Batman: Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City is the second video game released in the Batman: Arkham series, being a sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum. Bruce Wayne is arrested and thrown in Arkham City, a superprison that encloses Old Gotham. Inside, Batman seeks to uncover the truth behind Hugo Strange's Protocol 10.

Plot

Outside the walls of Arkham City, Bruce Wayne holds a press conference in opposition to Arkham City. TYGER forces arrive and violently arrest Bruce Wayne, sending him into Arkham City. When Bruce wakes up, Hugo Strange reveals he knows that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same. If Batman attempts to stop Protocol 10, he will reveal Batman's identity to the world. Bruce is released into Arkham City, but is knocked out by Penguin's gang. Bruce wakes back up and breaks Penguin's hand. Climbing to the rooftops, Bruce contacts Alfred for an equipment airdrop. On the roof of Ace Chemicals, Bruce Wayne suits up as the Batman.

Batman heads to the Solomon Wayne Courthouse to save Catwoman from being executed by Two-Face in a sham trial. After saving Catwoman, Batman asks if she knows what Protocol 10 is. Selina doesn't know anything, but mentions a rumor that Hugo Strange is working with the Joker. Joker attempts to assassinate Catwoman and Batman tracks the trajectory of the bullet back to the Church. Inside, Batman rescues the Arkham City medical team from Harley Quinn and Joker's gang. In the bell tower, Batman finds a sniper rifle remotely controlled by the Joker. Batman escapes the bell tower before it explodes and traces the signal back to the Sionis Steel Mill.

Entering through the main chimney, Batman rescues Doctor Stacy Baker from Joker's men. Baker mentions that Joker is dying, and that Joker blames TITAN. Heading back to the Manager's office, he defeats Mr. Hammer. Inside the office, Batman finds the Harley Quinn crying at Joker's feet. The Joker is dead. As Batman examines the scene, he's jumped from behind and gassed by the Joker. Batman falls to his knees and is knocked out by Harley Quinn.

Joker performs a blood transfusion of his blood into Batman, infecting Batman with the same TITAN Poisoning he has. To guarantee Batman's cooperation in the search for the cure, Joker sends his infected blood to hospitals all over Gotham. Batman is kicked out a window by Joker and sent to find Mr. Freeze. Batman tracks Mr. Freeze to the Old GCPD Building, but finds that Mr. Freeze has been taken by Penguin's gang to the Museum. Batman infiltrates the Museum, rescuing the undercover GCPD Officers in Penguin's gang and Mr. Freeze himself. Confronting Penguin in the Museum, Batman defeats Solomon Grundy and takes down the Penguin.

Mr. Freeze has found the cure, but there's a catch. Without a reforming enzyme, the cure will degrade before it can save the host. As Batman mentions Rā's al Ghūl, an ninja from Talia al Ghūl's Elite Guard escapes from the museum. Batman tracks her and is able to plant a tracker on her, but is at the mercy of the ninja when Robin arrives. Dispatching two of the three ninja, Robin then stands down at Batman's request. As the three ninja leave, Batman gives Robin a sample of his blood to use to find the people infected with Joker's blood.

Following the ninja, Batman arrives in the Wonder Tower Foundations. After rescuing Fiona Wilson from the Joker's gang, Batman discovers that Hugo Strange has been providing the Joker with weapons. Advancing into Wonder City, Batman collapses from the TITAN poisoning but manages to get back up. The clock ticking closer to his doom, Batman agrees to take the Demon Trials to become Rās al Ghūl's successor. Batman's final test is to kill Rā's and become the new leader of the League of Assassins. Batman refuses to kill him and defeats Rā's, taking a sample of his blood.

As Batman returns to the surface, an announcement rings out across Arkham City. Mayor Quincy Sharp has been thrown into Arkham City by Hugo Strange. Batman saves Sharp from inmates and interrogates him. Sharp claims that Hugo Strange had powerful friends, and that he was promised the Mayor's office as long as he set up Arkham City and put Strange in charge. Batman returns with the blood to Mr. Freeze, who finishes the cure. Creating two vials, he puts one in a safe and destroys the other. Batman defeats Mr. Freeze, but the safe's back was breached by Harley Quinn. Batman leaves the GCPD building and rescues Vicki Vale, whose helicopter had been shot down by the Joker.

