Arkham Asylum: A Two-Faced Retrospective

My earliest exposure to Batman was through reruns of the 1960’s TV show, but it really was the Animated Series (and the associated toyline) that made me fall in love with Batman. Rocksteady Studios released Arkham Asylum, a game mixing beat-em-up action with stealth and platforming elements, back in 2008. While I was aware of the game, I didn’t get around to playing it until 2015 (more on that later). When I finally did play, I was ecstatic to find that Arkham Asylum seems to borrow several visual and thematic elements from the animated series, including the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman, Arleen Sorkin as Harley Quinn, and Mark Hamill as the Joker (Mr. Hamill will always be the definitive Joker to me), as well as some aesthetic choices such as the Batsuit looking like a more realistic version of the one from the cartoon, and Paul Dini writing the story.

Overall this game felt like a reunion; it was as if something from my childhood had left for a while, grown up while it was away, and returned to me – older and grittier, but still very much the same at heart. This emotional/nostalgic connection doubtlessly coloured my perception of the game as I played it; as such, please be aware that this will be a very biased review. For a more objective look, my friend JBbear was kind enough to provide the second "face" of this retrospective and share his two cents as a "Sunday gamer" and non-Batman fan. 

My Very Biased Review

Arkham Asylum fucking rules. Review over.

What, you expected an in-depth analysis of the game's overarching themes?

Alright, fine: My Actual Review (and an in-depth analysis of the game's overarching themes)

OK, more seriously, right off the bat (see what I did there?), the game looks incredible, and still holds up quite nicely today in my opinion. Close-up shots of Batman on the title screen highlight the extremely detailed texture work on his character model; the fabric on the Batsuit and the face stubble are definite highlights for me. 

Pictured: Bat-Stubble Bat-Santa beard and Bat-Pecs. Not pictured: Anything from the actual game.

The environments mostly keep to that same level of quality; though some textures aren’t as polished when viewed from up close, I assume some sacrifices had to be made for the sake of performance. There are several neat little details scattered throughout the asylum, some of which reference the Batman mythos, and others seemingly put there just to make you go “uh, that’s neat” upon discovering them (I’m looking at you, random severed-head-in-a-jar. In fact I probably looked at you far longer than necessary, or healthy. I know, I’m weird).

Bottom line, this is a very pretty game, especially by the standards of its time. In fact, this was the first game to make my wife comment on how pretty the graphics were (whereas my meticulously modded-out version of Skyrim simply enticed a disinterested “eh, yeah, that’s nice”). Granted, this was my first PS3 game ever and both it and the console were my 2015 birthday gift courtesy of my wife, so she might have been as biased as myself in that regard; but biased or not, the game is gorgeous. The music also very much fits the game and to me sounds sufficiently “Batman-like”, for lack of a better term. However I can think of no specific track that really stuck to my memory, unlike some of the very memorable music heard in the sequel.

It should be said that Arkham, despite the obvious amount of effort and attention put into its design, isn’t believable as an asylum, at least not in a realistic sense; there’s no reason for any mental health institution to have gargoyles hanging from the ceiling (I’m no psychiatrist, but I surmise demonic figures watching from above may not very conducive to mental health), or tall windows that would seem more at home in Hogwarts’ great hall. But it is believable as Arkham Asylum, as part of the Batman universe, and it works wonderfully as a setting that suits video game conceits while serving an unrelenting gothic horror aesthetic.

Indeed, there is an undeniable horror vibe to this game, from the environment's general decrepitude (I had to laugh out loud at a video of the warden praising Arkham Asylum's "cutting edge" psychiatric treatments; the only "edge" I found in that specific part of the game was a discarded bone saw), to the interview tapes you can find detailing the psychoses of Batman's nemeses. The first Scarecrow encounter had Batman descend into the asylum's morgue, situated in the "lower corridors" - an area that seems to borrow its visual inspiration from Freddy Kruger's boiler room, and Silent Hill's Otherworld. Scarecrow's presence is heavily telegraphed with some classic "slasher movie villain" moments, but the path to confronting him, complete with off-kilter camera angles and genuinely creepy music/sound effects, briefly kept me guessing as to whether what I was seeing was actually real, and it was brilliant.

Speaking of fear...

Yes, the thing I dreaded having to write: despite my love for it, Arkham Asylum is not without a few glaring flaws. Though I have started re-playing it for the sake of writing this article, I have yet to finish my second playthrough. Part of that is due to being a responsible adult (yeah right) with less free time on my hands than I’d like, but there is also the unfortunate fact that the game’s replay value is severely limited.

