The main reason that I play video games, that I've always played games is to experience the storytelling that only video games can give me. Admittedly, it's a little hard for me to justify purchasing a game where the focal point is multiplayer. I love seeing storytelling in games evolve, and the different ways that we can experience that story. Whether it's the subtle storytelling of Bloodborne or the text-heavy storytelling of a Final Fantasy game.
Not to keep you in suspense of the point of this article any longer, as much as I like the story of Arkham Knight, it does something inexcusable by blocking off the true ending of the game with collectibles.
The true ending of Arkham Knight has a pretty important plot point related to the end of the game. Without spoiling anything, it adds an extra wrinkle into the ending that could change your perception, and is pretty enjoyable to boot. With that said, it's incredibly disappointing that so much time grinding away on Riddler trophies has to be spent to see the whole story. Now I know what people say, by the game blocking the ending off it gives you more incentive to see the ending and is able to make your experience even longer. Unfortunately, Arkham Knight is a prime example of over-development. Adding too much content to your game that doesn't really contribute to the overall message.
Now I'm fine with the Riddler Trophies being in Arkham Knight, I think they can be a fun diversion for someone wanting to find all 243 of them. I cannot stand the idea that an important part of the story is sealed off behind optional objectives in the game. In my opinion this has the potential to stop a lot of players from finishing the game out, and seeing the full message that the entire story provides. Indeed a lot of players may not even realizing what they're missing out on because they just don't make it to the end. This holds especially true for a game like Batman, which is such a high profile release that many people that have minimal experience with games will play it.
Herein lies the integral problem that upsets me. The fact that you can be restricted from seeing the full picture of a games story, by completing menial tasks. It is true that many of the side quests hold meaningful story content though. But this doesn't excuse what I think is a horribly poor design choice on Rocksteady's part. In this sense the ending can become much less meaningful, as people flock to YouTube to watch it instead of making their way to the end. Which makes sense as Arkham Knight isn't necessarily a short game, a lot of people may not be willing to put in the time or have the ability to put in the time to do everything and see the secret ending.
Another problem arises here, with the player getting a sense of invalidation of everything they've done to complete the game. When you spend twenty hours beating the story of Arkham Knight, and expect to get a satisfying ending you don't want to "beat the game" and then be told you have to do a ton of extracurricular activities to see the whole picture. For some players I imagine, this could lend a sense of feeling less accomplished for what they have done in the game already.
As much as I enjoyed Arkham Knight as an overall package, the design choice of locking the ending away just doesn't sit well with me. So much so, that I feel I had to say something about it. I can see why a developer may do it, in an effort to provide players with more content and elongate the experience they have. However, I feel that many players like myself may feel a bit upset at this fact. At this point in my life I don't have a lot of time to play video games, and when I choose a game that I want to invest my time in there's a hope that when I put forth the effort to finish the story I can see the whole picture and get the full message that game wants to impart. By no means did the ending being blocked, totally ruin my experience with the game but sadly it did put a bit of a damper on my exuberance upon completing the game itself.
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