Is Batman Arkham Knight for Nintendo Switch a cloud version?

The latest Nintendo Direct showcase for June 2023 dropped many surprises. Among them was Batman Arkham Trilogy, a bundle featuring three iconic open-world action-adventure games, all originally developed by Rocksteady. This complete package makes its way to the Nintendo Switch sometime later this year and includes three games: Batman Arkham Asylum, Batman Arkham City, and Batman Arkham Knight. The latter game is a visual highlight despite being nearly a decade old at this point.

Furthermore, its disastrous launch on PC has fans questioning how this rendition will turn out. In fact, many are wondering if Arkham Knight will be a cloud-based version on the Nintendo Switch.

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Is Batman Arkham Knight on Switch a cloud version or native?

Cloud games on Nintendo Switch are essentially PC versions streamed to the platform over the internet via an official client. Usually, publishers collaborate with a company specializing in such streaming services to make this possible. Some examples of cloud games on Nintendo Switch include Control Ultimate Edition, Hitman 3, and Resident Evil Village. The console's portable nature and mandatory internet requirement make these renditions unappealing for most users.

Despite concerns, that is not the case this time around. The game is a native port, just like the two older entries. This is confirmed due to the marketing material making no mention of a cloud version. Secondly, it would certainly be odd for one game from a trilogy to be non-native. The final affirmation is the porting studio Turn Me Up Games.

This lesser-known American studio is responsible for bringing games to different platforms and has ample Nintendo Switch experience under its belt. It is responsible for the It Takes Two and Borderlands Legendary Collection Switch ports. Given how both titles transitioned surprisingly well, the Arkham Trilogy is in good hands.

If anything, Arkham Knight should fare better than It Takes Two since it is an Unreal Engine 3 game and an older title by comparison. Hazelight Studio's co-op adventure, on the other hand, is based on the more demanding Unreal Engine 4.

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What are each of the games about?

Batman Arkham Asylum is the first entry in the Arkham series and was released in 2009. This tale pits Batman against his arch-nemesis Joker as the former navigates the perilous Arkham Asylum facility to thwart the latter's attempt at taking control.

In 2011, it was followed by Batman Arkham, regarded by many as the best entry in the series. It escalates the scale and scope to the titular Arkham City's streets and alleys as the Dark Knight contends with various villains, including the Joker mutated by the Titan formula.

The final mainline entry is Batman Arkham Knight. Released in 2015, it opens the curtain to exploring Gotham City as the caped crusader in the Batmobile.

All three games share the same gameplay fundamentals as a 3D action-adventure game. Verticality is a key aspect of level design used in both stealth and combat as the hero glides between rooftops and swoops onto foes. The cathartic hand-to-hand, counter-based combat so commonplace in games like Marvel's Spider-Man was popularized by Rocksteady in these Arkham games.