Sure, you can still roam the asylum after the game’s ending, but the door to the final boss is sealed (I’d have expected being at least able to replay the last boss fight at will, but such is not the case here), and the defeated enemies are gone forever. Still, with nothing to do aside from hunting down the remaining Riddler trophies, the deserted asylum is even more oppressively creepy than before, and you can now freely soak in the atmosphere and wander around to explore every nook and cranny at your leisure, which is enjoyable.

For about 10 minutes.

Sadly, it didn’t take long for me to get bored after clearing the game. Respawning enemies and/or bosses (if even just the final boss, as mentioned above) could have kept the fun going for a while. Even just a “New Game Plus” option – that is, being able to replay from the start of the game while keeping most of the character upgrades – would have been appreciated. As it is, there is little reason to go back to Arkham Asylum once the game has been cleared, except to go through the very same experience again. Not that said experience is not worthwhile, but a subsequent playthrough will never be quite as magical as discovering the game for the first time.

Of course, one could argue that the challenge maps are specifically made to play the game after the “main quest” has been completed, and I will admit that being able to play as the Joker in the PS3 challenge maps was a fun diversion. This being said, to me this game’s strength lies in its storytelling, in its atmospheric buildup and the interactions between Batman and his foes – though the gameplay itself is undeniably one of the game’s strong suits, it alone was not enough to keep my interest for hours on end.

An action figure re-creation of my absolute favourite level from the game. (The stuff that may be oozing out of your monitor right now is an overflow of liquefied sarcasm)

In case the above picture wasn’t obvious enough, another one of my main pet peeves with the game is the Obligatory Sewer Level™. I found this segment overly tedious, especially when you get to the chase part at the end, inevitably have no idea what to do if it’s your first time playing (or rather, don’t remember what you’re supposed to do because the entire sequence is so much of drag that your brain went into sleep mode), die, and have to restart at the last checkpoint, which means slogging through even more of that tedium. Mercifully the game doesn’t have you re-do the entire sequence; I would not be here writing about this game if it had. In fact, I would likely not have a functioning PS3 controller (or TV) anymore if it had.

Objectively though, the sewer area fits well in with the narrative and there’s an in-story justification for its existence, as opposed to standing out as a purely arbitrary video game level. Like the rest of the game, the atmosphere there is delightfully creepy and tense (think Jaws), and it serves to demonstrate the game’s gorgeous water effects. It’s just too bad that the sewer is very linear (being basically little more than a series of corridors), and is not quite as visually inspired/interesting as other areas of the asylum; if you end up having a somewhat difficult time with this sequence (as I did, on account of sucking hard), then after a while the suspense just gives way to annoyance.

The same goes for all of the game’s boss fights, really; in general these were the parts of the game I enjoyed the least, despite the climactic buildups to some of them. The mechanics of the game tend to change during boss fights, and whereas the main game usually gives you freedom as to how to approach a situation, the bosses tend to have only one key weakness/pattern that you need to figure out to beat them. I preferred the cutscene villains (IE the ones Batman effortlessly punches out in a cinematic sequence once you’ve managed to get to them), probably because to me it seems more like the “Batman” way of doing things.

This being said, I think that there is an understated brilliance to the way boss fights are handled in Arkham Asylum. Here is a game that gives possibly the closest experience there is to actually being Batman; you have the gadgets, you have the moves, and best of all you have responsive controls and a lovingly detailed 3D environment as your playground, complete with goons to beat up with the aforementioned gadgets and moves. You can punch them in the face, kick them in the face, batarang them in the face, blow explosive gel up in their face… and if face destruction isn’t your cup of tea, Batman will sometimes randomly punch people in the groin (I wish there was a specific in-game gadget for that, like in the 1989 movie).

Sonic Shock Batarang? Nah, I'm good with the wrist-mounted, dick-punching cheese grater.

Anyway; you have options, is all I’m saying, and Batman is at all times in control of the situation (or at least he can be, in the hands of a sufficiently skilled player – given my general ineptitude at video games, my Batman probably comes across as Mr. Magoo in a bat costume).

However the boss “fights” (in particular the sewer segment) take those options – and therefore any control of the situation you might have had – away, turning the tables on Batman. I mentioned earlier that Arkham Asylum, to me, works wonderfully as a horror game: during the “predator” encounters, or even when just having a grand time walking/jumping around beating up mooks, this is undeniably a horror game – for your enemies. The game enforces this notion by letting you turn on Detective Mode and seeing your foes’ heart rates go up and their status change from “calm” to “nervous” to “terrified”. Batman is all about fear; that’s the whole point of going around dressed as a giant, angry bat. This is the first Batman game I ever played that gets that, and I love it.

