

It still potentially allows for scaling by small margins where necessary, but seemingly this is rare to catch based on our tests. Arkham Asylum sticks closer to its maximum 1920x1080 due to its relative simplicity. Curiously, dynamic scaling on the horizontal axis is retained from the base consoles, most notably in Arkham City.
720P BATMAN ARKHAM CITY 1080P
However, the fact is that both Arkham titles only target 1080p on Xbox One X - with a surprise, and somewhat unwelcome twist. The principal design objective of the enhanced consoles is to deliver smoother, higher resolution experiences for ultra HD displays.
720P BATMAN ARKHAM CITY PATCH
In common with the PS4 Pro upgrade, the X patch shows none of this ambition. But Virtuos instead took the hard road with more involved changes - and that deserves some respect. Developer Virtuos could have ported the original game as-is to PS4 and Xbox One - and maybe it should have, by keeping it simple and only remastering the dodgy video sequences and low res textures, while ramping up resolution to 1080p. Lighting, reflections, particle effects, textures, and even character faces were redone from scratch, and while the reaction to some of these changes was mixed, it's hardly a lacklustre effort. To recap, this remaster transplanted the original Unreal Engine 3 experience to the more modern UE4, weaving in new visual features. There's a lot to cover here, but let's start with the first of the two games in the collection: Arkham Asylum.

In fact, it's easily the worst 'enhanced patch' we've seen on Xbox One X. Somehow, despite having access to a significantly more powerful hardware spec, the recently released X upgrade for the controversial remaster manages to be even more of a let-down. The superb Arkham Knight never received any kind of upgrade for PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X, while the Return to Arkham patch for Sony's super-charged PS4 ranks as one of the most disappointing upgrades we've witnessed - until now. It may have taken some time, but virtually every major franchise has eventually transitioned successfully to at least one of the enhanced consoles - but the lack of a decent Batman: Arkham experience for the 4K consoles is disappointing.
