This "Batman through the eyes of NPCs" video makes me yearn for a game about being a petty criminal in Gotham

Reader, I americium astir to task into that unspeakable ninth ellipse of videogame writer cringe known arsenic pitching your ain crippled successful an article. A portion ago, I mused aloud connected Xitter that a Batman crippled (or offbrand spiritual homage) from the position of radical trying to perpetrate petty crimes successful Gotham City would beryllium Interesting and/or Countercultural.

You could represent Batman himself arsenic some a lone vigilante and a pervasive biology origin - a morbid, hallucinatory inclination of the architecture itself, gradually provoked and intensified by tiny acts of larceny and vandalism. Kind of similar the Eye of Sauron, but it’s the Bat Signal, and alternatively of warring the impulse to deterioration the Ring, you’re stealing candy bars and penning connected toilet walls.

The supra “Batman but it’s the pedestrian POV” video from Gaming with Griff Griffin – disclosure, he’s an aged workfellow of excavation from my clip astatine Future Publishing successful the aboriginal 2010s – isn’t truly what I’m talking about. It shows Batman: Arkham Knight from the position of random civilians, spectating connected fights (with the accustomed slowmo) oregon watching the Caped Misbehaver glide and zipline done the cloudy night.

Still, it’s adjacent capable to my Twitter conception that I’m going to writer the pants disconnected Griffin. Or burst done his model successful a latex suit and delete each his browser tabs… past unfastened and adjacent the browser again truthful that helium can’t reconstruct his erstwhile webpages. With immoderate luck, he’ll go the Joker and we tin person a due vendetta. It’s astatine slightest 2 years since I past had 1 of those.

The accompanying voiceover and editing elicit the quickfix absorption vigor of TikTok and akin shortform video platforms. It works good enough, not slightest due to the fact that Arkham Knight’s metropolis is truthful sheeny, soiled and convincing. But it leaves maine hankering for a longer video oregon write-up with less changes of POV - possibly *ominous rotation of thunder* a diary bid similar the ones we utilized to work connected RPS earlier fractional the penning squad got Thanos-snapped oregon rode disconnected triumphantly into the sunset. I’m reasoning of sum akin to role-playing a peasant successful Skyrim, treating it similar a medieval beingness sim. But possibly what I’m truly reasoning of, again, is simply a standalone game.

How would it feel, to beryllium remotely anti-social and rebellious successful a metropolis prowled by Batman? You could thin into the Adam West absurdity of Bruce chasing aft kids for sticking chewing gum to parkland seats. Or you could springiness your quality much of a backstory, and clasp pathos. Maybe you’re breaking into a pharmacy to get medicine for your mum.

You could besides usage the format to play with the thought that Batman is, you know, benignant of a large soiled fascist and one-man militia, deploying his billions to terrorise mediocre radical who are ever characterised arsenic loudly dressed freaks oregon irredeemable hooligans successful vests. You could analyse the thought that Batman is perfectly disconnected his rocker, and that his derangement pervades the precise stones and skies of Gotham City, sharpening the spires and filling the sewers with bats. You could play with the thought that we are each trapped successful Batman’s unspeakable dreams.