But then you run into a boss, and realize that the horror theme works both ways: your options are now mostly gone and the boss is forcing you to play the game like they want. And that’s just the way it should be: these are supervillains, after all. Being frustrated with the Killer Croc boss fight enhances my immersion into the experience of being Batman, because now I know exactly how he feels when he hears Croc’s escaped Arkham (Despite his stoic demeanor, I expect his inner monologue to be along the lines of “Shit, I have to fight him? AGAIN?! FML.”)

In that sense, I find the Killer Croc segment (and nearly all of the other boss fights) thematically brilliant, if no less annoying. I wish the same could be said of the final battle against the Joker; a straight fight against a T-Virus-enhanced Joker (you can’t tell me that “Titan Joker” doesn’t look like someone took a rejected Resident Evil boss design and slapped the Joker’s face on it) wasn’t exactly what I would have expected from a game that, so far, had demonstrated such understated brilliance.

That would be one heck of a crossover though. Which we might see when Disney inevitably acquires both DC and Capcom.

Or maybe the developers knew exactly the kind of Batman most gamers would play, and just caved in and gave us something else to punch in the face for the big finish. How appropriate for the Joker: I guess the joke’s on us after all.

Well played, Rocksteady. Well played indeed.



JBbear's Two Cents

Batman, Arkham Asylum was a huge hit when it came out. With IGN, GameSpot and Metacritic all giving reviews over 4 stars, it’s no wonder I picked this one up when I saw it for sale at my local used game shop for 6$. After all, it was 2016, the game was getting old, but MAFcat had already told me it was worth the buy, and I was due for a new game. The question, however, is how does this game hold up as I write these lines in fall of 2017?

I popped it in my trusty ol’ 360 for a second playthrough last night to refresh my memory.

The plot line behind that game is quite simple: Batman brings Joker in the Asylum. Joker breaks free and wreaks havoc in the place. Batman has to save the day.

The main antagonist in this installment of the franchise is Joker, but you’ll be facing a wide array of secondary antagonists, some more memorable than others. Names include Quinn, Croc and Bane. The Riddler has some presence in there but you never actually see him. He’s the master of secondary quests. The controls of this game are straightforward and simple. Perfect for a guy like me. Batman moves smoothly and intuitively and it’s easy to navigate the game. Minutes in, you’re introduced to the various menus, maps and other tools you will be consulting frequently throughout the game, and a few fun extras such as character bios and recordings of antagonists during sessions with their doctors.

Upgrades to weaponry, armor and moves can be had through leveling up, and accumulating these makes you a stealthier, stronger, and more iron-clad foe, and allows you access to some of the Riddler’s trophies and challenges that were inaccessible in early game.

I like a game with a good storyline. This has that. I like a game with an immersive world. This kind of has that. I like a game that’s unique and refreshing.

This is not that.

Unfortunately, although this is a good game that definitely gave me some very fun play hours, it’s nothing magical or astonishingly new. It very much reflects the ambiance you’d want to have in a Batman instalment, but that’s all it is: faithful. When I say faithful is all it is, I mean ambiance. This is the first Batman game I ever played. I can’t knock a game for being faithful to the franchise, but I can’t give extra points for it either. Faithful is safe. If we disregard the brand name, it’s another third person action game. Nothing new or ground breaking.

To be fair, I get the hype. The Batman franchise has such a colossal following that it would be sin to move away from some aspects of it. I mean, let’s face it: I would flip if Link got a gun (I haven’t played the newer Zelda games, he better not have a gun…) or if Master Chief got anything but a Spartan armor. I get that fans and hard-core gamers get nostalgic from using the batarang and from bringing the Joker to justice. I unfortunately, am neither a fan, nor a hard-core gamer. Therefore, from a Sunday gamer perspective, the game isn’t a masterpiece. It’s another third person action game.

It certainly deserves a spot in my collection, and I’ll keep going with my second play through. I’ll even pick up the sequel if I find it when I’m in the mood for a new game, but I don’t need it this minute.

Overall: well done. This is a solid game.

JBbear approved.



We hope you enjoyed this retrospective on Batman: Arkham Asylum. Our next article will take us right into the Heart of Darkness, with a look at Far Cry 2!