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Batman had an incredible and near-unmatched run in video games lasting well over a decade, where the presence of his name on the cover art meant the title inside was a must-play experience. Like any licensed IP character, he has of course starred in titles of wildly varying quality throughout the whole existence of the industry, but from 2008–2015 he rose out of the middling muck and starred in some of the greatest games ever made. Whether you wanted an adult-oriented action title from the Arkham series, or a more kid-friendly Lego Batman experience, the iconic comic character’s games were always the stuff of legend.
Then one day they just stopped coming out — not due to lack of consumer interest, but rather because Warner Brothers ceased making them.
Instead of continuing Batman’s two solid game franchises, Warner sought to try and expand out the IP with ill-conceived and misguided projects that only barely featured the caped crusader. As if “Batman” was a concept that needed to chase bigger audiences in the same way as a smaller fledgling IP. Rather than put the brooding man front-and-center in his own comic book universe, the company instead pursued several “Batman without Batman” games, giving attention to characters and stories that…
