When Talia is first introduced in the game, she mentions a night that she and Bruce spent in Metropolis, but that's about it. There are moments when Batman speaks to Talia, but their relationship takes a back seat to the Demon trials and the various villains wreaking havoc in Rocksteady's new Arkham. It may be that the game was trying to show that even Batman has limits, but this goes against what fans have come to expect from him, and the decision seems almost empty without any real focus on Bruce's relationship with Talia.Īside from Talia constantly calling Batman, " My love", there isn't a lot of indication that the two are together. This makes the moment Batman tries to justify saving Talia and letting everyone in the city jarring, as it's never made clear that Bruce still harbors feelings for her. Talia emerges during the game's second act as the Dark Knight searches for a cure to save him from Joker's blood, but it doesn't pause to explore their feelings. Batman And Talia's Underwhelming Arkham City RelationshipĪlthough some Batman fans may be familiar with Talia and Bruce's relationship from the comics, Arkham City spent very little time developing it.
Earlier in the game, he states he's only ready to take his place at Talia's side because he has no other choice, and just hours later he's ready to sacrifice hundreds to save her life. Bruce Wayne valuing Talia's life above the hundreds of potential Protocol 10 victims effectively betrays his character, and it's made worse by the fact Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham games spent little time exploring their relationship.
His selflessness is completely undermined, however, when he tells Alfred and Oracle that he wants to save Talia and won't be stopping Protocol 10 until he rescues her from Arkham's Joker. Throughout Arkham City, Batman's number one priority is stopping Protocol 10, and finding a cure for himself is a secondary task. Related: Gotham Knights Could Fulfill The Potential Of Arkham Knight's Best Moment Although the order seemingly comes from Hugo Strange, the real mastermind behind Protocol 10 is Ra's al Ghul, Talia's father. Players spend the majority of Arkham City's story working to uncover the true meaning of Protocol 10, a scheme concocted by the titular super-prison's warden, Hugo Strange. The event is meant to wipe out the criminals and villains of Batman: Arkham's Gotham by rounding them all up inside the walls of Arkham City and annihilating them. Including this decision in Arkham City betrays Batman's character, as it goes against his most important rule. The only thing that keeps Batman on course to save Gotham is Alfred disabling his tracker. While it's somewhat surprising that the game is now 10 years old, it will surely continue to have a lasting legacy in the years to come.In Batman: Arkham City, Batman makes the rash and uncharacteristic decision to let Protocol 10 continue while he seeks out and saves Talia al Ghul from the Joker. In many ways, it continues to be the benchmark to which all other games associated with superheroes are compared to.
Even when looking beyond critics, numerous fans around the globe still consider Batman: Arkham City to be a masterpiece, with many (myself included), considering it to be the best title that Rocksteady has ever made. To this day, Arkham City boasts an incredible 96/100 score on Metacritic, putting it on a fairly short list of games to ever receive this level of critical acclaim. In short, Batman: Arkham City has long been recognized by many as one of the greatest games of all-time since it first launched. g8V1UJgy54- Rocksteady Studios October 18, 2021 Thanks to all of our fans for being there for Gotham. It really doesn’t feel like that long ago. Who would have thought that today marks a whole decade since the release of Batman: Arkham City. "Thanks to all of our fans for being there for Gotham."
It really doesn't feel like that long ago," Rocksteady said on social media. "Who would have thought that today marks a whole decade since the release of Batman: Arkham City.
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In short, the studio said that they couldn't believe that it had really been a full decade since the project first launched. Taking to Twitter, those at Rocksteady shared a message with fans reflecting on the release of Batman: Arkham City to celebrate its 10th anniversary.