7 Obscure Batman Games That Are Hard To Find Nowadays

Highlights

The Batman: Villains of Gotham City featured motion controls that were not very responsive, making gameplay repetitive.
The Dark Knight Rises offered an open-world Gotham city experience on mobile devices, though no longer purchasable.
Batman: Arkham Underworld, a top-down mobile strategy game, was discontinued in 2017, making it a rare Batman game relic.

Sometimes the best Batman games can be titles most fans haven’t even heard of. Considering the fame of Batman and DC Comics, it’s no surprise that there have been relatively unknown Batman games, and a few obscure titles featuring the Caped Crusader across various platforms. From PS1, mobile, and even plug-n-play spin-offs, there are some rare Batman games that are hard to find on the market.

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Not every Batman game is listed on the market, and whether console or PC players are looking for a new Batman fix, this selection of hard-to-find Batman games might make for interesting relics, if fans can get their hands on their rarity.

7 The Batman: Villains of Gotham City

Become The Batman With Motion Controls That Aren’t The Most Responsive

Released: December 14, 2005
Developers: Thinkway
System: Plug-N-Play

One of the weirder and more niche Batman games on the market back in the early 2000s was The Batman: Villains of Gotham City. This game was an exclusive set-up for the Interactive M.A.G. library, and features an all-in-one game unit alongside gimmick controls of motion sensor wireless gauntlets, which didn’t exactly work very well.

The game itself is very basic and features the characters from The Batman animated series, where players must swing a few limp punches at the TV screen to activate Batman’s punches against thugs whilst a villain stands in the distance. The controls were not very responsive, and the gameplay was extremely repetitive and lacking, but for kids, it was a cool gimmick to be Batman.

6 The Dark Knight Rises

Explore An Open-World Gotham On Mobile Devices Inside Cristopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy

Released: July 20, 2012
Developers: Gameloft
Systems: iOS, Android

Loosely based on the events of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the mobile-game tie-in served as exciting potential for mobile players. Whilst the graphics, gameplay, and overall story didn’t fit the theme of a console, Gameloft certainly hit the standard of mobile gaming in 2012, where players could jump in as Batman or Catwoman across 8 levels in an open-city Gotham.

With numerous challenges, exciting levels across Gotham, and open-world structured gameplay, players were in for a thrilling time, especially when they could glide, roam in the Bat and Bat-Pod, and fight criminals with a touch of the screen. For a mobile game, The Dark Knight Rises was great, but it is no longer purchasable on mobile devices.

5 Batman: Arkham Underworld

Become The New Mob Boss Of Arkham City With Top-Down Strategy Mechanics

Released: July 14, 2016
Developers: Turbine
Systems: iOS, Android

Despite the Batman Arkham series being mostly featured on consoles, there was a little-known spin-off that made its way to the mobile market. Batman: Arkham Underworld featured as a loose tie-in to the events of Batman: Arkham City, where players could experience the thrills of Gotham’s most wanted criminals, like Killer Croc, Harley Quinn, and Two-Face.

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Players became their own mob boss, maintaining their base and growing in power as they tried to take the criminal underworld by storm. There was nothing inherently wrong with this top-down mobile dungeon-crawler game, and for a mobile game, it was rather dedicated to the market. However, the game was discontinued in 2017, and its removal from the App Store and Play Store means it is another rare Batman game relic.

4 The Batman: The Cobblebot Caper

Cartoon Network’s Macromedia Flash Game Involving A Classic Beat ‘Em Up

Released: 2004
Developers: Cartoon Network
Systems: PC

Cartoonnetwork.com used to be an extensive library of Macromedia Flash Toonami games that allowed players to experience their favorite shows for free. All they needed was a web browser that worked with Flash. One such game was The Batman: The Cobblebot Caper, which saw Batman battle his way through Gotham City’s hordes of Penguin thugs to find the criminal mastermind himself.

There wasn’t anything completely detailed about The Cobblebot Caper, and its free access meant everyone could try it out. It was a Flash game with limited controls and potential, but its loss from the Cartoon Network site meant it was officially gone for good, unofficially, it was archived by fans to experience online.

3 Gotham City Imposters

Free-to-Play PvP Shooter Involving Gotham’s Wildest Citizens

Gotham City Impostors

Systems

Released: February 7, 2012
Developer(s): Monolith Productions

A Free to Play title that saw Batman “helpers” battle against junior Jokerz, Gotham City Imposters was truly wild with some ambitious ideas for a competitive multiplayer game. Teams of crazed opponents would battle it out in Gotham, with a variety of different maps, customizations, and weaponry. Strangely enough, this now abandoned F2P title was developed by Monolith Productions, which is currently working on an AAA Wonder Woman game.

As far as comedic shooters go, Gotham City Imposters had the potential to be one of its strongest. Nostalgia is high with this title, and it’s nice to look back at the gaming market when not everything required high mobility and the intense desire to win through skill-based matchmaking.

2 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker

Beat Up Neo-Gotham’s Bad Guys In An Early 3D Environment

Released: January 19, 2001
Developers: Kemco
Systems: PlayStation, Nintendo 64

A classic Beat ‘Em Up style game for the PS1 era, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was a tie-in to the animated movie of the same name. The game features Terry McGinnis in the futuristic batsuit, battling against the Jokerz and the dreaded and seemingly immortal threat of the Clown Prince of Crime. Players shouldn’t expect much, since this is after all a PS1 game.

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With multiple stages and plenty of exciting combos to choose from with offensive and defensive styles of combat, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker laid the foundation for how Batman moves and attacks in future games, even if it’s a relatively obscure 3D title from the early years of gaming.

1 Batman: Arkham City Lockdown

A Retelling Of Batman: Arkham City For Mobile Devices, With Swipe Controls And New Characters

Released: December 7, 2011
Developers: NetherRealm Studios
Systems: iOS, Android

An alternative telling of Batman: Arkham City, the mobile version of the game, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown features the iconic characters featured in the Rocksteady game but with a twist. As dangerous villains escape Arkham Asylum, Batman must venture to Arkham City to apprehend his most twisted foes. With over 6 levels, players are tasked with using the touch screen to tap and swipe to punch, kick, and evade their foes.

There is also an assortment of gadgets and upgrades, providing some neat details for the mobile gaming market in 2011. What made this title so obscure isn’t just that players can no longer access it, but how it was developed by Mortal Kombat and Injustice creators, NetherRealm Studios, and they couldn’t help themselves but to include Kano in an easter egg fight.

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