Batman infiltrates the Steel Mill again, finding Harley Quinn tied up. Pressing on, Batman finds the Joker, cured of his TITAN poisoning. Just as Batman defeats Joker, Protocol 10 begins. The roof of the Steel Mill collapses, trapping Batman under rubble. Joker prepares to kill Batman, but Talia al Ghūl appears to save Batman. If Joker spares Batman, she will give him the Lazarus Pit. Joker accepts her offer and leaves with her.

With Catwoman's help, Batman is freed from the rubble. Protocol 10 has begun. Missile strikes rain down on Arkham City and helicopters gun down the inmates. Batman is convinced by Alfred to stop Protocol 10 before he saves Talia. Batman fights his way up through Wonder Tower, defeating scores of TYGER forces before defeating Strange and shutting down Protocol 10. As Hugo Strange boasts about soon commanding "forces beyond Batman's comprehension", he's stabbed through the back by his master, Rā's al Ghūl. As he lays dying, Strange activates Protocol 11, destroying Wonder Tower. Batman escapes out the windows with Rā's, but he commits suicide to avoid capture by Batman.

Batman, having survived the fall from the top of Wonder Tower, sees Joker's broadcast and he threatens to kill Talia if Batman doesn't come to the Monarch Theatre. After taking out the snipers and entering the Theatre, Batman sees Joker aim a gun at Talia's head and he asks him for the cure for the cure, before being stabbed by Talia in the chest. Batman remembers the previous events, and pieces it together before Talia gets shot by the real, sick Joker and dies in Batman's arms. The other Joker is revealed to be Clayface, and him and Batman fight until he retrieves the cure and takes it. Joker sees this, and Batman throws Rā's sword at him, causing an explosion that knocks Batman out. After waking up, he talks to Joker about how "every decision he's ever made ends with death and misery. People die. He stops him. He'll just break out and do it again", before he jumps at Batman, stabbing him on the shoulder and making him drop and shatter the cure. Batman says that "even after everything he has done, he would've saved him", and Joker laughs at this as he runs out of breath and dies. Harley and Joker's crew is waiting for him outside the theatre, expecting to find a now immortal Joker, but what they see instead is Batman carrying his lifeless body, leaving him on the hood of a police car and leave Arkham City.

Gameplay

Characters

Missions

Side Missions

Enigma Conundrum - The Riddler

When Batman returns to the Church, the Arkham City medical team is nowhere to be found. The Riddler broadcasts to Batman that he taken the medical team hostage and that they will die unless Batman can solve his challenges.

Watcher in the Wings - Azrael

A mysterious figure is stalking Batman. Find out who he is.

Fragile Alliance - Bane

TITAN is on the streets of Arkham City. Work with Bane to destroy the TITAN containers around Arkham City.

Shot in the Dark - Deadshot

Deadshot is assassinating political prisoners in Arkham City. Find out why and take him down.

Identity Theft - The Identity Thief

The Identity Thief has been murdering people in Arkham City and removing their faces. But why does the suspect look like Bruce Wayne? Find his victims bodies and discover his identity and motivations.

Heart of Ice - Nora Fries

Rescue Nora Fries from Joker's Men in the Industrial District and notify Mr. Freeze of Nora's location.

Catwoman's Loot - Catwoman Bundle Pack

Following the end of Catwoman Episode Four and character-switching unlocked, Catwoman goes after Two-Face's men who stole her loot.

Downloadable content

Batman: Arkham City received several downloadable content (DLC) packs following its release, adding additional playable characters, challenge maps, alternate character skins, and a story expansion. The major releases consisted of the Catwoman Bundle Pack, Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, Arkham City Skins Pack, Challenge Map Pack, and Harley Quinn's Revenge. The downloadable content was later collected with the base game in Batman: Arkham City – Game of the Year Edition.

Catwoman Bundle Pack

The Catwoman Bundle Pack adds four story episodes starring Catwoman, whose storyline intersects with Batman's campaign. Catwoman has her own combat moves, gadgets, traversal mechanics, Riddler trophies, and challenge maps, and the pack also includes the Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Long Halloween character skins.

The content was originally distributed through a single-use "VIP Pass" included with new Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 copies of the game. Players without a code could purchase the pack separately for $9.99 or 800 Microsoft Points. Catwoman still appeared as a character without the pack, but her four playable episodes were skipped and were not required to complete Batman's story. The pack was available alongside the North American console release on October 18, 2011.

