Videogame sequels that surpass their predecessors in almost every way aren’t particularly rare, but games that manage to do this twice in a row, are indeed few and far between. That’s why even though there have been countless ‘trilogies’ throughout Videogame history, not all of them are regarded equally. While many start out on a particularly high note with a truly great title that excels in all aspects of gaming, the next few games often turn out to be letdowns in respect to what had made the first one so great and even ends up bringing the whole ‘trilogy’ down (the Dragon Age trilogy, I’m looking at you).
Then there are also trilogies that become increasingly better with an all-round-great sequel that not only improves on the first game in massive ways but also carves a whole new identity for itself while elevating the whole franchise to unexpected levels of glory. And this is exactly what Mass Effect 2 did when it came out. But then, it’s sequel and the third title in the trilogy had some major shortcomings that once again, while still being an improvement over ME2 in some key areas, couldn’t quite become the swan song title most gamers thought it needed to be. Likewise, in case of most videogame trilogies ever made, they usually have their peaks and valleys which ultimately make the whole trifecta of games a rather mixed experience.
But there exists one trilogy in the sea of videogame franchises which stands out as a shining beacon of example as to what videogame trilogies should and can be—in the form of sequels that consistently added and innovated in every single aspect while still retaining the core identity that makes the trilogy what it is in it’s essence. It’s also the trilogy that has completely redefined a whole genre besides bringing multiple great gameplay innovations that have been applied by many other developers throughout lots of major IP’s. It’s the Arkham trilogy of games and it just might be the greatest modern videogame trilogy in the history of videogames, and this is what the rest of this article is all about.
Videogame sequels operate on a rather delicate balance of innovation and iteration—there needs to be enough additions in gameplay elements for them to bring a fresh experience for anyone who has played the first game, while still being faithful to the themes of it’s predecessor. Turn out too similar to the original and it’ll be accused of lack of innovation, stray too far from the earlier games and it’ll run the risk of losing it’s identity, and alienating a large part of it’s fanbase. So a great videogame sequel not only needs new and improved gameplay mechanics under-the-hood, but it would also have to make sure that said new elements do not stand in the way of the core thematic experience which ought to be in a similar vein as the original game. After all, a sequel is a follow up, not a re-invention unless it absolutely needs to be.
The Crysis trilogy is a great example of what happens when the sequels take a far different approach in core gameplay from the original—while both Crysis 2 and Crysis 3 did deliver on being a solid all-round FPS experience, they failed to retain the original Crysis flavour which was present in both Crysis 1 and Warhead. The last level of Crysis 3, which also happens to be the very last level in the entire trilogy, turned out to be the most maligned representation of the core Crysis experience and basically threw away everything that the trilogy stood for, in terms of it’s design philosophy. Not to mention both Crysis 2 and 3 took very different approaches in their gameplay which ultimately became detrimental to the experience the series was originally known for, and as a result, their sales numbers suffered. I personally consider the Crysis trilogy a great example of tragically missed opportunities in videogame history.
The Dragon Age trilogy had another pretty similar trajectory, with the first game being a classic good-ol’ fashioned RPG while it’s sequel had a huge shift in both gameplay direction and tone—delivering a full-on action RPG that traded it’s predecessors sprawling game world for a far more action heavy experience. While it excelled in doing what it aimed for, it’s much narrower world resulted in a lot of backtracking and far too many recycled environments.
The third title in the trilogy wanted to go back to it’s roots by doubling down on it’s game world—making a massive open world that had a sense of endlessness to it. But while doing so, the game also ditched the exciting combat experience of Dragon Age 2 that many players had enjoyed thoroughly, thereby making it’s combat pretty lackluster. Ultimately, the game became a sort of mixed bag which neither had the feeling of ‘being out there’ of the first title nor did it have the exhilarating combat of the second one. And that’s how the Dragon Age trilogy spiraled out of it’s great potential and ended up not being as memorable as it could’ve been. As you can see, making a great game is obviously hard, but making a great sequel is even harder.
But not for a trilogy named Mass Effect where the first game was actually the weakest of the three and had left a LOT of room for improvement from the get-go. And it’s sequel, the great Mass Effect 2, fixed pretty much everything that was underdeveloped in it’s predecessor and delivered a truly great game that excelled in being everything that it wanted to do. It’s rightfully lauded as one of the greatest games of it’s generation but it’s sequel (Mass Effect 3) again had several major shortcomings in it’s storytelling and therefore, couldn’t really achieve the same heights of greatness that ME2 did. Although it’s still a great game that really improves on ME2 when it comes to core gameplay mechanics, it’s narrative was it’s main drawback which ultimately affected player agency and kept the trilogy from being as great as it seemed destined to.
