Batman: Arkham Series Reviews
After ages of superhero games whose quality mostly ranged from terrible to middling at best, Batman: Arkham Asylum felt like a huge breath of fresh air back in 2009. Coming back to it today, it’s still a very good game that is bursting at the seams with love and appreciation for the character of Batman and his mythos. While the subsequent Arkham games definitely eclipse this one in terms of scope and mechanics, I think that Asylum still has a lot going for it that makes it stand out and worth playing today.
Having Arkham Island as the primary setting for a Batman game was honestly a pretty genius idea. The island isn’t a sprawling open world city like the games that would come after it, but the island is still decently big and elaborately designed. This game often gets referred to as a Metroidvania, and while I don’t think that’s quite an accurate comparison, I do see why people come to that conclusion. Exploration is very straightforward, too straightforward for the game to be one. You never really need to figure out where you need to go, you just go where the game tells you to when it tells you to go there. However getting to your next destination isn’t as simple as moving from point A to point B, as the Joker and other bad guys will frequently do whatever they can to slow your progress. You’ll be traversing up elevator shafts, crawling through vents, using gadgets to get past various hazards, rescuing Arkham staff, and battling infamous Batman villains over the course of your night in the asylum.
Games journalists have gotten flack over the years for their repeated praise regarding how the Arkham games “really make you feel like Batman”. While it’s always morally correct to dunk on games journalists (/j), this is one thing that they’re definitely right about. The Arkham games absolutely nail the feeling of playing as the character of Batman. In combat, Batman fights with the perfect combination of agility and power. There are many other games whose combat works similarly to the Arkham games, but to be honest, they aren’t games that I tend to play. I can understand feeling like the combat is rehashed and played out when a lot of other triple A titles lift from it. Personally speaking, I find the combat to be rather satisfying, despite being relatively easy. It has its roots in the idea of originally being a rhythm action game. After landing a certain amount of hits on an opponent, you will enter what the game refers to as a “freeflow” state, where your speed and power gradually increases as Batman leaps from enemy to enemy. This state lasts until an enemy manages to land a successful hit on you. It’s really easy to get the hang of, but it’s not as simple as just mashing the attack button and occasionally pressing the counter button. There is a sense of rhythm to the freeflow state, and combat feels its best and most rewarding while you’re in it.
In addition to the combat, the game also captures the feeling of playing as Batman with the “Predator” segments. These are stealth sections of the game where Batman needs to infiltrate and clear out a room filled with armed guards. Guns do a lot of damage, and trying to take out enemies that are using them head on is extremely ineffective. Instead, you have to sneak up on them from behind and take them out silently. Alternatively, you can also take them out using a location-based context sensitive takedown, but these will create noise that can alert the other enemies in the room to your location. These are my favorite gameplay segments by far. Taking down armed thugs one by one while completely unseen and instilling gradually increasing amounts of fear into them as their numbers dwindle is such an incredible thrill. The enemy AI is actually rather impressive too, especially for its time. They’ll catch on to commonly used tactics, and when they’re especially afraid, they’ll even trip and fall over themselves in a panic as they desperately search for you.
The one area in terms of gameplay where the developers sadly fumble the bag is with its boss fights. They’re unfortunately quite bad. They’re not so terrible that they become frustrating to fight, but they’re incredibly easy, not very fun, and do nothing to impress. One boss fight in particular just becomes an enemy type that you encounter many times over the course of the game, making it completely forgettable in the process. The final boss especially is just… really lame. It’s especially disappointing because a huge part of the Batman mythos’ appeal is the villains, and what’s supposed to be climactic showdowns with them are not done any justice at all.
