Much like [b]Marvel's Spider-Man (2018)[/b] makes you [i]feel[/i] like Spider-Man, [b]Batman: Arkham Asylum[/b] makes you [i]feel[/i] like Batman nearly ten years earlier. It nails every aspect of being Batman. Whether you're stealthily picking off armed goons one by one or fist-fighting a large group all at once, every scenario is fun. Even outside of combat, the navigation, exploration, and gadget usage are all excellent.
You would think a Batman game that takes place over a single night on Arkham Asylum Island couldn't be that good. So how did they do it?
First, I'd argue it's more of a metroidvania than a true open-world game. You have a central hub area with several offshoots, but only one meaningful destination at any given point in the story. Then either the story changes the environment or you unlock a gadget that opens a new path. As a result, you're constantly revisiting familiar locations with new objectives and traversal options. They really packed a lot into this relatively small setting.
Second, they simply wrote a good story that supports an ensemble cast. Joker is the main villain running amok, but between the opening and final boss, you also face Bane, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy. They even include an interactive flashback to Thomas and Martha Wayne's death, which I think everyone is contractually obligated to include in Batman media at this point. Yet none of it feels shoehorned in. Every villain and every major moment feels like a natural part of the same coherent story. None of it feels like padding.
Time for a little confession: I played through the entire game on Normal difficulty and didn't understand the combat. I struggled especially with knife and stun baton enemies. Then, during my quest for the hundo, I completed all of the combat challenges that required combo chains and high streaks. That's when I realized this game is a rhythm game in disguise. I spent hours struggling, but then I found my flow. Then I spent a few more hours struggling before eventually scraping together some lucky wins. After that, I breezed through the game on Hard.
Even after two console generations, this game holds up remarkably well. I only became interested in the series after [b]Batman: Arkham Knight[/b] released, but I was patient and hundo'd them all in order. The sequels definitely expand and improve upon the formula, but I'm glad I started here. And although I would never recommend it, I'm curious how someone would feel about this game after playing the series in reverse.
