'Batman: Return To Arkham' Set For Oct. 14 Release; Five-Minute Comparison Video Released

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developer Rocksteady has announced that “Batman: Return to Arkham” will finally be released on Oct. 14 for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. WB and Rocksteady also published online a video comparing the PlayStation 3 versions of the games with the new PS4 counterparts.

“Batman: Return to Arkham” was first announced back in May and was originally supposed to be released on July 26. The release was delayed in late June. “Return to Arkham” is a bundle that includes current-gen remasters of 2009’s “Batman: Arkham Asylum” and 2011’s “Batman: Arkham City.” In late June, it was announced that the release of the bundle was delayed with WB removing the July 26 release date.

A report was later published claiming that the reason for the delay was due to frame rate problems as well as other issues with porting the games for the new consoles, according to Polygon. Warner Bros. has also opted not to release a PC version of “Return to Arkham,” a move seen by many as the publisher’s way of avoiding further problems with porting the games. Last year, “Batman: Arkham Knight” for PC was plagued with bugs and other issues, with some rendering the game completely unplayable.

With “Batman: Return to Arkham,” it looks like Warner Bros. and Rocksteady are more focused on delivering a proper port of the games for the PS4 and the Xbox One. Perhaps to prove that point, WB and Rocksteady have published a five-minute, side-by-side video comparing the PS3 versions of “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City” with their “Return to Arkham” remasters.

The improvements are quite noticeable right from the get-go of the video showing the “Arkham Asylum” remaster. Lighting effects are much better in “Return to Arkham” and elements like water reflections are more pronounced and detailed. The shading has also been improved, giving everything a more realistic and eerie vibe all around.

As for the “Return to Arkham” version of “Arkham City,” the improvements aren’t as evident. The most noticeable difference is, the fire and neon lights look a lot more realistic than before, as pointed out by Digital Trends.

“Batman: Return to Arkham” will cost $49.99 when it’s finally released on Oct. 14. The bundle will also include all the DLCs previously released for “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City.”