Sitting down to talk about the Arkham series has been such an undertaking. To kick off this review, the only thing that I can say is that this game is timeless. I played both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City as part of the Return to Arkham Collection.
Story Recap and Thoughts
Batman: Arkham Asylum sees Joker and Harley taking over Arkham Asylum. Joker had gotten caught on purpose to get to the asylum, which is housing many members of his gang. His gang had to be temporarily moved because of a fire at Blackgate Prison. Batman is right to escort him into the asylum because Harley quickly takes over and makes time for the Joker to attempt his escape. After Gordon is taken, due to a corrupt guard named Frank Boles, Joker threatens to detonate bombs hidden around Arkham City.
As Batman tries to track down Harley he is exploded to the Scarecrow’s Toxin: Batman will have to fight in a realm of hallucinations and distortions. This would later become one of my favorite moments in all of gaming. The Scarecrow was beautifully conceptualized and brought to life in a way that has me at a loss for words. The first time I saw him he scared the hell out of me and revisiting the game has me appreciating the horror of the Scarecrow in full.
After you conquer the hallucinations, you capture Harley and save Gordon. Once this is complete the Joker gives Batman a task, to capture Bane. Now, Bane has been experimented on by Penelope Young, a doctor who was experimenting with Titian. After the Bane fight Harley escapes.
Around this time, we get to see the Batcave. For the first time we get to see it, the view is breathtaking and looks like it popped right out of a comic book. I appreciate that it doesn’t look like a 1 for 1 to what we tend to see in the main series comics.
Now, Batman learns that Joker wants to gain access to Penelope Young because he wants access to Titian. Titian is a more powerful version of the Venom drug; the short of it is that Venom tends to be what gives Bane his strength. The original intent of Titan is to help patients get through more intense procedures. As it turns out, Joker had been secretly funding Penelope’s research. The Joker wants to create a Titan army.
Batman saves Penelope from Victor Zsaz and destroys the Titan formula. Penelope Young later dies because of a bomb and Joker steals the completed batch of Titian.
As you go through this story you have to battle Killer Croc, Scarecrow, Victor Zsaz, and Poison Ivy, and you will hear a lot from the Riddler, although he doesn’t make an appearance in this game.
There is so much more that happens here that I can’t cover in this review. Arkham Asylum does a superb job of setting up the surrounding world, the villains, and Batman himself. There are a lot of horror elements here, too, namely, Scarecrow and Killer Croc.
Let’s Talk Development
A word before continuing
Batman: Arkham Asylum is my first 10/10 game, and as such, I want to do something a little different with this section. When assigning this rating I want to be as extensive as possible. Instead of hiding the development and design, I want to expand this for the 10/10 games.
Batman: Arkham Asylum was developed by Rocksteady Studios under the support of Eidos Interactive (who got the rights to make a Batman game in 2007) and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.
Paul Dini can be credited with the creation of this original Batman setting. Paul had previously worked on Batman: The Animated Series and Detective Comics.
Development started with a team of 40 that would later grow to a team of 60. Combat went through three iterations before landing on what I would call the best superhero combat system in any video game ever. I was also shocked to learn that this game only took 21 months to complete.
The design aim of the game was to combine realism with a comic book style, and they nailed it. The specific aesthetic of Arkham Asylum is gorgeous from the top to the bottom. Every inch of the facility is oozing with character and history.
Batman’s design was heavily influenced by the work of Jim Lee. His suit is also dynamic; it can be seen being ripped and shredded throughout the game. There are military influences ingrained into his suit and the team nailed these designs and integrations. Harley underwent the most drastic redesign which can be noticed in her suit, while Joker looks different because of licensing access.
Examining the Downloadable Content
In 2009, Joker became a playable character. Complete with his own moveset he could be played in challenge maps that were first exclusive to PlayStation 3 and Mac OS X.
The Insane Night pack containing “Totally Insane Combat” and new challenge maps would later be released on September 17, 2009. The Prey in the Darkness pack was released on September 23, 2009, and contained new challenge maps.
Gameplay
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure game that is third-person and single-player. This game is limited to Arkham Asylum, but the location is expansive and intense. You will never feel too contained, and each part of the asylum is oozing with character and areas that support the game’s amazing stealth mechanics. Now, when I say the game is limited to the asylum, that is not completely the case because you do have access to the whole island. However, you won’t be exploring Arkham City or Gotham.
Batman has access to gadgets and can jump, climb, and crouch. You can also use his grapple gun and detective vision to get around and spot secrets. This game does not dive too much into the detective aspect of Batman but you will get a little taste of the detective mechanics here and there.
Removable walls and grates create amazing stealth potential. You can also rip enemies off of heights and drop down on them from above. Although the combat in this game is amazing, stealth is my favorite aspect of this game. Finally, Batman has a selection of gadgets at his disposal.
The Batclaw, Batarang, and Grapple gun are all fun to use and tend to be used the most. However, the Line Launcher, something that would grow to be my favorite gadget in the series, is used often to traverse areas with a big gap. Explosive Gel, Sonic Batarang, and Cryptographic Sequencer are also used often and even during combat.
Score and Breakdown
It is hard to put into words how much I love this game. The story is extremely engaging and slows down at the right points to make sure the player has time to digest what’s happening because a lot of events happen at once.
The volume of villains to fight and interact with is awe-inspiring, and each one has been designed extremely well. I do not love all of the visual changes to some of these characters, mostly Poison Ivy, but it doesn’t matter.
The combat and stealth are where this game shines. I did enjoy all of the challenge maps, but in the base game, each section feels fair and challenging. The hard mode feels fair, too, something that I appreciate because I do not like to play on Easy and Medium difficulty settings. Batman: Arkham Asylum is the perfect start of what would become my favorite video game trilogy of all time. I can also safely call it a timeless classic.