How Batman: Arkham Knight changed my life 10 years ago today

The problem, at my end, was that I hadn't yet upgraded from my PS3. I wasn't long out of university, and there hadn't been any releases yet since the PS4 came out (in late 2013) to tempt me into buying an expensive new console.

As much as I had always loved gaming, I wasn't yet making a super comfortable living after graduating with a second-class Film Studies degree (who could've guessed that wouldn't lead to a high-paying job, honestly).

However, the Arkham games up to that point were some of my absolute favourites. I remember playing the first one with my uni housemates, taking turns and passing the controller every time one of us died.

So, when I realised that I wouldn't be able to play Arkham Knight on my trusty old PS3, I knew I had to find a way to make it happen.

Luckily for me, one of my best friends was travelling to Australia for an extended period that year. And luckily for my bank balance, he wasn't planning to take his PS4 with him. After some fraught negotiations, I had my hands on a machine that could play Arkham Knight.

Weirdly, I now see this as a Sliding Doors moment in my life. My girlfriend (now wife) and I had so much fun on PS4 (me with Batman, her with Crash Bandicoot) that I ended up buying a second-hand console after my friend got back from Australia. By that point, it wasn't such a big financial risk.

It wasn't long after this that the editor of a website, which I had been freelance-writing for, asked if I was into gaming and set up on the latest generation of consoles. If I was, they could send some more work my way.

Being able to truthfully say yes in the moment set my life on a path I'm still on now. A path where gaming was my main focus. One opportunity led to another, and with a few bumps along the way, here I am running the gaming section at RadioTimes.com.

There are so many great games I wouldn't have played, cool places I wouldn't have visited, and lovely people I wouldn't have met if Arkham Knight hadn't encouraged me to get a PS4, putting me in a position to start writing about video games in a bigger way.

As a way of saying thank you, I'm very tempted to give this game a fresh play for the anniversary.

I remember being intrigued by the story, and I'm not sure if it's revisionist history to say that everyone kind of knew what the twist was gonna be. I think there was an element of mystery as to who the 'Arkham Knight', the villain of the game, was.

I think it's interesting at this moment in time, as well, with the Switch 2 just coming out, to think about what games are really gonna sell a system and get people motivated to find a way into that ecosystem.

I don't think the Switch 2 quite has that yet, although it has obviously sold very, very well. Other than Mario Kart World, what are people gonna buy it specifically to play?

I remember playing Arkham Knight, absolutely loving it, racing through it. That being said, there are bits of it that are still somewhat derided in the fan base.

I remember the idea that the Riddler had gone away and made a series of go-karting tracks around the city, which Batman had to drive his Batmobile around, and that that maybe slightly stretched the vaguely gritty and 'could happen in real life' vibe that those games were going for.

I mean, it's a lot of effort on the Riddler's part! Those bits were quite fun, though. They were more fun than the bomb disposal tasks that you also had to do in the Batmobile.

I thought it was a great story, and as my first experience on a new console, I remember being blown away by how big the world was, how kind of dense it was.

They still do the thing of, 'There's not that many people running around in the open world,' but it was impressive at the time. They're like, 'Oh, everyone left,' within the first five minutes. But I remember loving it.

And that game had some huge story beats towards the end, as well, that the recent Suicide Squad game had to reckon with. It was like, 'Wait, how is Batman alive?'

There was a kind of hundred per cent ending that left enough of a breadcrumb for them to bring Batman back, and then kill him again, and then bring him back again.

But I've got hope that this franchise will return. It sounds like James Gunn, in his new role over at DC, is talking to the folks at Rocksteady about what to do next. Here's hoping it's something that will scratch that Arkham itch.

And hey, maybe it'll change someone else's life for the better. I look forward to reading about it in 10 years' time.

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.