This game is probably almost as significant to the trajectory of video games as Super Mario 64 is. At least as influential as the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
What's so striking replaying through it now (via the remasters on Series X) is how much started here. That two-ish button melee/counter combat system? Here. Gadget-heavy superhero games? Here. Moody AAA game storytelling? This is probably one of the 4-5 games that made that a thing for 15 years.
The other striking thing is that it is the antithesis for how games -- ESPECIALLY WARNER BROS. GAMES -- are structured now. Bruh, Arkham Asylum is like a cute 8-9 hours long, stripped back Metroid Prime in the form of a third-person action adventure game.
It's all so compact, with no fat to speak of. No filler at all. Some bonus challenges and maybe a bit of DLC if you look really hard for it, but that's it. I would pay $70 for titles like this if it saved the video game industry from implosion.
The downside to playing a game as influential as this is that you have probably played games -- maybe in this series -- that that bring these mechanics to their natural (ultimately superior) conclusion. I love the PlayStation Spider-Mans, but those are straight up Arkham games with a lot more money pumped into them.
So does the combat get a bit repetitive as a result? Sure. Is the Metroid a bit underutilized? Of course. Does it need a few more interesting boss encounters? Maybe. But if you want to enjoy a piece of gaming history that stands alongside Super Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and the original Modern Warfare? Arkham Asylum is required reading.
BTW, I've only ever played Asylum/Knight so I'm excited to dig into City and Origins after this.
What's so striking replaying through it now (via the remasters on Series X) is how much started here. That two-ish button melee/counter combat system? Here. Gadget-heavy superhero games? Here. Moody AAA game storytelling? This is probably one of the 4-5 games that made that a thing for 15 years.
The other striking thing is that it is the antithesis for how games -- ESPECIALLY WARNER BROS. GAMES -- are structured now. Bruh, Arkham Asylum is like a cute 8-9 hours long, stripped back Metroid Prime in the form of a third-person action adventure game.
It's all so compact, with no fat to speak of. No filler at all. Some bonus challenges and maybe a bit of DLC if you look really hard for it, but that's it. I would pay $70 for titles like this if it saved the video game industry from implosion.
The downside to playing a game as influential as this is that you have probably played games -- maybe in this series -- that that bring these mechanics to their natural (ultimately superior) conclusion. I love the PlayStation Spider-Mans, but those are straight up Arkham games with a lot more money pumped into them.
So does the combat get a bit repetitive as a result? Sure. Is the Metroid a bit underutilized? Of course. Does it need a few more interesting boss encounters? Maybe. But if you want to enjoy a piece of gaming history that stands alongside Super Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and the original Modern Warfare? Arkham Asylum is required reading.
BTW, I've only ever played Asylum/Knight so I'm excited to dig into City and Origins after this.