PlayStation Vita Critic Reviews

Apart from those overwrought boss battles, Blackgate is a welcome evolution for the Arkham series. The fresh perspective, deliberate pace and focus on exploration prove that Batman works just as well in a smaller package.

It’s a bit of a shame that the Arkham-inspired side of this game doesn’t quite live up to what came before, but the Metroidvania aspect certainly does. And this is something for which a lot of genre fans will be grateful.

An excellent choice for gamers wanting a new Metroidvania on their Vita, this adventure with the Caped Crusader comes close to being a classic.

It's great when side games take their own direction with design but still maintain the core concepts that define a series. That's just what you'll get with Blackgate. A solid exploration/combat game that is forced to overcome a few flaws.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is a good and original attempt at bringing the formula to a handheld. The interesting use of depth in this side-scroller and the implementation of the well known freeflow combat, make Blackgate a joy to play at times. Backtracking loses its appeal after a while though, as do the lack of enemies and the unintuitive map.

Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate is a good extension of the Arkham franchise to handhelds, but it lacks the specialness or inspiration that would make it stand out as a great Metroidvania-style game - or a great Batman game, for that matter. Without any real surprises, engaging settings, or interesting story, Blackgate feels more like a retread of bullet points than the handheld Batman we truly deserve.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate performs at its best when not feeling obligated to recreate the Arkham games before it.

Blackgate falls shy of greatness due to a few gameplay design flaws, but it's still an overall solid experience that Vita owners should investigate further.

Blackgate does a pretty good job in capturing the feel of the franchise, bringing some very nice elements to the table but suffering from an unconvincing approach to backtracking.

Not quite up to the standard of the console versions of Batman: Arkham Origins, but not a bad game on its own.