Nightwing Bundle Pack

The Nightwing Bundle Pack adds Nightwing as a playable character in Riddler's Revenge. Nightwing has a unique set of combat moves and gadgets and can be used across the game's challenge maps. The pack additionally includes the Wayne Manor and Main Hall challenge maps and an alternate Nightwing skin based on his appearance in Batman: The Animated Series.

The Nightwing Bundle Pack was released in North America on November 1, 2011.

Robin Bundle Pack

The Robin Bundle Pack adds Robin as a playable character in Riddler's Revenge. Like Nightwing, Robin features his own combat style, gadgets and special moves and can be played across the game's challenge maps. The pack includes two additional challenge maps, Black Mask Hideout and Freight Train Escape, as well as the Red Robin and Batman: The Animated Series Robin skins.

Freight Train Escape differs from most of the game's combat challenges by restricting movement to a side-on plane aboard a moving train.

The pack incorporated content that had previously been distributed as a pre-order bonus and was released separately in North America on November 22, 2011.

Arkham City Skins Pack

The Arkham City Skins Pack collects seven alternate costumes for Batman that had previously been distributed through various pre-order and promotional offers. The included skins are:

• 1970s Batman
• Year One Batman
• The Dark Knight Returns Batman
• Earth One Batman
• Batman Beyond
• Animated Batman
• Sinestro Corps Batman

The costumes can be used in challenge maps and, following completion of the main story, during the campaign.

A separate costume based on Batman's appearance in Batman Incorporated was subsequently released for free in December 2011 as a thank-you to players.

Challenge Map Pack

The Challenge Map Pack was released in December 2011 and contains three additional Riddler's Revenge maps: The Joker's Carnival, Iceberg Lounge and The Batcave. Joker's Carnival and Iceberg Lounge had previously been distributed as promotional content, while The Batcave was introduced with the pack.

At the same time, Warner Bros. released The Arkham Bundle, which combined the Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, and Arkham City Skins Pack into a single package.

Harley Quinn's Revenge

Harley Quinn's Revenge is a story expansion set after the conclusion of Arkham City. The expansion follows Robin as he searches for Batman after the latter disappears while investigating Harley Quinn, who has taken control of the Sionis Steel Mill with a gang of her own. Both Batman and Robin are playable during the campaign, with each using their respective combat and detective abilities.

Harley Quinn's Revenge was released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 29, 2012, alongside the North American release of the Game of the Year Edition. It was the game's final major downloadable expansion and served as an epilogue to the events of the main story.

Development

Voice cast

Batman: Arkham City features an English voice cast of 36 credited performers. The game's end credits list the complete voice-over cast, with Collette Sunderman serving as voice-over director and dialogue recorded at Warner Bros. Studios. Character assignments are taken from the game's published full cast listing.

Voice actor	Role(s)
Carlos Alazraqui	G.C.P.D. Officer Sanchez; Political Prisoner
Dee Bradley Baker	Ra's al Ghul; Wonder City Announcer
Troy Baker	Robin; Harvey Dent / Two-Face; G.C.P.D. Officer Whitman
Eric Bauza	Dr. Adam Hamasaki
Steven Jay Blum	Waylon Jones / Killer Croc; G.C.P.D. officers; inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs; Harley thugs
Kimberly D. Brooks	Barbara Gordon / Oracle; M.P.T. Officer Anne Bishop
Corey Burton	Hugo Strange
Kevin Conroy	Bruce Wayne / Batman; Thomas Elliot / Hush
Chris Cox	Floyd Lawton / Deadshot; M.P.T. Officer Eddie Burlow
Grey DeLisle	Selina Kyle / Catwoman; Vicki Vale; Martha Wayne; Dr. Stacy Baker
Misty L. Dini	Nurse Fiona Wilson; Museum Announcer; Dispatch Officer
Crispin Freeman	G.C.P.D. officers; Harley thugs
Chris Gardner	Inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs
Michael Gough	Doctor; TYGER guards; Gotham police officer
Mark Hamill	The Joker
Joe Holt	G.C.P.D. Officer Elvis Jones; G.C.P.D. Officer Best
James Horan	Jack Ryder; inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs; Harley thugs
Daniel Jacobs	Victor Zsasz
Martin Jarvis	Alfred Pennyworth
Tom Kane	Mayor Quincy Sharp; Doctor
Stana Katic	Talia al Ghul
David Kaye	Commissioner James Gordon
Maurice LaMarche	Victor Fries / Mr. Freeze; Julian Day / Calendar Man; Political Prisoner
Peter MacNicol	Jervis Tetch / Mad Hatter
Jim Meskimen	G.C.P.D. Sergeant Tom Miller
Nolan North	Oswald Cobblepot / Penguin; Roman Sionis / Black Mask; G.C.P.D. Officer Whitman; inmates; Joker thugs; Two-Face thugs; TYGER guards; Political Prisoner; Harley thugs
Khary Payton	Michael Lane / Azrael; G.C.P.D. Officer Jon Forrester
Roger Rose	M.P.T. Officer William North; G.C.P.D. Officer Strickland
Dwayne Shepherd	M.P.T. Officer Aaron Cash
Tara Strong	Harleen Quinzel / Harley Quinn
Fred Tatasciore	Bane; Solomon Grundy; G.C.P.D. officers; inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs; Harley thugs
Tasia Valenza	Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy
Kari Wahlgren	Various voices
Audrey Wasilewski	League of Assassins member
Rick Wasserman	Basil Karlo / Clayface; inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs
Wally Wingert	Edward Nigma / Riddler; inmates; Joker thugs; Penguin thugs; Two-Face thugs; Harley thugs

