Recently I got around to playing Batman: Arkham Origins which, according to the general consensus, is sort of an underrated gem in the Arkham series of games, which is rightfully acclaimed as one of the greatest modern videogame series of all time. And after having my fair share of time with the game, I certainly see why it received the responses it did and more importantly, why it's perhaps not as fondly remembered as the rest of the games in the series.
First off, there are lots of things that WB Montreal absolutely nailed in Origins and the freeflow combat is one of them. I get why many players detest the inclusion of the Shock Gloves but I for one, consider it one of the most exciting and satisfying additions in the game, honestly beating up the Armored thugs and other Boss-level foes to a pulp with this overpowered gauntlet never gets old. No matter what the game throws at you, the Shock Gloves serve as the ultimate equalizer. Also it kind of makes sense for a younger version of Batman to utilize these sort of ridiculous non-lethal melee weaponry, and yes, they're certainly one of the coolest pieces of gadgets among all Arkham games.
And I did quite like the little tweaks the devs brought to the Freeflow combat--with tighter timings on the counters and the higher frequency of enemy attacks, which made the ensuing gameplay experience a tad more tense, making it all the more satisfying when you finally get to unleash the Shock Gloves on your foes as the ultimate vigilante justice mayhem.
The combat in Arkham City was a bit on the easier side and you could easily play the game without getting hit where in Origins the slightly harder combat actually made the Freeflow system shine a tad more and makes each fight a lot more immersive and engaging. In many ways I found the combat in Origins to be actually a step up from Arkham City.
The Predator sections also live up to the pedigree of the series by incorporating all of the checkboxes that make for the definitive Batman experience, with some unfortunate rough edges like some enemies disappearing into the levels and some of the context sensitive actions not being as responsive as it should in some instances. While these are minor inconsistencies that does somehow break the immersion, they're quite rare and I'd attribute most of these to the lack of polish that this game could've avoided.
And not to mention that Origins had brought the most overpowered and another one of the coolest piece of gadgets (besides the Shock Gloves) in all four Arkham games in the form of the Remote Claw which makes the Stealth sections a whole lot more easier and fun. While it does reduce the challenge in the Predator sections considerably, it doesn't really feel unfair and actually manages to fit into the gameplay in more ways than one.
Another little part that I absolutely loved is how any Riddler stuff you do in the normal campaign carries over to the New Game Plus which really saves a lot of time and does make the whole experience a lot smoother.
And despite being accused of following the template of it's predecessor way too much and not really bringing anything new to the table, Arkham Origins does introduce a much-revamped version of the Crime Scene Investigation that's completely new to the series and makes the player truly feel like they're in the shoes of the World's greatest detective. The few missions that implement this feature come off as some of the most memorable moments in the game.
Of course no discussion on Arkham Origins would ever be complete without mentioning it's Boss Battles which are objectively the best fights in the entire series--from Deathstroke to Bane, these fights are testaments that the Freeflow combat system can just be as effective in creating memorable 1v1 battles as much as the usual batch of crowd based fights it's used in. More than being unique and fun, these fights are also highly replayable, which really elevates the game and makes it quite possibly the most enjoyable campaign in the series.
And speaking of campaigns, I actually find Origins' to be a tad better than Arkham Knights', mainly cause of how the latter forces you to wade through some of the filler stuff in it, like in areas such as the Stagg Airships. Compared to Knight, the gameplay in Origins felt a bit leaner, at least in some ways.
However, there's one area where Origins falls significantly shorter than any other games in the series, and that's in making the player feel like Batman himself. In all of the other titles, the devs made sure that no matter what situation you run into, Batman consistently has a tactical advantage over his foes and the layouts and designs of the levels made sure that no matter how outnumbered the player is, he still gets to have the upper hand. And that is what's woefully missing in Origins, at least in several areas where the game throws the player in completely unfair situations with an extremely small window of time to respond or in areas where it feels that the game is simply being a bit unforgiving.
Another aspect of the Rocksteady developed Arkham games that's completely absent from Origins is that all of their gameplay were centered around the feeling of empowerment and fun. And nowhere is this as prevalent as just gliding around Gotham in Origins where you can frequently run into Snipers (who annoyingly respawn even after being taken out) and other gun wielding enemies constantly patrolling the rooftops. These annoyances feel like the game increasing it's difficulty in a wholly artificial way and severely prevents the game from feeling as natural and having the sense of freedom that was there in the other games.
But even with all of that, I found myself enjoying Arkham Origins far more than I actually thought I would. So if you haven't played Origins for some reason, you really should rectify that as it's actually more than worthwhile to glide into the winters of Gotham as the Caped Crusader.
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