Taking place over one extremely long Christmas Eve, Batman: Arkham Origins is one of the few AAA Christmas video games available. While there may be plenty of video games with Christmas-themed levels, very few games are actually centered completely around the holiday itself. With the backdrop of a snow-filled Gotham City and multiple villains vying for a chance at assassinating Batman, Batman: Arkham Origins is a fantastic title to revisit during the holiday season.
Developed by WB Games Montreal, Batman: Arkham Origins acted as a prequel to Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum while using the same city template featured in Batman: Arkham City, albeit with a snowy makeover. This is similar to the way Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is set in the same version of New York (but also with a new Christmas theme) as Marvel's Spider-Man, except with that title another studio wasn't at the helm.
Batman: Arkham Origins is often considered the lesser game in the Batman: Arkham series, but there is still a lot to love in WB Games' version of Gotham. Origins features a ton of villains from Batman's rogue's gallery, including enemies who don't usually get much screen time like Electrocutioner and Copperhead. Troy Baker's performance as The Joker is especially well done, and new features, such as the ability to fast travel across Gotham City, were appreciated by fans.
Batman: Arkham Origins Depicts A Dangerous Christmas Eve
With multiple assassins gunning for a multi-million dollar bounty on his head, Batman doesn't have a lot of time to take in the Christmas spirit. Much like Die Hard, even though the game takes place during Christmas it doesn't actually have a whole lot to do with the holiday itself. Even so, there aren't many games where players can act like superheroes in the snow (again, aside from Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales) so that's at least something. Players can even take the time to go and visit the location where Batman's parents were murdered, as shown in the video below:
Most recently, while the main Batman: Arkham series' creators have been setting their sights on Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, developer WB Games Montreal has been hard at work at Gotham Knights, their newest DC hero video game title. There hasn't been much said about the current state of Gotham Knights since its reveal earlier this year, but fans do know they will be able to pick from Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood in an adventure which takes place in a post-Batman Gotham City. With a planned 2021 release date for both last-gen and current PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, Gotham Knights looks like players' best bet for continuing adventures in Batman's hometown, especially since Rocksteady has up and moved to Metropolis for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. Until then, and especially during the Christmas season, it's a great time to revisit Batman: Arkham Origins.