We’ve had some pretty good superhero games over the past few years, and it feels like the genre is in a strong place these days. That wasn’t always the case in the ’90s and early 2000s, especially when it came to Batman. Like other games of the time that featured superheroes, there were decent ones, but they didn’t always capture the essence or appeal of the character. Spider-Man and the X-Men had basic games in between Spider-Man 2 again X-Men Legends II, but the Dark Knight did not arrive until Batman: Arkham Asylum.
The game was originally released on August 25, 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros. With an original story and universe instead of based on movies or classics Animated The series, featuring that show’s writer Paul Dini and his voice acting trio of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Mark Hamill, Shelter you looked like you were doing everything right. And at the time, it did very well: critical and commercial acclaim followed, as well as a slew of year-end awards and a Guinness World Record for the most reviewed superhero game ever. The evil boss fight could not steal its popularity, and it is well considered as one (if not i) is the best superhero game of all time.
Games released during the PS3/360 era may be outdated or labeled as hell, too Arkham Asylum definitely the first one. I replayed the game a few weeks ago (thanks, Return to Arkham!), and it’s just as good as it was in 2009. You wouldn’t know this was Rocksteady’s second game; it carries itself with incredible confidence. From the beginning, it goes very well. The anti-theft combo still works, and it’s always satisfying to clear a room or find a new gadget that opens up the shelter a little more. Bias as it means, yes, Batman: Arkham Asylum It’s that good and it still holds up 15 years later, minus the boss battles and classic Harley and Poison Ivy designs.
Arkham Asylum released at an important time in the character’s history as a product. When the game came out, it had been a year since The Dark Knight became one of the greatest Batman movies of all time, too Batman: The Brave and the Bold aired its first season on Cartoon Network. He’s always been a popular character, but the late 2000s gave him a big profile boost. The world got Bat-fever again, and so did Rocksteady Arkham series became a central part of that effort. (There’s even a subreddit dedicated to the fourth main game that doesn’t exist.) Its influence on its source material may not be as readily apparent as Spider-Man after his 2018 run, but even having Tara Strong replace Sorkin as Harley from 2011. Arkham City forward shows the waves of these games.
In the larger context of a video game, Shelter cast a very large shadow. Almost every action-adventure game (major or otherwise) of the last 15 years has something to trace back to Arkham Asylum. Whether it’s fluid, combat-heavy combat, a perspective mode that allows characters to see through walls, or stealth and stealth, they all share DNA with the Rocksteady series. The most obvious examples are Insomniac’s Spider Man games, which lend themselves sufficiently to the level of the machine and the objective from Arkham that they are contemporaneous, along with the Monoliths Middle Earth: Shadow a duology. Even the latest Batman games like Gotham Knights and Rocksteady’s own Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League from this year compare with Arkham games, given a little favor.
Even with all the actors behind it, the features of Arkham Asylum and its larger series remains entirely separate from it. The game is not lacking in atmosphere, and being Batman, there is a sense of unease as he makes his way through the asylum. When everything clicks and in its best moments, the game feels like you’re reading a really good comic book arc or watching a great series of episodes. Somehow, another superhero game didn’t lend to my favorite part of the series: the game over screens where the villain taunts you after you die. Frustrating as it may be to fail, sometimes it’s worth dying just to see these taunts, and they go a long way in selling the immersion of being Batman.
There was no new main line Arkham game since 2015 Batman: Arkham Knight. While Rocksteady held on Suicide Squad In its first (and possibly only) year, WB made its first non-Batman game within years of Monolith. Wonder Woman. The series continues with Camouflage Batman: Arkham Shadow–Meta Quest 3 is a sequel to 2013’s limited prequel Arkham Origins-but its non-spinoff future is unclear. Batman doesn’t sit still: whether it comes from Rocksteady or another studio, WB will pull that trap, and we’ll all be living in Batman’s world again.
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