Written by: Discussion
Date posted: March 21, 2025

Hello everyone. Today sees the return of our irregularly-used discussion review format, with a look at Rocksteady’s acclaimed third-person action title, Arkham Asylum.

We begins with the Joker in custody, dragged in chains into the depths of Arkham City’s notorious holding facility and psychiatric hospital for its most dangerous criminals. Does it all go horribly wrong? Of course it goes horribly wrong. Its not long before the entire island is under the control of the Joker and his army of goons, with some other big names joining in. Worse, Joker is using his new kingdom as a based of operations for a new master plan to unleash chaos on the city. Isolated and trapped in hostile territory, Batman is the only one who can stop his arch enemy.

The game was acclaimed for its fluid, combo-based combat (pow! biff! ooofff!) as well as stealthy bits where you hang around in the ceiling and pick off bad guys one at a time. You also have a range of gadgets and tools used to navigate the environments, gain an edge in combat and uncover secrets.

Read on to see what we thought of it…
 

Batman Discussion Begins

Stoo: For this latest discussion we were thinking about the Xbox 360 era. So that’s what, 2006-2012, something like that? It’s at the latter end of that roughly 1990-2010 period we look at.

Rik: The Xbox One first came out in 2013, so that’s about right. I do kind of feel like I want to know about 360-era games… maybe not to always explore whole series, but certainly dip our toe into some of them, like with Assassin’s Creed, as we did previously. It’s a period where I was still vaguely up to date with everything that was going on in gaming news, and so there are games that I remember coming out and being excited by, but that I still haven’t played.

Stoo: It’s an era where I, being a cheapskate, was buying a lot of games about 3 years late in Steam sales.

Rik: Yeah, I got a new PC in 2008 and did something similar. Little did I know I wouldn’t play the games until 2 upgrades later!

Stoo: Some might question how ‘retro’ this era is, but I figure it’s 15-20 years ago.

Rik: I mean, let’s not get into that! But I would acknowledge that I think 360-era games still look great. I’m sure newer games look great as well, but this is when the technological impressiveness started levelling off for me. Put it this way: I don’t think we’re going to creep into the next generation.

Stoo: Yes, games like Bioshock still look good. I think the rate of improving graphics slowed from there on. Unless I just wasn’t paying attention.

Rik: I think when they ‘remaster’ these games I start getting confused. But I guess that’s mainly for console audiences really. Anyway, I seem to recall you might have played a bit of this previously?

Stoo: I played the whole thing about…. 12 years ago?

Rik: Aha. Well, I bought a boxed copy, then Games for Windows stopped working before I’d even played it.

Stoo: Did you patch it out or just buy again on Steam?

Rik: I tried to work out if they’d give you a free Steam copy instead but probably just bought it a second time in a sale. I’ve still got the box but seem to have lost the manual. So, winning all round really!

Stoo: Actually this game is the reason I bought an Xbox 360 controller, because it didn’t support the PS2-knockoff I used up until that point.

Rik: Yeah, I remember a similar point of having to overcome my stubbornness in order to have the button prompts on screen match those on the controller. I guess you could say that 360 and PC versions were pretty consistent in this era. I mean, arguably consoles just got more and more like PCs anyway, but this gen seems to be when they converged a bit more.

Stoo: Right, I assume by that point games were being released on both more or less simultaneously?

Rik: Yeah, I think so. Maybe some were kept back for daft licensing or exclusivity reasons. I’m thinking something like Alan Wake, which was meant to be a Windows Vista title, then was an Xbox 360 exclusive, then got a belated and apologetic PC version years later.

Stoo: Oh, didn’t know that. I do know we miss out occasionally on PC (like Red Dead Redemption).

Rik: Prior to that, you’d have some slightly shonky PC ports of PS2-era titles, where even a PS2 controller might not help you. It felt a bit like playing on an emulator.

Stoo: Like San Andreas maybe? Which we got about 6 months late.

Rik: Yeah, I mean I think Rockstar kind of made a bit of an effort in those days. They would kind of go, ‘the PC is so powerful, we needed the extra time to do it justice…’ (which is a line that definitely works on PC gamers by the way. Or at least it used to). I remember that thinking Pro Evo on PC would be a step up from the PS2, but it wasn’t, really.
 

A guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.