Arkham Asylum’s story plays out like a traditional Batman story. It doesn’t really do anything particularly unique or different with its characters, however it’s still decently entertaining nonetheless. The core concept of the inmates taking over the asylum was inspired by the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison. In it, Batman is faced with the possibility that he in fact may be mentally ill himself. Arkham Asylum does hint at this idea, but it really doesn’t go anywhere beyond some provocations from Joker. One of my biggest criticisms of the Arkham series as a whole is that it’ll constantly reference and play with this idea, but the games usually don’t really explore it in depth or in a particularly satisfying fashion, likely because it would detract from the player’s power fantasy. Batman: Arkham Knight explores it the most out of any Arkham game, and while my memories of that title are foggy, I don’t recall the idea being handled especially well there either. Still, as far as Arkham Asylum goes, it's a good albeit standard Batman adventure that ends in a pretty sudden and slightly unsatisfying manner.
What it lacks in a particularly unique story, it makes up for with its distinct atmosphere. Arkham Asylum has a horror vibe that its sequels completely lack, with disturbing environmental storytelling and gruesome imagery that really pushes the boundaries of the game’s T for Teen rating. Rocksteady did a great job of capturing that feeling of being trapped in the lion’s den with Arkham Asylum, despite the fact that you play as one of the most stoic and hardened superheroes out there.
For the most part, the developers over at Rocksteady hit the nail on the head with their interpretation of Batman and his world. It is a darker interpretation, but the dark aspects are balanced out by the unabashed embracement of Batman’s campy comic book roots. Everyone talks and acts like they came straight out of an episode of Batman: The Animated Series (minus the swearing). It helps that Kevin Conroy (R.I.P.), Mark Hamil and Arleen Sorkin return from the show to voice the characters of Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn respectively. This version of these characters are great and very true to their source material. The voice actors deliver some of the best performances of their careers in this game. I especially want to highlight how Joker takes over the asylum’s P.A. system, allowing him to constantly taunt, gloat, and goad you all throughout the game. It does a great job at making you feel like he’s in control.
There is a clear love for the source material in this game, best demonstrated with the side content involving the Riddler and his challenges. One type of challenge he offers is to solve various riddles by scanning the correct object in a room or an area. The solution to these riddles are usually easter egg references to other Batman characters that aren’t featured in the game, such as Penguin and Two-Face. There's quite a large number of these too, and they even reference Batman’s more obscure villains like Killer Moth, Great White Shark, and Prometheus. You can also unlock special artwork and biographies for each of these characters as well, allowing you a glimpse into how they look and operate in the Arkham universe.
Sadly, I do feel like I should mention that the PC port hasn’t aged well, and is in a rather poor state. Cutscenes in particular look very crispy and low res. This makes it all the more upsetting that the Return to Arkham remasters of this game and Arkham City were never brought to PC. There are mods out there for high definition textures and upscaled cutscenes, but I did have the game crash on me a couple of times, which caused the file path for the game to become corrupted, and forced me to format my hard disk drive. I don’t know if this was because of the mods or not. It’s just a shame that the PC port is the way that it is, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Return to Arkham eventually makes its way to PC.
It’s clear that Rocksteady adores the character of Batman and his history very much, which earns them my sincerest respect. There is so much detail in this game’s carefully crafted world that pays homage to the character’s legacy. They had grand ambitions, not just for this title, but for the games that came after it as well, as clearly evidenced by the famous Arkham City easter egg that players never found and the devs had to reveal themselves. It's absolutely a must-play for Batman fans (though chances are that pretty much all Batman fans have played it by now). Even if you’re not a huge Batman fan, I do think that you’ll get some decent fun from the rather satisfying combat and stealth. Overall, Arkham Asylum is not just an extremely well-crafted love letter to the Dark Knight, but also a solid video game as well. It laid out a strong foundation for the games that would come after it and is a great start to one of the best interpretations of the Batman mythos out there.
After ages of superhero games whose quality mostly ranged from terrible to middling at best, Batman: Arkham Asylum felt like a huge breath of fresh air back in 2009. Coming back to it today, it’s still a very good game that is bursting at the seams with love and appreciation for the character of Batman and his mythos. While the subsequent Arkham games definitely eclipse this one in terms of scope and mechanics, I think that Asylum still has a lot going for it that makes it stand out and worth playing today.
