Ten years ago, a (then) little known studio called Rocksteady released Batman: Arkham Asylum. What should've been yet another mediocre Batman release became a huge hit that defied expectations. It changed how we look at licensed games, which were once considered little more than a cash grab, and how the industry looks at them. Although a lot of games have aged poorly, Batman: Arkham Asylum is made with a lot of care and respect for the franchise and the game reflects that, which is one of the reasons it's still so great today.

Fight Like A Bat

Batman in Batman Arkham Asylum

From the moment you punch your first thug, the attention to detail is evident. Combat in other games has you press a button, typically over and over, in order to execute a specific move or combo. Some games have it so you can press a secondary button or a tertiary button to change what you'll do. Combining these buttons will give you different attacks and combos. Arkham Asylum doesn't do this. Pressing the attack button will unleash an attack that appropriate for the situation. It could be a straight punch, a cross, a flip kick or a handspring kick.

As combat is not about direct attacks, it's about more than memorizing combinations of buttons. Instead, it's about timing. This kind of combat system suits titles where part of the objective is destroying your opponent in the flashiest way possible. Batman isn't here to show off. He's here to dispatch of his enemies quickly and efficiently.

The combat also allows the focus of the combat to be more about environmental awareness and planning. In a lot of ways, when you are in a fight in Arkham Asylum, you are playing 3D chess. You plan to attack this character, then switch to another, throw batarangs, toss a smoke bomb, choke someone out, grapple up to a ledge, glide behind the crowd and take out as many as you can from behind before re-engaging.

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Investigate Like A Bat

Batman in Batman Arkham Asylum

At the end of the day, many video games have been released where you beat up thugs as Batman. However, there are very few that allow you to be the world's greatest detective. There are sections where you investigate a crime scene, either to trail someone or find information using Batman's cowl, which is a great feature that does justice to the character. The graphical filter applied when in this mode is also particularly well-done, as it gives the world a more Noir-style vibe to it, a nod to Batman's roots.

In addition to using his cowl to look over crime scenes, Batman can also use it in other situations. On his enemies, it'll tell him their statistical information and mental state as well as whether or not they are armed. Using the cowl to look around the environment will also give you details such as when a wall is weak or when a wall vent is accessible.

This further emphasizes Batman's fighting style and the planning and thought involved in it. You can use your cowl to plan your approach and overwhelm your foe or quickly knock them out. This makes the stealth mechanics feel satisfying. Rather than having to be extremely careful to avoid enemies until the time is right, the amount of information you have at your disposal reassures you. You have so many possibilities and can execute a means of attack with confidence as well as retreat should the plan not work out.

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Explore As The Bat

Arkham Asylum in Batman Arkham Asylum

Batman's cowl isn't the only gadget Batman has at his disposal. He has his batarangs, a grapple hook, a zip line, explosive gel and other gadgets that help him get around Arkham Island. Rocksteady made it a point to make Arkham Island fun to explore. And in multiple ways no less. The open areas of the asylum grounds are perfect for letting Batman spread his cape and glide. The industrial structure of the Intensive Treatment building makes it ideal for grappling and zip-lines. The confined spaces of the Botanical Garden is perfect for sneaking around and traveling via vents, grates and hidden alcoves.

Exploring is even more enjoyable when you combine the cowl and start looking for all the collectibles this game has. The Riddler challenge, which involves solving the villain's riddles, is one of the harder side missions, but completing it is very gratifying. Exploring also allows the game to put in a lot of references to the Caped Crusader's previous adventures as well as his various allies and villains. Batman's various gadgets make the world of Arkham Asylum enjoyable to explore, especially since the game's controls are responsive and solid, meaning that none of these gadgets feel unpolished or poorly conceived.

Celebrate the Bat

Batman in Batman Arkham Asylum

Ultimately, the game is fondly remembered because the gameplay was enjoyable and it had meaningful objectives and a rewarding story. The story also benefited from having Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill return as the voices of Batman and Joker, respectively. However, what made it special and groundbreaking was something else. It was an open-world/Metroidvania style game with stealth elements and timing-based combat, which had been done before in games such as Assassin's Creed.

Instead, what made Arkham Asylum special was why everything was designed the way it was. It has timing-based combat but why? Because that's how Batman would approach a fight. It has an open world/Metroidvania structure, it allows Batman to be Batman, moving across Gotham's rooftops and sneaking around. The developers didn't take an already developed game structure and stick Batman in it; they designed the game around the character first. That's why things are the way they are. Every decision has a purpose. Every design choice was deliberate. And the result was one of the greatest games, comic book or not, every made.

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