Batman: The 10 Best Video Games, According To IMDb

Robert Pattinson’s The Batman proves how enduring the Caped Crusader has been on film, with a history stretching back all the way film serials of the 1940s. Ever since his debut in Detective Comics #27, Batman has been a mainstay in pop culture.

This popularity has also translated into numerous video games as well, whether adaptations of the films or games with stories completely their own. The best of these games have managed to make an impact on players in their own right, in some cases even becoming reference points for future superhero games.

10 Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) – 8.1

What if Superman were to turn evil? That’s the question at the heart of the Injustice video games, which debuted in 2013 with Injustice: Gods Among Us. Featuring an alternate universe where Superman kills the Joker in revenge for Lois Lane’s death at his hands, then takes over the world to end crime, with Batman in opposition.

Taking inspiration in part from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, this Mortal Kombat-style video game is based around fights between beloved DC characters. The franchise has continued to be popular, spawning a film adaptation, prequel comics, a sequel, and fan anticipation for Injustice 3.

9 Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (2012) – 8.1

Ever since Lego Star Wars: The Video Game released in 2005, adapting the prequel trilogy, Lego-inspired video game adaptations of films have exploded in popularity, and it’s no surprise that Batman was one of the first to be adapted in 2008’s Lego Batman.

Like the original Star Wars films, however, it’s the second that’s garnered the most acclaim, with Lego Batman 2 being IMDb’s users favorite in the franchise. Building on what the first game did well, it introduced Superman and Lex Luthor, allowing this franchise to expand to include the Justice League, and leave a lasting appeal to gamers.

8 Batman Begins (2005) – 8.2

Video game adaptations of movies are a hit-or-miss endeavor, and in the 2010s video game studios moved away from this practice and toward developing their in-house properties. However, with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins correctly expected to do well, it’s no surprise a video game adaptation was made of it.

Although by current Batman game standards it feels outdated, the Batman Begins game featured combat mechanics that would become core to the Arkham games while also featuring the voice talent of nearly all the actual actors from the movie. As the last Batman movie spin-off, it ends on a high note.

7 Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) – 8.3

The first Arkham game not to be developed by Rocksteady Entertainment, Batman: Arkham Origins is a prequel to the main series, and although it was overall positively received, was a massive disappointment for fans of the series. One of its biggest issues is being a prequel: it has to retrofit its story into something fans have already, meaning it can’t do anything to conflict with its predecessors.

On the upside, Arkham Origins has some great villains, topped off by Troy Baker’s portrayal of the Joker. It’s no small feat taking over from Mark Hamill, yet Baker succeeds in his take on the younger version of the character.

6 Batman: The Enemy Within (2017) – 8.4

The penultimate video game released by Telltale Games before the original studio’s closure in 2018, Batman: The Enemy Within was a major improvement on its predecessor, 2016’s Batman: The Telltale Series, and left the franchise, and its fans, with a seemingly promising future.

Surprisingly, the 2016 Telltale game was released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles despite it being close to the end of the era, which limited what that game could do. Without those restrictions in 2018, The Enemy Within was able to improve on its capabilities while also learning from the original’s mistakes.

5 Injustice 2 (2017) – 8.6

Beating out the first game by a wide margin, Injustice 2 released in 2017 and was the better received of the two Injustice video games by far. Featuring a story where Superman villain Brainiac threatens the Earth, Batman must put aside his differences and form an alliance with the imprisoned, villainous Superman to attack the threat together.

It improved by miles in terms of its graphical capabilities, and in one of its most intriguing deviations, allowed players to choose between who should win the final fight: Batman or Superman? What could have just been a simple follow-up turned into an innovative game… even if the microtransactions were rightfully criticized.

4 The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1995) – 8.8

While some movies have great tie-in games, that doesn’t stop TV shows from providing excellent source material to be adapted, as well, and 1995’s The Adventures of Batman & Robin is a perfect example of that.

Although it was released the same year as Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (5.4 on IMDb), Adventures is actually an adaptation of Batman: The Animated Series (9.0 on IMDb), which in its final season was known as “The Adventures of Batman & Robin,” hence the video game’s title. IMDb users have fond memories of this SNES / Sega Genesis game.

3 Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) – 9.0

When the sequel to 2011’s Arkham City released in 2015, it had a lot of expectations to fulfill, and while a 9.0 IMDb score is nothing to scoff at, Batman: Arkham Knight the lowest rated of Rocksteady’s Arkham games. Criticism toward it came from the over-reliance on the Batmobile for quests, and the game’s story.

Again, however, Arkham Knight was an overall success critically, and it provides one of the best Batman: Arkham quotes when Batman conquers his fears and thereby in turn instills fear into Scarecrow. “What’s Wrong? Scared?” is absolutely iconic.

2 Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) – 9.2

There would be no Arkham series had The Dark Knight‘s tie-in game been released and succeeded. The game was being made by the now-poorly-named Pandemic Studios, which actually shut down in part as a result of the failure to make the game, which was cancelled after a troubled development.

This resulted in Rocksteady getting access to the Batman property and making the critically acclaimed and highly influential Batman: Arkham Asylum. Somewhat based on Grant Morrison’s Arkham Asylum graphic novel, this action-adventure game brought Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker, respectively, and remains the second-highest rated Batman game of all time.

1 Batman: Arkham City (2011) – 9.4

Sometimes, like with Lego Batman 2, a sequel comes along that outdoes the original, and Batman: Arkham City beat out all of its competition, including its predecessor game, to become IMDb’s favorite Batman video game of all time, ranking in at #29 of more than 30,000 titles.

Arkham City finally delivered on the open-world city that the developers of the cancelled Dark Knight game imagined half a decade before. Featuring perhaps one of the best villain deaths in any Batman game with the Joker, Arkham City set a high bar for the entire industry, and superhero games in particular.

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