Summary
Batman: Arkham Asylumis a perfect blend of wonderful game mechanics, as well as a comic-accurate story, setting, and character cast that feels authentic to the source material. The grounds of the asylum are familiar but unsettling, and asJoker has taken control of the facility, it never feels like Batman has any kind of lasting grip on the situation. To some, its sequels improve on it, but the first game has arguably aged better than any and is still a tremendous experience to this day.
Batman isn’t going anywhere. His status in pop culture is huge, and it’s only a matter of time until he receives his own game once again, be it from developer Rocksteady or from elsewhere. BetweenBatman Returnson the Sega Genesis,Batman: The Telltale Seriesin 2016, andLEGO Batmanon the seventh generation of consoles, the character has gone through many revisions, butArkham Asylumand the way it handles progression is the best inspiration for the future.
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Batman’s Night in the Asylum is Distinctive and Different
As the2011 follow-upBatman: Arkham Citydeployed an open world to great effect, it brought with it a formula that was used in future games. Because of this the smaller, more cramped setting ofBatman: Arkham Asylumfeels wholly unique, so different mechanics and gameplay flourishes are more noticeable. Batman rarely walks a few steps before encountering a new puzzle he needs to solve to either progress the story or collect one of the many Riddler trophies. It’s more compact but doesn’t lack diversity, and rather it makes better use of its surroundings than later games in the franchise.
Thenext Batman gamegoing back to a more restricted space could better facilitate the steady acquisition of new gadgets to make the game feel tighter, more focused, and make the progression more obvious. The open worlds of later games meant that the abundance of side activities could get in the way and distract the player, and giving them the abilities early on to get distracted can make it feel like hours can go by without the player doing anything productive.
Arkham Asylum’s Batman is Efficient, But Ever-Growing
Progression is essential in any game, and with Batman’s approach to combat being reliant on gadgets and technology,Arkham Asylumuses the toys in his arsenal to keep players learning new things and expanding their capabilities as the story goes on.Rocksteady’sArkhamtrilogyis a third-person action-adventure series, but the stagnated nature of the gadgets and when Batman can access them means that the first game has a Metroidvania-esque feel where backtracking can be incredibly rewarding, as areas of the hub world can only be found and explored when a specific item is acquired.
It’s a smart idea and one that can even fit into the narrative well. The 2009 game’s story reveals little about Batman’s history, but it’s clear that it takes place when Bruce Wayne has already been Batman for quite some time. It would make sense that more technological upgrades would be periodically available to him, and whatever is next for The Dark Knight in the gaming space should learn from how he’s steadily given the means to take control over his environment or his enemies. Batman has too much potential to stay on the gaming shelf for too long, andRocksteady’s take on Batman in isolated locationsis undoubtedly the perfect blueprint to follow.
Batman: Arkham Trilogywill launch on Nintendo Switch in fall 2023.
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