Batman can freely move around the Arkham City prison, interacting with characters and undertaking missions, and unlocking new areas by progressing through the main story or obtaining new equipment.

Batman can use his cape to glide around the city, diving downwards and swooping upwards to extend his flight, and he can use the grapnel gun's retracting rope to attach to out-of-reach ledges.

[16] Using an improved version of the "Freeflow" combat system from Arkham Asylum, the player can now counter multiple blows simultaneously, catch hurled projectiles, attack aerially, and administer a succession of consecutive strikes.

[24] Most of these have improved or new capabilities; for example, the Cryptographic Sequencer, used for hacking security consoles, can also monitor shortwave radio channels,[13] and the line launcher can now be deployed as a tightrope or alter direction during flight.

[25] Other items returning from the first game include these: a remote-controlled batarang; Explosive Gel that can now be detonated to knock down enemies in combat;[21] and the grapnel gun, which can now be used while gliding to facilitate transportation.

[21][26] New items in Batman's arsenal include: smoke bombs that disorient opponents and assist with stealth tactics; a Remote Electric Charge (REC) gun that can stun enemies and temporarily power motors;[21] Freeze Blast grenades that encase targets in ice and can be thrown into water to create makeshift platforms;[24] and the Disruptor, which can remotely disable guns and explosive mines.

[52] Returning villains include the Riddler (Wally Wingert),[53] Victor Zsasz (Danny Jacobs),[42][52] Bane (Fred Tatasciore),[54][55] and Poison Ivy (Tasia Valenza).

[59] Other characters marking their debut in the series include the manipulative warden of Arkham City, Hugo Strange (Corey Burton),[60] Two-Face (also voiced by Baker),[58] and the Penguin (Nolan North).

Black Mask (also voiced by North),[68] Killer Croc (Steve Blum),[55] and Freeze's wife, Nora Fries, make cameo appearances in the game.

[16] Meanwhile, the Joker is dying from a disease caused by his previous overdose of the Titan formula, an unstable steroid mutagen that turns men into powerful and savage monsters.

To that end they wanted to include locations from the Batman mythos that were notable and meaningful to the character, instead of a series of generic streets; Rocksteady was initially unsure how technical considerations would limit the scope of this idea.

[90] Batman's sidekick Robin also appears, featuring a shaved head and contemporary costume design that were intended to move away from his traditional "Boy Wonder" image.

Senior concept artist Kan Muftic explained: "Our vision of Robin is the one of a troubled young individual that is calm and introverted at times, but very dangerous and aggressive if provoked.

The developers believed that providing a small part of each villain's story rather than focusing on a select few allowed the player to meet many more characters and effectively conveyed the feeling of being in a superprison filled with supervillains.

[29] Rocksteady decided early on that the Joker would die in the story, and developed the idea of him poisoning Batman with the same affliction, in order to show how the two diametrically opposed characters would interact in pursuit of a shared goal.

[99] Arkham City's marketing campaign was designed to reach an audience outside of superhero fans and appeal to consumers who are attracted to games like the first-person shooter series Call of Duty.

Black-and-white photographs of iconic personalities like inventor Steve Jobs and actor James Dean served as inspiration and a basis for the final marketing campaign used in advertisements and the game's cover art.

The black and white campaign was featured on 120 magazine covers and was targeted towards approximately 15 million consumers across a variety of social media and Warner Bros. products, in addition to a series of viral marketing videos and stunts involving actors in costume attending press-related events.

[101] The entire campaign spent more than a year in development, producing artwork, videos, DLC, printed advertisements, billboards, and events, and was estimated to have cost at least $10 million.

[102][103] Warner Bros. also developed toys based on the characters through Mattel, Hallmark cards, batarang-shaped videogame controllers, and a variety of apparel by Converse, Eckō Complex, C Life, New Era, and Briefly Stated.

[109] Taking place before Arkham City, the game sees players using touchscreen controls to fight enemies one-on-one, including villains such as Two-Face, Solomon Grundy, Joker, and the mercenary Deathstroke.

[115] A PlayStation 3-exclusive Sinestro Corps outfit was revealed in August 2011 that initially was only unlockable via a unique code obtained by purchasing the extended cut edition of the Warner Bros. film, Green Lantern on Blu-ray Disc.

[146] On the same day, it was announced that all of the released DLC, including Harley Quinn's Revenge, would be made available as part of the Arkham City "Game of the Year Edition".

"[160] Joystiq's Griffin McElroy praised the attention to detail, and mechanical excellence of the game environment, crediting Rocksteady for "breathing life into a staggeringly beautiful world; one which hums not only with opportunity, but ambition".

Donlan said that the game environment was intricate and very detailed, and the abilities provided for its traversal made it "hard not to feel like the world's greatest detective, on patrol".

Miller said that the Catwoman missions were a fun change of pace from the main gameplay, and that he "adored" the option to replay the game with unlocked abilities and more difficult enemies.

[163] The Daily Telegraph's Tom Hoggins praised the game's sense of progress in discovering and mastering the character abilities, and the "show-stopping brutality" of the improved combat system.

[177] GameRevolution's Blake Peterson praised the real-time management of information, upgrades and equipment that he considered made Batman more vulnerable,[178] although Barnett included this as a point of criticism.

[179] Kotaku's Stephen Totilo was critical of the DLC, saying that it diminished his desire to replay the main game and describing it as "delicious a dessert as a poison-filled Joker pie to the face".

"[210] The newspaper also nominated the game for: Best Director (Sefton Hill); Best Acting Performance (Mark Hamill and Nolan North); and Best Developer (Rocksteady Studios).