Batman: Arkham Knight's Man-Bat jumpscare is still absolutely wrecking players

Before the arrival of Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009, it would be fair to say that the vast majority of superhero video games sucked.

When I say they sucked, it can’t be put into words. A prime example of one of the worst superhero video games is the infamous Superman: The New Adventures aka 'Superman 64' for the Nintendo 64 in 1999. Though Spider-Man did have a pretty sweet video game in 2000 for the original PlayStation.

Check out the Batman: Arkham Knight trailer below!

Developed by Rocksteady Studios, Batman: Arkham Asylum told a gritty tale that would be very befitting of the Frank Miller comics (though it wasn’t a direct inspiration). The premise of the story is that Batman is taking Joker to Arkham Asylum and as you can imagine, that doesn't go according to plan and all hell breaks loose.

This beloved series would spawn sequels with Batman: Arkham City in 2011 and finally, the topic of today’s discussion, Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015. We did get a couple of somewhat underrated spin-offs in between with Batman: Arkham Origins (WB Games Montreal) and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (Armature Studio) both of which were released in 2013.

Batman: Arkham Knight is a fantastic game and is full of very memorable moments. However, there’s one moment that stands out with a lot of fans and that’s the first interaction with the tragic Robert Kirkland Langstrom aka Man-Bat.

I won’t give anything away in regards to the Man-Bat mission, but it was not only one of the most compelling side-missions, but when I first encountered him, I remember jumping out of my skin as it was something that appeared like an RKO out of nowhere! Though be warned, there may be mild spoilers in this article as well as in the Reddit thread.

“What are some of the scariest segments of a non-horror game?” asked Redditor Mairess99. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t jump every time Man-Bat first appears on Arkham Knight,” replied DefiantEmpoleon.

“I put my daughter to bed and stayed up late to play Arkham Knight when it first came out. I was so engrossed in the game that I didn't realise she had snuck out of bed and was watching me play,” explained SourImplant. “Not until Man-Bat appeared for the first time. She screamed at the top of her lungs, ran away, and hid under the covers in my bed. I couldn't play it around her again for weeks.”

Batman: Arkham Knight is available now on PC, PlayStation and Xbox. What’s more, Batman: Arkham Trilogy which includes all three Rocksteady Studios games releases for Nintendo Switch on 1 December 2023.