It’s really difficult not to compare the 2 games, especially as they’re the 2 best super hero, possibly overall games, I’ve ever played.
For me the only thing that edge’s either one is the difference between them that relates to the hero you’re playing, each game obviously lends itself to the hero and makes you feel like you’re playing as that hero in their environment. However I must admit Spider-Man does it better (who’d have thought it was possible) and doesn’t have too much bullshit.
Firstly the combat is a similar engine yet different. The combat is more brutal and measured in arkham, as it should be, every punch feels like it has an impact, like Bruce has planned it. You need to work your enemies and dodge around them to overcome a crowd. But in Spider-Man there’s a lot more freedom although the controls and enemy types are very similar, ie; shield types, brutes, electrified enemies, spiderman jumps around, using the environment and his webs to defeat the enemies, although his hits are still strong it’s more about webbing up and avoiding damage to ko them. I also found myself using Spidey’s gadgets a lot more as it was really fun and mixed up the combat. I can’t say which wins as they both lend themselves to the main hero.
Collectibles and side missions are probably more fun in Spidey, i know this because I don’t want to stop until I get the platinum whereas Batman I didn’t do all the riddler trophies for example. I’m actually aiming to 100% New York before proceeding with the end lot of missions. Spider-Man has hit the perfect balance of challenging yet fun and this is partly because of the general exploration ….
A huge difference is the way you explore the cities. Travel in Spider-Man is perfect, so fun and absolutely fucking perfect, to a point where I think the Web swinging Is one of the best game devices ever created, it’s unexplainable how fun it is until you’ve actually messed around in New York, which is literally your playground. I have never spent so much time just exploring and swinging around, pretty much avoiding missions. Batman on the other hand although it’s great it was more of a means to an end, the gliding is great but I wouldn’t necessarily aimlessly glide around. The introduction of the batmobile in Knight was super fun but also a crutch when they cheapened boss fights with it and had an over abundance of bat tank missions. The travel in spidey hands down beats Batman, and any other game for that matter.
The story I’m biased on as Batman is one of my favorites to read and they managed to translate his stories incredibly well, we’ve also had 3 stories of following Bruce’s pain, learning about his enemies and enjoying the twists and turns. However Peter’s story is brilliant and constantly changing, making you give a crap about progressing the story even though you just want to web swing and do the collectibles. The main thing I suppose is that they both give a reason to play the game and capture the heroes stories fantastically, both have big changes and lend themselves to the play areas, they also give enough of the enemies stories without being overpowering. The third act is similar in how it went to shit, the fun sandbox city changes and exploration isn’t as easy /open and becomes a lot more threatening. They draw on the story for me.
The world Is obviously very different as one is a hustling bustling New York whereas the other is a decrepit Gotham, dark and dangerous. Although gotham may be bigger there feels like there’s more to do in new York and it feels more alive. Spidey makes you want to endlessly swing around and not approach the story until you have to, and has a great story and missions to go along with it. Right now spiderman is a lot fresher in my mind (obviously) but it just about seems the stronger game and I truly cannot wait for more. I sincerely hope the dlc is better than Batman’s.