Having Arkham Island as the primary setting for a Batman game was honestly a pretty genius idea. The island isn’t a sprawling open world city like the games that would come after it, but the island is still decently big and elaborately designed. This game often gets referred to as a Metroidvania, and while I don’t think that’s quite an accurate comparison, I do see why people come to that conclusion. Exploration is very straightforward, too straightforward for the game to be one. You never really need to figure out where you need to go, you just go where the game tells you to when it tells you to go there. However getting to your next destination isn’t as simple as moving from point A to point B, as the Joker and other bad guys will frequently do whatever they can to slow your progress. You’ll be traversing up elevator shafts, crawling through vents, using gadgets to get past various hazards, rescuing Arkham staff, and battling infamous Batman villains over the course of your night in the asylum.
Games journalists have gotten flack over the years for their repeated praise regarding how the Arkham games “really make you feel like Batman”. While it’s always morally correct to dunk on games journalists (/j), this is one thing that they’re definitely right about. The Arkham games absolutely nail the feeling of playing as the character of Batman. In combat, Batman fights with the perfect combination of agility and power. There are many other games whose combat works similarly to the Arkham games, but to be honest, they aren’t games that I tend to play. I can understand feeling like the combat is rehashed and played out when a lot of other triple A titles lift from it. Personally speaking, I find the combat to be rather satisfying, despite being relatively easy. It has its roots in the idea of originally being a rhythm action game. After landing a certain amount of hits on an opponent, you will enter what the game refers to as a “freeflow” state, where your speed and power gradually increases as Batman leaps from enemy to enemy. This state lasts until an enemy manages to land a successful hit on you. It’s really easy to get the hang of, but it’s not as simple as just mashing the attack button and occasionally pressing the counter button. There is a sense of rhythm to the freeflow state, and combat feels its best and most rewarding while you’re in it.
In addition to the combat, the game also captures the feeling of playing as Batman with the “Predator” segments. These are stealth sections of the game where Batman needs to infiltrate and clear out a room filled with armed guards. Guns do a lot of damage, and trying to take out enemies that are using them head on is extremely ineffective. Instead, you have to sneak up on them from behind and take them out silently. Alternatively, you can also take them out using a location-based context sensitive takedown, but these will create noise that can alert the other enemies in the room to your location. These are my favorite gameplay segments by far. Taking down armed thugs one by one while completely unseen and instilling gradually increasing amounts of fear into them as their numbers dwindle is such an incredible thrill. The enemy AI is actually rather impressive too, especially for its time. They’ll catch on to commonly used tactics, and when they’re especially afraid, they’ll even trip and fall over themselves in a panic as they desperately search for you.
The one area in terms of gameplay where the developers sadly fumble the bag is with its boss fights. They’re unfortunately quite bad. They’re not so terrible that they become frustrating to fight, but they’re incredibly easy, not very fun, and do nothing to impress. One boss fight in particular just becomes an enemy type that you encounter many times over the course of the game, making it completely forgettable in the process. The final boss especially is just… really lame. It’s especially disappointing because a huge part of the Batman mythos’ appeal is the villains, and what’s supposed to be climactic showdowns with them are not done any justice at all.
Arkham Asylum’s story plays out like a traditional Batman story. It doesn’t really do anything particularly unique or different with its characters, however it’s still decently entertaining nonetheless. The core concept of the inmates taking over the asylum was inspired by the graphic novel Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison. In it, Batman is faced with the possibility that he in fact may be mentally ill himself. Arkham Asylum does hint at this idea, but it really doesn’t go anywhere beyond some provocations from Joker. One of my biggest criticisms of the Arkham series as a whole is that it’ll constantly reference and play with this idea, but the games usually don’t really explore it in depth or in a particularly satisfying fashion, likely because it would detract from the player’s power fantasy. Batman: Arkham Knight explores it the most out of any Arkham game, and while my memories of that title are foggy, I don’t recall the idea being handled especially well there either. Still, as far as Arkham Asylum goes, it's a good albeit standard Batman adventure that ends in a pretty sudden and slightly unsatisfying manner.
