Batman Arkham City — 50 Save Game

The last thing he saw before the monitor went dark was the save file menu. There was a new entry.

The screen went black. Longer than usual. Then, a low, buzzing static filled the room. The monitor flickered.

He turned back. The screen had changed. Batman was gone. In his place stood the Joker. But not the cartoonish, purple-suited version. This Joker was tall, impossibly thin, his skin a translucent gray. He was wearing a patient’s gown from Arkham Asylum, stained with old blood. He pressed his face against the fourth wall, his nose flattening against the glass of the monitor.

The game didn’t start at the main menu. It didn’t start at the Batcave or the GCPD rooftop. Batman Arkham City 50 Save Game

He didn't play for fun. He played like a monk copying scripture. Each trophy collected was a prayer. Each Riddler hostage rescued was a whispered apology for not being there the night Sam was killed.

The save file was simply labeled:

And then, a sound. A soft, wet, rattling laugh. It didn’t come from the monitor’s speakers. It came from the storage unit behind him. The last thing he saw before the monitor

The monitor glowed in the dark, cavernous storage unit. Save 49 was loaded. Leo, fingers steady, navigated the final stretch. He stood on the rusted steel of Wonder Tower, the ghostly voice of the Joker crackling in his ear. The final boss was a broken, pathetic thing—a Joker dying of Titan poisoning, laughing even as his heart gave out.

The number was significant. Sam had a rule: he would overwrite the previous save only when he had done something definitive . Save 1 was “Escape the Church.” Save 10 was “Defeat the Penguin.” Save 25 was “Protocol 10 Begins.” Save 49 was “The Final Confrontation with the Joker.”

Leo didn’t know what that meant. He just knew he had to finish it for him. Longer than usual

“I’m saving the best for last,” Sam had said, his eyes wide behind his glasses. “Save 50 is when I get everything . Every Riddler trophy. Every campaign medal. Every audio tape. When I hit 100%, that’s when the real game begins.”

Leo smiled for the first time in two years. He selected Save 50 and pressed “Load.”

Leo didn't hesitate. He punched the Joker once. The villain collapsed, clutching his chest. The cutscene played: Batman carrying the Joker’s body out into the snow, the final, chilling laugh, the police sirens. The screen faded to black.