Every Batman game to play before Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

⚠️ This page mixes confirmed information with industry rumors and speculation. We’ll keep it updated as new details and leaks come to light.

Batman is returning to the world of video games in 2026, as Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will be bringing different incarnations of Gotham’s heroes and villains together, as they battle it out in brick form for the fate of the city. 2026 is a long time to wait, especially if the game gets pushed back to the end of the year.

Luckily for the wannabe billionaire vigilantes of the world, the Dark Knight has appeared in plenty of great games that The Escapist can recommend, which can tide the fans over until then. These range from dark, brooding affairs to slapstick games that show just how fun Bruce Wayne can be. 

The Escapist recaps

• Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight was announced at Gamescom 2025 and is set to launch sometime in 2026. 
• The game is currently set to be released on PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S. 
• While the trailers focused on the Nolan movies, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight will contain content from the entire franchise. 
• Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is focused entirely on Batman and likely won’t feature characters from other DC properties. 
• The game uses an open-world version of Gotham as its setting.

Batman: Arkham Asylum & Arkham City

Despite their cultural presence among comic aficionados and kids back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, superheroes always struggled to produce great video games. The only company that could make American comic book characters feel awesome to play as was Capcom, with its fighting games helping Marvel heroes take over the arcades.

Everything changed in 2009, when Batman: Arkham Asylum came along and made the gaming world sit up and take notice. Developer Rocksteady did this with a game that actually made the player feel like they were playing as Batman, with a mixture of sneaking around armed guards, solving puzzles with detective skills, and unleashing his mastery of the martial arts on gangs of thugs, via one of the best combat systems to date. 

The Batman: Arkham Asylum experience is topped off by bringing in the voice actors from the ‘90s animated series, as they all brought their A game to the project. Kevin Conroy’s Batman chasing Mark Hamill’s Joker through an Arkham that’s overrun by foes is one of the best superhero video game experiences of all time.

And then, Rocksteady went on to make an even better Batman game, with Batman: Arkham City raising the stakes even further. Batman was now trapped in a false town, where his villains rule the roost, and he’s hopelessly outnumbered at every turn. Batman: Arkham City brought better bosses, more gadgets, and a much larger sandbox to play in. It’s best to start with Batman: Arkham Asylum, as it has the better story, but the sequel truly is superior in every way. 

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes 

The Batman movies and TV shows often leaned into the darker aspects of the character, especially once the Adam West show became a retro product. While many people love the gothic elements of the Dark Knight, there’s plenty of room for levity and the adventurous side of being a superhero, and few Batman video games encapsulate this more than the Lego one. 

Not only does Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes capture the funnier side of Bruce Wayne, but it has a massive cast, one that brings in other characters from the wider comics universe, like Superman and Wonder Woman. The game is jam-packed with content, and it’s a fairly easy game, which means it’s a great pick for those who want to go on caped adventures with the kids in their lives. 

Batman: The Telltale Series & The Enemy Within

The Telltale Games titles covered some huge licenses, most notably The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones (when they were both good). One of their unsung series follows Bruce Wayne and Batman together, with the player needing to walk both paths, rather than just relying on brute strength and Batarangs to save the day. 

Batman: The Telltale Series and its sequel, Batman: The Enemy Within, ride on the strength of their stories, as they get the chance to explore the complicated characters who dwell in Gotham City in ways that other Batman games don’t. The player can also choose the extreme levels in which the Dark Knight deals with his enemies, forging a legacy based on choice, rather than expectation. 

Batman: The Enemy Within is often praised for its amazing interpretation of the Joker, performed by Anthony Ingruber. There’s no shortage of big names associated with the clown prince of crime, but this incarnation of the character spends a lot of time with Bruce before donning the makeup, making the eventual turn all the more powerful and heartbreaking. 

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