Stoo: So we settled on Batman. On a scale of 1-10, how big a bat-fan would you say you are? Where 1 is ‘couldn’t care less’ and 10 is ‘you made the spare room into a batcave full of original edition comics’?

Rik: In the middle maybe. 5-ish? I liked the Christopher Nolan efforts, but then when they made Batman vs Superman I was like, ‘again with this?’ Then there’s the Robert Pattinson film of a couple of years ago, which I quite enjoyed, but I sort of feel like I’ve had enough. I guess I’m your typical mainstream TV/movie fan without getting into any of the comics. Like most kids of my generation in the UK my journey was: campy Adam West version (which they used to show on childrens’ TV in the morning), then Keaton-Kilmer-Clooney. I remember the Michael Keaton ones being a big deal, and being excited about a more serious take on things. Then the Nolan trilogy felt necessary after the 90s films got a bit silly. How about you?

Stoo: Probably a 5 also. Which is possibly for the best. I used to read a lot of Marvel so if this was a Spiderman game I’d be obsessively geeking out – ‘he can’t beat up Juggernaut, that’s ridiculous, I will write some angry tweets’. With DC though I never read the comics so just casually enjoy the movies.

Rik: I guess there have been quite a few Batman games as well. Most of which are probably side scrolling beat ’em ups that JGR have reviewed!

Stoo: Oh yeah, there was that really tough one back in the CPC days?

Rik: Yeah. From Jon Ritman, who did Head Over Heels. That was one of the few games we had on disk, and also one of the Batman games that involved more thinking than fighting. I think there have been others: the PC version of Batman Returns was more of a detective style game. And Telltale did an adventure game series recently(-ish) too. I suppose also we should note that we were 2/3 through the Dark Knight movie trilogy at the point Arkham Asylum came out, and though Batman Begins had a direct spin-off game, that was kind of the end of movie tie-ins really.

Stoo: Are movie tie-ins still a thing? In general I mean.

Rik: No, I think the PS2 generation was the last one to really push them. But by the time of Arkham Asylum, they’re putting out all kinds of Batman games without really worrying about the movies.

Stoo: Ah right, I should have done my homework and looked up more batgames. Is the Telltale one their usual ‘hastily choose conversation options to alter the course of the story’ format?

Rik: I would imagine so. Although to be fair the only Telltale game I’ve really played is Back to the Future and that’s more of a traditional adventure.

Stoo: I played their GoT game, it was depressing. Anyway, I feel like Arkham Asylum mixes elements of other versions of Batman quite well.

Rik: I didn’t have any expectation of what kind of Batman it’d be going in. I assumed vaguely gruff and musclebound, I guess.

Stoo: Like, it’s got some of the gothic and noir-ish elements of the 1990 movie. Then the voice cast of the animated show.

Rik: Yes, Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as Joker.

Stoo: Also it’s, if not ‘realistic’, then somewhat believable in style at least.

Rik: Yeah.

Stoo: Like somewhere between outright comic-booky and a bit more down to earth.

Rik: I did sort of snigger at musclebound Jim Gordon.

Stoo: Oh yeh he’s hit the gym big-time.

Rik: Made me think of that beat ’em up where the mayor is ripped… Final Fight?

Stoo: Yes! Sadly Gordon doesn’t pick any thugs up and do spinning piledrivers on them.

Rik: No, but the game wants you to know he could if he wanted to. I mean, without getting too deep into it, this was kind of the era of huge beefcake heroes and scantily clad women in games. There are odd moments where it strikes you as a bit much, but there’s nothing too distracting. I just found the fact that they accepted that Gordon was old and grey with a moustache and side parting, but also gave him a barrel-chested physique, a bit funny.

Stoo: I was actually thinking, this is what a Batman movie should look like. The look of the characters, the architecture, all of that.

Rik: There’s a cartoon element to it, but it’s also grounded.

Stoo: Exactly. I mean I enjoyed the Nolan films but they got quite fixated on avoiding looking like a comic. Like we’re putting bat ears on him and that’s it, no further silliness.

Rik: Was that a reaction to the moulded nipples of the Clooney era perhaps?

Stoo: Haha, probably, I mean that almost killed superhero movies until X-Men arrived.
 

Why so Serious?

