We’ve had some pretty good superhero games over the past few years, and it feels like the genre is largely on solid footing these days. That wasn’t always the case in the ’90s and early 2000s, especially with Batman. As with other games featuring high-profile heroes, there were some decent ones back then, but they didn’t always capture the full essence or appeal of the character. Spider-Man and X-Men had semi-basic games in Spider Man 2 And X-Men Legends II, but the Dark Knight only came Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The game was originally released on August 25, 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. went out of their way to sell it as the definitive version of Batman in that medium, with an original story and universe, rather than being based on the films or the classic. Animated Series and the involvement of screenwriter Paul Dini and the voice acting trio Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin and Mark Hamill, asylum seemed to do everything right. And it did at the time: critical acclaim and commercial recognition followed, along with numerous year-end awards and a Guinness World Record for the highest-rated superhero game of all time. Bad boss fights couldn’t steal the show, and it is considered one of the (if not The) best superhero game of all time.
Games released during the PS3/360 era can be either quite timeless or totally outdated, and Arkham Asylum is definitely the former. I have been replaying the game for the past few weeks (thanks, Return to Arkham!), and it’s just as great today as it was back in 2009. You wouldn’t know this is Rocksteady’s second game; it carries itself with remarkable confidence. It’s pretty well on the beat from the start. The mix of combat and stealth still works, and it’s always satisfying to clear a room or get a new gadget that opens up the asylum a little wider. As biased as it might be to say yes, Batman: Arkham Asylum is really that good and still holds up 15 years later, aside from the boss fights and the dated designs for Harley and Poison Ivy.
Arkham Asylum was released at an important time in the character’s history as a brand. When the game came out, it had been over a year since The Dark Knight became one of the greatest Batman movies of all time, and Batman: The Bold and the Brave aired its first season on Cartoon Network. He has always been a popular character, but the late 2000s definitely gave him a big boost in popularity. The world was back in Bat fever and Rocksteady’s Arkham The series became a major part of that whole endeavor. (There’s even a subreddit dedicated to a nonexistent fourth main game.) Its influence on the source material may not be as easily traced as Spider-Man after his 2018 game, but even with Tara Strong replacing Sorkin as Harley from the 2011 game, Arkham City Next shows what waves these games made.
In a larger video game context, asylum cast a much larger shadow. Almost every action-adventure game (big or not) in the last 15 years has something that could be traced back to Arkham Asylum. Whether it’s fluid, counter and stun heavy combat, a vision mode that lets characters see through walls, or sneaking around and silent takedowns, they all share some DNA with the Rocksteady series. The most obvious examples are Insomniac’s Spider Man Games that borrow enough on a mechanical and intentional level from Arkham that they are contemporaries, and Monoliths Middle Earth: Shadow Duology. Even current Batman games like Gotham Knight and Rocksteady’s own Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League from this year drew comparisons with the Arkham Games, only with much less leniency.
Despite all the imitators who followed him, Arkham Asylum and its larger series remain unique. The game doesn’t lack atmosphere, and despite Batman being who he is, there’s a constant sense of unrest as he makes his way through the asylum. When everything clicks and the best moments are hit, the game really does feel like reading a really good comic book arc or watching a series of episodes. Somehow other superhero games haven’t adopted my favorite part of those series: game over screens where the villain taunts you after you die. As frustrating as it can be to fail, sometimes it’s worth dying just to see those taunts, and they go a long way toward providing the immersion of playing Batman.
There was no new main line Arkham Playing since 2015 Batman: Arkham KnightWhile Rocksteady is Suicide Squad In its first (and probably only) year, WB produces Monolith, its first non-Batman solo game in years. Wonder Woman. The series continues with Camouflajs Batman: Arkham Origins—a Meta Quest 3 sequel to the underrated 2013 prequel Arkham Origins –but its future without a spinoff is unclear. Batman never stays put: Whether from Rocksteady or another studio, WB will pull the trigger and we’ll all be living in Batman’s world again.
Want more io9 news? Find out when you can expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next in the DC Universe in film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
