Joss
1 review liked by Joss
I hadn't replayed this game for a long time. Doing so after having been watching a couple of Batman films, I can safely this isn't really a story ABOUT Batman, but a story about BEING Batman, which is "logical" this being the first succesful Batman game adaptation. Arkham Asylum needed to be like this: a proof of concept that the superhero can actually work in a videogame format before diving more deeply into a narrative in subsequent games (which I should replay sometime).
I had a more fond memory of this game, to be honest. In my head it was a metroidvania-like with heavy elements of horror and a great atmosphere. The atmosphere's still there, but to my younger mind many things about this really scared me and now don't. The metroidvania elements are pretty simple and the backtracking's really just an excuse to get Riddler trophies. The horror aspects may sometimes still be there (especially with the almost brilliant Scarecrow scenes) but could be stronger (though that would be an entirely different Batman experience, which I think shines more brightly on the original Arkham Asylum 1989 comic).
The boss fights are okay, the combat gets harder and somewhat more interesting but overall is pretty basic and ends up being a "smash-the-button" thing which relies more on timing than strategy. Stealth sections can also being pretty formulaic if you know what you're doing and the 3D platforming can get stale after a while. Even so, I think the game executes pretty well all of its elements to sum up to a pretty enjoyable experience. This is a game for both Batman diehards as well as Batman newcomers. I like the idea of the Asylum being some kind of museum of many iconic villains and moments of the Batman comics which can introduce you to many characters you may have been unaware of.
In the end, it's a solid game, though a much more simpler game than I remembered. It doesn't have really much going for it except for its thematic elements. Replace Batman for another licence and probably this would've been forgotten pretty quickly. Is it a bad thing? Not really.
Definetely the highlight of the game is the first half or so. It starts losing its punch somewhere around the middle even though it still has some interesting parts scattered around. Overall, would still recommend it, but wouldn't any longer say it's a "brilliant one".
I had a more fond memory of this game, to be honest. In my head it was a metroidvania-like with heavy elements of horror and a great atmosphere. The atmosphere's still there, but to my younger mind many things about this really scared me and now don't. The metroidvania elements are pretty simple and the backtracking's really just an excuse to get Riddler trophies. The horror aspects may sometimes still be there (especially with the almost brilliant Scarecrow scenes) but could be stronger (though that would be an entirely different Batman experience, which I think shines more brightly on the original Arkham Asylum 1989 comic).
The boss fights are okay, the combat gets harder and somewhat more interesting but overall is pretty basic and ends up being a "smash-the-button" thing which relies more on timing than strategy. Stealth sections can also being pretty formulaic if you know what you're doing and the 3D platforming can get stale after a while. Even so, I think the game executes pretty well all of its elements to sum up to a pretty enjoyable experience. This is a game for both Batman diehards as well as Batman newcomers. I like the idea of the Asylum being some kind of museum of many iconic villains and moments of the Batman comics which can introduce you to many characters you may have been unaware of.
In the end, it's a solid game, though a much more simpler game than I remembered. It doesn't have really much going for it except for its thematic elements. Replace Batman for another licence and probably this would've been forgotten pretty quickly. Is it a bad thing? Not really.
Definetely the highlight of the game is the first half or so. It starts losing its punch somewhere around the middle even though it still has some interesting parts scattered around. Overall, would still recommend it, but wouldn't any longer say it's a "brilliant one".