Heavily rumored for several months now, but finally there is confirmation that the remaster collection for last generation’s Rocksteady-developed Batman Arkham titles does indeed exist. Coming to PS4 and Xbox One, the collection includes Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City and will be released on July 26, 2016.
The games will be remastered using Unreal Engine 4, which will help make a huge and noticeable difference in graphical quality between the original titles and their remastered counterparts. Because of its use of Unreal Engine 4, the game will feature updated models, enviroments, shading, lighting, and special effects. The collection will be remastered by Virtuos – a company that has lately been tasked with doing many HD versions of titles such as Final Fantasy X/X-2 and Heavy Rain.
Included with each game is all of its DLC, as well. The only omission to the collection is Batman: Arkham Origins, which received a lukewarm reception when it was released. Personally, I found it to have one of the better stories outside of last year’s Arkham Knight, with a much more personal touch to it. It also begins the Joker and Batman relationship, which has been the main arc of the Arkham games.
Based on the screenshots released for Batman: Return to Arkham, I think I will definitely be picking this up when it comes out in July. It looks a lot better, plus there is some DLC that I just never got to play. Plus, the Arkham games have always ranked really high on my year-end lists and it is probably one of my favourite series from the past decade.
Batman: Return to Arkham releases on PS4 and Xbox One on July 26, 2016.
Source: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Press Release