to this decision.
Fans might also notice a slightly different overall look to the scenes in the game, and it has nothing to do with the new engine in use. In fact, the game features a significant change in the lighting arrangement, which some claim is due to the engine change. Whether players like the new “theme” or not is a matter of taste, but it does affect the overall setting of the game, which is meant to be a dark and moody experience.
This shouldn’t paint an overall bad picture for “Return to Arkham” though, as most critics were still pleased with the games as a whole, and claimed that the package is an enjoyable return to the original titles.
The gameplay is solid as ever, and even though the mechanics introduced in both games are no longer fresh, they still hold up to this day. And as many already know, the stories featured in the titles are thrilling and captivating, and were among the strongest points of both games.
Those who want to revisit their memories with “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City” should find this a good purchase, although we’re curious to see if the studio also plans to bring out a remade version of “Arkham Origins” in the near future. That would make the value of “Return to Arkham” even higher, although interested players probably shouldn’t waste time waiting for so long.
It’s also possible that the framerate issues will be addressed with an upcoming patch. The developers already have quite a lot of experience with “crisis management” following a problematic release, so they are likely already working on a patch to address some of the more critical issues. Although, as some have pointed out, the poor framerate is likely not something that can be resolved so easily.