Highlights

• Rocksteady Studios, known for quality Batman games, also worked on other DC projects like Urban Chaos & Batman: Arkham VR.
• Batman: Arkham Asylum & Batman: Arkham City were massive successes, setting high standards for superhero games and sequels in gaming.
• Despite some mixed reviews, Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League shows promise with good combat and storytelling.

There isn't a gamer out there who doesn't know about Rocksteady Studios. Founded back in 2004, this London-based game studio has grown in strength and continued to grow into one of the well-recognized studios associated with quality gaming experiences in the industry, thanks in part to its excellent slew of Batman games.

As many gamers will be aware, Rocksteady Studios' Arkham ​​​​​​Trilogy was a much-lauded success, with entries claiming multiple gaming awards and astounding gamers with their innovative combat and stories involving a unique yet faithful take on the Batman mythos. Though the studio has mainly operated in the world of Batman, they have also tackled other DC-inspired projects and even worked on a first-person shooter in the PS2 era.

6 Urban Chaos: Riot Response

Metascore: 73

Urban Chaos: Riot Response was the very first game released by Rocksteady, debuting on the PS2 back in 2006. The game was already in development at Argonaut Games, but after the studio was closed down, some of those studio members went on to found Rocksteady and, alongside some secured publisher funding, went on to complete and release the game under the Rocksteady banner.

The game itself saw gamers take on the role of Ex-Marine Nick Mason as he and the other members of Unit T-Zero were deployed into a gang-ridden New York, in hopes of taking the city back from the rioters' clutches. The game was well received at launch and had gamers enjoying its simple but well-presented action thanks to great weapons and gritty presentation thanks to fake news reports and the gangs' blood-soaked hockey masks. It was never going to be a shooter that redefined the genre, but it was straightforward first-person shooting fun that delivered on its solid action movie premise and gave gamers plenty of enemies to lay waste to.

5 Batman: Arkham VR

Metascore: 74

In 2016, Rocksteady released its first Virtual Reality title, Batman: Arkham VR. The game was a short but sweet VR campaign that saw gamers don the iconic cowl as Batman investigates the disappearance of his allies. The game was a launch title for the PlayStation VR before arriving a year later on the PC. The game itself didn't feature any of the combat the Arkham series was known for but granted players the use of an array of Batman's gadgetry to solve clues and uncover answers to the latest case.

It wasn't the must-have VR game some players may have hoped for, but it allowed gamers an unparalleled Batman experience from finding clues and solving puzzles, to interacting face-to-face with iconic Batman villains and even offering the chance to explore the Batcave up close and personal. Even better still, players could use the Batcave to examine trophies and character models, giving them a very personal look at Batman's range of characters.

4 Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

Metascore: 60

Perhaps one of the most hyped-up games in the last decade, thanks in part to the studio's incredible track record and quality gaming portfolio. Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League was built to be yet another great foray for gamers into the DC gaming universe, but ultimately the final product didn't reach those expectations.

The title alone drew gamers in, with the aspect of battling away at the Justice League, but unlike the Arkham series, boss fights felt like a mixed bag. Still, Rocksteady delivered another great DC story and Task Force X shone through the game's cracks. The gunplay was well refined, and the traversal systems were fun, but the games' live service option and repetitive mission designs had gamers enjoying their time with the squad, rather than loving it. It's still a good game for any DC fan and has a fair amount to do once reaching the game's endgame, but with more seasonal content on the way, there's plenty of chance the game could see itself improve in the months and years to come.

3 Batman: Arkham Knight

Metascore: 87

Capping off a trilogy is no small feat, especially when the games are as beloved as those in the Arkhamverse. So, when Rocksteady finally dropped Batman: Arkham Knight, it was hailed as another great success, but it didn't quite marry up to the greatness of the two games that came before.

The game delivered a fitting conclusion to the trilogy and featured plenty of great quests to complete, with some even leaning into the dark end of Batman's Rogues. The game was the first to introduce a fully playable Batmobile and that's part of where the problem arrived for some players out there. The Batmobile itself was innovative and fun, but there were plenty of missions and side quests that focused on its use, taking players back from the grapple, gliding, and distinct combat that the series was known for. It was another great entry into the series and still had players pummeling away bad guys thanks to the ever-refined and fluid combat system, but it just wasn't able to reach the same heights as the games that came before.

2 Batman: Arkham Asylum

Metascore: 92

If gamers cast their minds back to the late 2000s, they'd remember that Batman was at his height of popularity. Christopher Nolan dropped cinematic dynamite with the Batman Begins sequel The Dark Knight. With Batman killing it in the movie realm, Rocksteady went on to drop their iteration of The Dark Knight just one year later in 2009, with the heavily applauded Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The game went on to be a multiple Game of the Year winner and all of its accolades were rightly earned. Batman Arkham Asylum delivered revolutionary combat that has been replicated by a great many games and had a true gritty Batman story to boot. The game featured Batman trapped in Arkham Asylum on one hell of a night, tussling with inmates and battling against a cunning Joker and a host of his more devious rogue's gallery. It was, and still is, one of the best superhero games out there.

1 Batman: Arkham City

Metascore: 94

How does one top one of the best comic book games of all time? Well, Rocksteady had the answer to that question lurking in the shadows, with their fantastic sequel, Batman: Arkham City. This time, gamers were in for even more of everything that made Batman: Arkham Asylum so great. Rocksteady went bigger, presenting players with a larger map, more villains, a collection of new side missions, and, oh, so many more Riddler trophies and challenges to encounter, not even to mention the fluid combat system receiving an addicting upgrade that made punching bad guys feel so special with a slue of gadgets in the mix of freeflow combat.

It all came together so well, in one of the best superhero game packages to date. The sequel saw a section of Old Gotham cordoned off to the public as a new bigger jail for Gotham's most wanted, granting players a much more open world to play around it. The combat had been refreshed with new gadgets and more brawling options. But, better yet, the story was so well told, that it stands tall as some of the best writing ever in an open-world game, as Batman tries to uncover the secrets of Protocol 10 and resolve the threats of Hugo Strange. Batman: Arkham City is not only the best game (currently) made by Rocksteady, but it's also easily one of the best comic book games out there. It set the standards for both superhero games and gaming sequels going forward.