I think it depends on what you’re looking for. Arkham asylum and Arkham city are definitely the best ones but I’ve always liked the more linear story/gameplay of Arkham Asylum more. They’re both great though.

When it comes to the secondary characters, while most of it can be fine, a lot of stuff in Knight is made better by having played the first two.

So I’d personally choose City. That said, Knight is fun. My only real problem was that to get the “true ending”, you need to complete every. single. Riddler challenge, which can be… not fun.

Arkham Collection as a whole is worthwhile purchase IMO. It nails the mood and atmosphere of Gotham. While emphasizing on Batman’s ability as a detective as an important factor to the gameplay.

Arkham City is a sequel to Arkham Asylum. I say go in order.

Might be a little unpopular, but my personal ranking:

1. Arkham Asylum:

It’s the most linear, but that plays a lot in its favour. In my opinion, it has the best setting and story. The linearity allowed for a more tailored experience, and it was very well tailored.

2. Arkham Knight:

The largest world, the most polished gameplay, the best looking, and has a new mystery villain. If you’re a big Batman fan you might guess who it is early on, but it’s still very cool. I think it has the longest story too, as well as the most villains.

3. Arkham Origins:

It’s a bit short, but it might have the most villains other than Arkham Knight, and it has great boss battles. The game takes place over Christmas, and I’d say it’s a nice Christmas game. Gotham looks beautiful in the snow. I think you also get to hand around the Batman cave and with Alfred more than the other games.

4. Arkham City:

Not bad by any means, but I played it last year for the first time and I felt underwhelmed. There’s nothing it excels at over the other games, and it feels a bit outdated. At least, according to myself.

I think I liked Arkham Knight the best. The way the Joker was integrated into your travels around the city was really well done.

I enjoyed Knight for the most part, but I gave up right near the end, I was just tired of doing the same mission types over and over again and I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

I haven’t played Asylum or City in years but I remember liking the more guided linear experience of Asylum more.

Arkham City was for a long while considered the best, but age has arguably been kinder to Asylum (thanks to storytelling) and Knight (thanks to streamlining/modernization).

I don’t think there is any question on how to answer the literal post, though. If you could only get one of them, it’s Asylum.

Also, I would not recommend binging these games unless you are REALLY feeling it when you finish Asylum. The chief complaint about them was always that they did not change the formula around enough between games. I have to think playing them back to back exacerbates that.

That one for the game gear was pretty intense.

@followthewhiterabbit I’m not sure if it’s out of your price range, but the whole Arkham Collection (all 3 games) is on sale for $9 right now. It’s definitely worth the extra $4 to get two more games. And they’re all great for different reasons in my opinion.

Arkham Asylum is my favorite. I prefer the smaller, more contained environment of the Asylum over the big open city.

Na, Batman on the NES is where it’s at.