What it lacks in a particularly unique story, it makes up for with its distinct atmosphere. Arkham Asylum has a horror vibe that its sequels completely lack, with disturbing environmental storytelling and gruesome imagery that really pushes the boundaries of the game’s T for Teen rating. Rocksteady did a great job of capturing that feeling of being trapped in the lion’s den with Arkham Asylum, despite the fact that you play as one of the most stoic and hardened superheroes out there.
For the most part, the developers over at Rocksteady hit the nail on the head with their interpretation of Batman and his world. It is a darker interpretation, but the dark aspects are balanced out by the unabashed embracement of Batman’s campy comic book roots. Everyone talks and acts like they came straight out of an episode of Batman: The Animated Series (minus the swearing). It helps that Kevin Conroy (R.I.P.), Mark Hamil and Arleen Sorkin return from the show to voice the characters of Batman, Joker, and Harley Quinn respectively. This version of these characters are great and very true to their source material. The voice actors deliver some of the best performances of their careers in this game. I especially want to highlight how Joker takes over the asylum’s P.A. system, allowing him to constantly taunt, gloat, and goad you all throughout the game. It does a great job at making you feel like he’s in control.
There is a clear love for the source material in this game, best demonstrated with the side content involving the Riddler and his challenges. One type of challenge he offers is to solve various riddles by scanning the correct object in a room or an area. The solution to these riddles are usually easter egg references to other Batman characters that aren’t featured in the game, such as Penguin and Two-Face. There's quite a large number of these too, and they even reference Batman’s more obscure villains like Killer Moth, Great White Shark, and Prometheus. You can also unlock special artwork and biographies for each of these characters as well, allowing you a glimpse into how they look and operate in the Arkham universe.
Sadly, I do feel like I should mention that the PC port hasn’t aged well, and is in a rather poor state. Cutscenes in particular look very crispy and low res. This makes it all the more upsetting that the Return to Arkham remasters of this game and Arkham City were never brought to PC. There are mods out there for high definition textures and upscaled cutscenes, but I did have the game crash on me a couple of times, which caused the file path for the game to become corrupted, and forced me to format my hard disk drive. I don’t know if this was because of the mods or not. It’s just a shame that the PC port is the way that it is, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Return to Arkham eventually makes its way to PC.
It’s clear that Rocksteady adores the character of Batman and his history very much, which earns them my sincerest respect. There is so much detail in this game’s carefully crafted world that pays homage to the character’s legacy. They had grand ambitions, not just for this title, but for the games that came after it as well, as clearly evidenced by the famous Arkham City easter egg that players never found and the devs had to reveal themselves. It's absolutely a must-play for Batman fans (though chances are that pretty much all Batman fans have played it by now). Even if you’re not a huge Batman fan, I do think that you’ll get some decent fun from the rather satisfying combat and stealth. Overall, Arkham Asylum is not just an extremely well-crafted love letter to the Dark Knight, but also a solid video game as well. It laid out a strong foundation for the games that would come after it and is a great start to one of the best interpretations of the Batman mythos out there.
3 Comments
I started this and liked the look and the gameplay but was put off by my lack of familiarity with the source material. I didn’t have any exposure to comics as a kid and I only really knew Batman from the Adam West show. Now, I’m working my way through the animated series in anticipation of a more informed playthrough. This is a great review and makes me stoked to revisit it!
@Kago For real. It really helps to make this game stand out in comparison to the games that came after it.
@cowboyjosh Thank you so much for the kind words, they really mean a lot! I hope you've been enjoying the animated series and that when you do get around to revisiting this game, that you're able to have a great time with it!
@cowboyjosh Thank you so much for the kind words, they really mean a lot! I hope you've been enjoying the animated series and that when you do get around to revisiting this game, that you're able to have a great time with it!
Kago
5 months ago