Arkham Asylum takes place entirely on a mountainous private island where the titular asylum is located, with the Gotham skyline visible on the horizon. Batman ventures into different facilities as part of the asylum’s sprawling campus, in addition to waterways below the asylum and an intricate network of caves in the mountains around and under the buildings. Players become very familiar with this environment, unlocking additional parts of the island to explore as the story progresses and Batman obtains new gear to help him traverse hard-to-reach portions of the hub.
This carries on into the finest Metroidvania tradition in a way that many modern 3D action-adventure games have left by the wayside. Unlocking access to each new part of the hub feels well-earned, a reward in itself, as each section yields its own Easter eggs and puzzles to solve. This is compounded by the Riddler challenges and messages players can find, each unveiling new parts of the story and greater mystery about the asylum and its twisted inhabitants.
Similarly, the game’s structure makes for a more claustrophobic experience, from isolated rooms and narrow corridors, culminating in a memorably terrifying encounter with Killer Croc in the asylum’s sewers. This sequence forces players to move quietly and slowly to avoid creating vibrations in the water alerting Croc of Batman’s location, with the reptilian supervillain bursting out unpredictably from below. When Arkham Asylum does open up, it’s occasionally in nightmare sequences that have Batman hallucinate under the effects of Scarecrow’s fear gas.
Simply put, Arkham Asylum has plenty of moody atmosphere and tension that its sequels largely lack and a genuine sense of mystery that unfolds, particularly for first-time players. Tonally, the game feels like a horror-thriller in the vein of Zodiac or Se7en compared to preceding Batman games and even outdoor environments have an unsettling quality to them. This is a game that just exudes chilling ambiance and is all the richer for that attention to detail and mood.
The follow-ups to Arkham Asylum, including Rocksteady’s own Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight along with the WB Games Montreal-developed prequel Batman: Arkham Origins, understandably go with the bigger–is-better axiom in scope. The core gameplay mechanics are retained but the player is no longer confined to a single island, but rather portions of Gotham City itself, with Arkham Knight taking place across the entire city. This ambition certainly pays off but it does feel like there’s something missing in translation by expanding the scale of the game compared to Arkham Asylum.
Gone is much of the claustrophobia and tension from Arkham Asylum and, in the game’s open-world hub, they can simply grapple up to a nearby rooftop if they ever feel overwhelmed. The Metroidvania elements are still present to a degree but they’re noticeably downplayed in favor of open-world exploration. The horror undertones are still there, particularly in Arkham Knight, but it’s horror without the mounting sense of dread that Arkham Asylum provides. Comparatively, if Arkham Asylum feels like a stripped-down horror-driven experience like The Terminator or Alien, Arkham City and Arkham Knight ramp up the action to feel more like Terminator 2 or Aliens.
It may have kicked off a rightfully beloved franchise, but Batman: Arkham Asylum has never really been topped. Read More