Collette Sunderman served as voice-over director, and the game's dialogue was recorded at Warner Bros. Studios.

Music

The music for Batman: Arkham City was composed primarily by Nick Arundel, with additional music by Ron Fish, both of whom had previously worked on Batman: Arkham Asylum. The score was designed to respond dynamically to gameplay, with individual musical elements able to change or transition depending on the player's actions. Arundel and Fish used shared harmonic and thematic rules to maintain a consistent musical identity throughout the game.

The orchestral score was recorded at AIR Studios in London, with Tim Davies serving as orchestrator and conductor and Nick Wollage recording and mixing the music. Approximately two hours of music were recorded for the game. Because Arkham City used an interactive score, many cues were recorded and mixed as separate instrumental layers that could be combined or removed during gameplay.

A commercial soundtrack, Batman: Arkham City – Original Video Game Score, was released by WaterTower Music on October 18, 2011. It contains 19 tracks by Arundel and Fish, including the "Arkham City Main Theme", "A Monument to Your Failure", "This Court Is Now in Session", and "Bring Her Back to Me". The released album represents only a portion of the music composed for the game.

WaterTower Music also released Batman: Arkham City – The Album on October 4, 2011. Unlike the original score, the album consists of songs inspired by the game from artists including Panic! at the Disco, Coheed and Cambria, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Blaqk Audio, Daughtry, and Serj Tankian.

Following the conclusion of the story, a recording of the Joker, voiced by Mark Hamill, singing "Only You (And You Alone)" plays during the closing credits. The song, written by Buck Ram and Ande Rand, is also credited in the game itself.

Release

Platforms & Editions

''Batman: Arkham City'' was originally scheduled to release in North America on October 18, 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows. The console versions released as scheduled, while the Windows version was delayed, ultimately releasing in North America on November 22, 2011. A Mac OS X version, developed and published for Mac by Feral Interactive, was released as the ''Game of the Year Edition'' on December 13, 2012.

''Batman: Arkham City – Game of the Year Edition'' was released in North America for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on May 29, 2012. The edition bundled the base game with all previously released downloadable content, including the newly released ''Harley Quinn's Revenge''. The Windows GOTY edition was subsequently released on Steam, where its store listing gives a September 7, 2012 release date, while Feral Interactive's Mac version followed on December 13, 2012.

''Batman: Arkham City – Armored Edition'' was released for Wii U as a North American launch title on November 18, 2012. Developed for Wii U by WB Games Montréal, the version incorporated Wii U GamePad features including a real-time map, gadget management, motion-controlled investigative functions and touchscreen interactions. It also introduced Battle Armored Tech mechanics for Batman and Catwoman and included all downloadable content available for the original game at that time.

A remastered version of ''Batman: Arkham City'' was released on October 18, 2016 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as part of ''Batman: Return to Arkham''. The collection contains remastered versions of ''Arkham Asylum'' and ''Arkham City'', with updated visuals and all previously released additional content. The PlayStation 4 release is playable on PlayStation 5 through backwards compatibility, while the Xbox release is supported on Xbox Series X|S.

''Batman: Arkham City'' was released for Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2023 as part of ''Batman: Arkham Trilogy''. The Switch port was developed by Turn Me Up Games and includes all previously released downloadable content. Nintendo currently lists the game as supported on Nintendo Switch 2, with game behavior consistent with its Nintendo Switch version.