And this is why the Arkham trilogy shines as being that perfect videogame trilogy which did not take the kind of missteps as these other great trilogies did. It’s sequels, namely Arkham City and Arkham Knight, both bring substantial gameplay innovations and additions but never once hinge from the core values present in the first game. For example, despite having fully explorable Open Worlds in both City and Knight, those games are still pure third person action experiences in their hearts. And that’s why the time spent on the combat and predator sections in these two games far outweigh the time you’ll spend on traversing or exploring the game worlds, as those are the main strengths and highlights in these titles. And that’s how even though the sequels have shifted genres, they are still in the same vein as the original Arkham Asylum when it comes to core gameplay themes.
Both subsequent titles also adhere to the central design philosophy of Arkham Asylum which is purposeful level design where everything in the game world is relevant to the player in terms of actual gameplay and nothing exists solely to fill the open world and just make it seem bigger. And that’s the reason why both City and Knight never once feel bloated, despite having huge Open Worlds in them cause most of the world is being utilized by either the main campaign or the various side quests.
Arkham Asylum was one of the finest action adventure titles at the time of it’s release which made great use of the rich lore of it’s central character and was a laser focused experience that not only excelled at being everything that it went for, but also became a stellar all-round inspiration for other 3rd person action adventure franchises. And of course, it introduced the Freeflow combat system which completely changed it’s genre and is what I believe to be one of the greatest gameplay mechanics ever made.
It’s sequel, Arkham City took the trilogy to even greater heights by adding a fully explorable and fairly large Open World on top while also bringing a slew of gameplay additions that took the ensuing experience to towering levels of greatness. Arkham City is easily one of the greatest sequels ever made, as well as one of most engaging and fun Open World games ever. Personally, it was in the top 5 most favourite games that I’ve played, until it got replaced by it’s sequel, Arkham Knight. Yup, and just like that, the Arkham trilogy is, to my knowledge, the only trilogy in the entire videogame history where it’s sequels managed to out-do it’s predecessors, all twice in a row. Double whammy victory, that’s exactly what it is.
But I’m aware that there are a plethora of arguments against Arkham Knight as the best game in the trilogy, and most of them are centered around the Batmobile gameplay. But from my experience with the game, it’s not really the Batmobile itself (which is a fairly versatile gameplay device that’s also integral to the plot) but rather how it was used throughout the campaign that is the actual cause behind it’s issues.
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| It's a tank, it's a tankbuster...no it's the Batmobile |
The Batmobile gameplay, although quite engaging, thrilling and provided a nice break from the usual Batman gameplay of gliding, combat and Predator sections, obviously can’t match up to it's phenomenal level of greatness that's been honed from the past two titles. And it’s these two very distinct-feeling gameplay sections (the core Batman gameplay and the Batmobile parts) leaning on each other that resulted in a glaring disharmony in the overall gameplay experience and that’s the actual source of most of the complaints. It also broke the flow of the usual and much superior Batman gameplay that the trilogy is really known for. But if you look at the game purely from a storytelling perspective, the Batmobile becomes not just a glorified gameplay addition but an essential plot element in the game world that’s easily as important as it’s lead characters.
And if you look past the Batmobile sections, you’ll find the most refined version of the Arkham gameplay which is the real highlight of the trilogy. Arkham City already took the amazing Freeflow combat and stealth sections to a whole new level but Rocksteady’s third title turned it all into diamond-polished levels of perfection, easily resulting in one of the greatest third person action experiences ever made. The Fear Takedowns, Environmental Takedowns and the myriads of incredible Gameplay additions make the player truly feel like Batman in a way that's both hugely empowering and deeply satisfying, so much so that you'll be hard pressed to go back to the previous games in the trilogy. Honestly, it’s almost impossible for me to go back to even Arkham City, let alone Arkham Asylum, cause how limited the overall gameplay would feel after coming from Arkham Knight. That’s the measure of all great videogame sequels—how they make you feel about the past games in the series, whether you find it difficult to go back to them, or not. And to top it all off, the Batmobile just completes the experience as the most fully realized Batman sandbox ever put to videogames.
These are what makes the Arkham trilogy the greatest modern videogame trilogy ever made and serves as an yardstick of all-round videogame greatness that every other trilogy have to measure up to, at least from my viewpoint. Please let me know whether you agree with this or not, sound off in the comments section.
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