Every Batman game, ranked
All 6 Batman games we hold, spanning 1989 to 2015: 4 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 389,921 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition (GamingPickz Score 8.6), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Batman: The Video Game (1989) and follow the release-order timeline below.
The Batman games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 4 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
4 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 4 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
4 best Batman games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
8.6GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceBatman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition at a glance Released 2010 Studio Rocksteady Studios Player sentiment 96% positive of 87,230 Critics 91/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 95.9 on 87,230 reviews, then blends with the 91 critic aggregate, giving 8.6.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 2
Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
8.6GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceBatman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition at a glance Released 2012 Studio Rocksteady Studios Player sentiment 96% positive of 77,991 Critics 91/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 95.9 on 77,991 reviews, then blends with the 91 critic aggregate, giving 8.6.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- 3
Batman: Arkham Knight
Best for: Sinking a long time into one world
7.8GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceBatman: Arkham Knight at a glance Released 2015 Studio Rocksteady Studios Player sentiment 90% positive of 159,395 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 45 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 90% shrinks to 90.0 on 159,395 reviews, giving 7.8. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- 90% positive across 159,395 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 4
Batman: Arkham Origins
Best for: Sinking a long time into one world
7.7GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceBatman: Arkham Origins at a glance Released 2013 Studio Warner Bros. Games Player sentiment 90% positive of 65,305 Critics 74/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 90% shrinks to 90.0 on 65,305 reviews, then blends with the 74 critic aggregate, giving 7.7.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 90 against 74. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
Only the 4 Batman games with Steam review data can be scored and ranked. The complete series, scored or not, is charted in order below.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Batman game we can score is Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition at 8.6. The lowest is Batman: Arkham Origins at 7.7, a 0.9-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2010 to 2015. The later entries score lower than the earlier ones: the series has been trending down.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition at $19.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Batman entries on Steam:
- Verified: Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition, Batman: Arkham Knight
- Unsupported: Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition, Batman: Arkham Origins
Platforms across the series
Where the 6 Batman games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 4 of 6 |
| PlayStation | 2 of 6 |
| Xbox | 2 of 6 |
| Nintendo | 1 of 6 |
The Batman series, game by game
Every Batman game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 1989
Batman: The Video Game
not scoredBatman: The Video Game is a platformer developed by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System featuring the DC Comics character Batman, tying into the 1989 film of the same name. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Batman: The Video Game garnered generally favorable reception from critics. Electronic Gaming Monthly s four reviewers praised the intermission cutscenes, challenging bosses, and different weapons. While the graphics received praise for matching the film's mood, they felt it detracted from the overall appeal and added that its gameplay could get repetitive. (Wikipedia)
- 1991
Batman: Return of the Joker
not scoredBatman: Return of the Joker is a 1991 run and gun video game, the follow-up to Sunsoft's first Batman game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Unlike that game, which was based on the 1989 Batman film directed by Tim Burton, Return of the Joker is entirely self-contained and based more on the modern comic book… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Dave Cook of Nintendo Life wrote that while Batman: Return of the Joker was "fun and challenging it doesn't feel as revolutionary as its predecessor despite being a commendable effort". Syfy Wire , in 2017, ranked the NES version of Batman: Return of the Joker the fourth most essential DC Comics video game adaptation to play. Den of Geek ranked the Game Boy version the 22nd most underrated Game Boy game, praising its return of wall-jumping and… (Wikipedia)
- 2010
Experience what it’s like to be Batman and face off against Gotham's greatest villians. Explore every inch of Arkham Asylum and roam freely on the infamous island. (Steam)
- 2012
Get Batman: Arkham City and all DLC for one low price with the release of the GOTY Edition! (Steam)
- 2013
As of December 4, 2016, the online services portion of Batman: Arkham Origins has been retired. We thank those that have joined us to battle. The Single player campaign may still be played and enjoyed offline. For any questions relating to Batman: Arkham Origins, please contact WB Games customer service. (Steam)
Plot
Characters Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker voice the younger versions of Batman and Joker in this game, replacing Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill from the previous Arkham games. Arkham Origins features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. The main character is Batman ( Roger Craig Smith ), a superhero trained to the peak of human physical perfection and an expert in martial arts who is aided by his butler, Alfred… (Wikipedia)
Characters
Roger Craig Smith and Troy Baker voice the younger versions of Batman and Joker in this game, replacing Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill from the previous Arkham games. Arkham Origins features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. The main character is Batman ( Roger Craig Smith ), a superhero trained to the peak of human physical perfection and an expert in martial arts who is aided by his butler, Alfred Pennyworth ( Martin… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Pre-release Batman: Arkham Origins was displayed at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) , and received two Game Critics Awards nominations: Best Action/Adventure Game and Best Console Game. It was also recognized at the expo for "Best Videogame" by Forbes ; "Best Action Game" by Game Informer ; "Best Comic Book-Related Game" by Newsarama and "Best Xbox 360 Game" by IGN . Critical reception Reception Batman: Arkham Origins received "mixed or… (Wikipedia)
- 2015
Batman™: Arkham Knight brings the award-winning Arkham trilogy from Rocksteady Studios to its epic conclusion. Developed exclusively for New-Gen platforms, Batman: Arkham Knight introduces Rocksteady's uniquely designed version of the Batmobile. (Steam)
Plot
Characters Kevin Conroy (left) voiced Batman in all of Rocksteady's Arkham games. John Noble voiced Scarecrow, the primary antagonist of the game. Arkham Knight features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. (Wikipedia)
Characters
Kevin Conroy (left) voiced Batman in all of Rocksteady's Arkham games. John Noble voiced Scarecrow, the primary antagonist of the game. Arkham Knight features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Batman: Arkham Knight received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator platform Metacritic . It has been cited as one of the greatest games of the 2010s and of all time. Dan Stapleton of IGN rated the game a score of 9. (Wikipedia)
Batman, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Batman vs other series
How Batman stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Batman vs Lego Batman, Batman vs Prince of Persia, Batman vs Watch, Batman vs Darksiders, Batman vs God of War, Batman vs Lego Harry Potter, Batman vs Marvel’s Spider-Man, Batman vs NARUTO SHIPPUDEN, Batman vs One Piece, Batman vs Red Dead Redemption, Batman vs Sea of Thieves, Batman vs Street Fighter
Common questions
How many Batman games are there?
We hold 6 Batman games in the catalogue, released between 1989 and 2015. 4 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Batman game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Batman: Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition rates highest at 8.6. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Batman games in?
Release order is listed below, from 1989 to 2015. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.