Batman has always thrived in the shadows, but in Batman: Arkham Origins, he finds it hard to escape the shadow of his own previous games. While it’s as good as Batman: Arkham City in many aspects, it doesn’t surpass it. The game inherits a fantastic combat system but lacks the fresh ideas and polish that made Arkham City and Arkham Asylum exceptional action games.

The title Arkham Origins is misleading. The story isn’t primarily about Arkham, nor is it truly an origin tale, even though it is a prequel. However, it does present a well-written Batman narrative that explores familiar themes, such as his self-destructive tendency to work alone and his struggle to avoid taking lives. It cleverly provides a plausible reason for why Batman faces multiple villains in one night, yet it feels like a prequel that desperately tries to rectify a past decision to kill off a beloved character.

The voice actors stepping in for the iconic roles of Batman and Joker, Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, perform admirably. Troy Baker’s portrayal of the Joker is particularly convincing; I might not have noticed the difference if I hadn’t been listening for it. However, Gotham City feels empty and lifeless. It’s supposed to be a bustling metropolis that Batman is dedicated to protecting, but its inhabitants are noticeably absent.

Additionally, the game lacks the numerous Easter eggs and references found in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, diminishing some of the charm that made exploration enjoyable. I also encountered significant frame rate slowdowns at times while gliding around the city on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

This younger Batman already possesses all his signature moves, which undermines the idea that these events take place earlier in his career. Nevertheless, Origins maintains the solid foundation of the Arkham series’ engaging combat and stealth mechanics, almost matching the quality found in Arkham City.

I say “almost” because the few adjustments made in Origins aren’t particularly impressive. The introduction of the new shock gauntlets allows players to disregard the immunities of different enemy types, reducing the complexity of combat. Similarly, the remote grapple enables a few easy stealth takedowns, making encounters simpler rather than more engaging.

The open-world map has expanded from Arkham City, connecting reused areas to a new island via a long bridge that players will have to cross repeatedly to tackle similar side missions. While fast travel via the Batplane is available after unlocking certain points, the need to skip parts of the map signals a design flaw.

On a positive note, Origins does improve upon its predecessors in terms of boss fights. Most encounters are engaging variations of typical brawls or stealth challenges. The duel with Deathstroke, for example, feels close to a Quick Time Event yet offers enough player control to feel satisfying, with impressive animations that capture the essence of a true Batman showdown.

Visually, one of the highlights of Arkham Origins is its new crime scene investigations, which elevate the “zoom and enhance” trope to new levels. Navigating through reconstructed crime scenes in augmented reality is intriguing but ultimately feels linear, as players have no choices to make.

Arkham Origins is the first Batman game to feature a multiplayer mode, but it feels like an initial draft. Most of the time, players engage in a mediocre third-person shooter experience where teams compete for territory control. The bright spot is that Batman and Robin can take down opponents using predator mode tactics and a clumsy version of the single-player combat. While it’s a clever idea to juggle multiple objectives, the unremarkable shooting mechanics make the multiplayer mode a novelty that’s unlikely to hold players’ interest for long.

Batman games are like pizza: even when they’re not great, they’re still enjoyable. Compared to Arkham City, Origins is a bit of a letdown due to its lack of new ideas, making it the least interesting installment in the trilogy. However, as a reason to dive back into the fantastic combat and predator takedowns, this story is still worth experiencing.