Stoo: I have ‘villains’ next on my notes. Joker is done pretty well, I mean as we noted it’s Mark Hamill again. He’s definitely got the tone and mannerisms right, if you were stuck in a room with him (and you weren’t Batman) you’d be utterly terrified.

Rik: It’s kind of like a ‘Joker and a gallery of other baddies gang up on Batman’ setup. I must admit I never quite ‘got’ the Joker as a big baddy. His insistence on putting off killing Batman and slender physique always makes me think, well Batman should just snap him in half.

Stoo: You do have a point there.

Rik: I had a few moments like that during this game.

Stoo: I think the idea is he always has an Evil Plan in the works, and he’s prepared well enough (traps, distractions, army of goons) to not find himself in a direct punchup with you.

Rik: Are you aware of Joker calling him ‘Bats’ at any other point in Batman history?

Stoo: Sounds like something out of the cartoon?

Rik: Maybe. I quite enjoyed it. Batman is a pretty blank slate in this game so you need some colour!

Stoo: Yes, Batman is gruff and punches more than he talks. That’s about the extent of his character.

Rik: I liked the setup of ‘Joker lures Batman into a funhouse of criminals’. I enjoyed the creeping sense of dread/paranoia that builds.

Stoo: Yeah, he probably knows full well knows he’s walking into a trap. Then you get to watch everything go very badly wrong, until the whole place is totally run by the bad guys. But this is Batman we’re talking about so he will punch his way out of there. (Or batarang or zipline).

Rik: It’s a good excuse to have loads of thugs to beat up plus named baddies as bosses.

Stoo: Right, you have a bunch of well-known comic book characters to be the main villains, the Titan guys and then general purpose goons.

Rik: Who else looms large, apart from Joker? There’s a lot of Scarecrow, who is a recurring boss.

Stoo: Yes, and he has his own surreal sections. Those were well done IMO.

Rik: Kind of like stealth, which is unusual for a boss battle.

Stoo: You creep along floating bits of wall and platform, while he’s enormous and you avoid his Eye of Sauron gaze. [note – you’re under the influence of his Fear Toxin at that point] Bane was more disappointing.

Rik: He’s more like one of the generic thugs, yeah.

Stoo: Since he’s the intro to the ‘titan goons’ [note – basically henchmen who are massively physically enhanced through a serum] he’s actually easier than they are, even though they’re nameless and he’s a major character from the comics. Oh, the Killer Croc sections were good also. Like, here’s a bad guy you just can’t fight, so it’s all based around avoiding him. Lots of tension then oh shit he comes bursting out of the water.

Rik: I did think that section went on a bit.

Stoo: They could have cut about 25% of the gathering samples (or whatever it is you’re doing while he hunts you), sure.

Rik: Also I think I have a note saying, ‘What is Killer Croc?’ Like, is his thing that he’s literally just a giant killer croc?

Stoo: Was he bitten by a radioactive crocodile maybe? I don’t know much about him.

Rik: I’m sure there’s some backstory available in game, but I don’t recall reading it.

Stoo: Theres a brief bio and the interview tapes, but I’ve shamefully forgotten what they tell you. He’s big and evil and snarls a lot?
 

Now you wanna get nuts? Come on! Let’s get nuts!

Stoo: So he’s one you don’t fight directly, but we should talk about the fighting cos it’s very well done.

Rik: I agree it’s good. Although I must admit my tendency to mash buttons to start with. I guess it builds in more subtleties as you go.

Stoo: You can just spam ‘punch’ and it’ll work at first, because you’re the goddamn Batman and these are basic goons. But if you’re good and get the timing right you chain combos and are more effective.

Rik: There’s the counter button too, to ward off imminent attacks. But two buttons could still count as mashing I guess.

Stoo: Also there are some goons that need more finesse, like the cattle prod guys.

Rik: Yeah, the stun guys was where I first started getting beaten up a bit. You have to swish your cape at them. Jump over them and attack from behind.

Stoo: If you get really long combo chains you get some special moves, kind of like a reward for your competence.

Rik: I’m not sure I was aware of pulling any of that off, myself. I think there were times when I had to put some thought into it, but I never consciously thought I was doing really well.

Stoo: I only had a chance use those moves occasionally. I found it reasonably easy to come out of most goon fights alive, but harder to make it look good without getting clobbered several times along the way.

Rik: I suppose the boss battles with goons and charging Titan grunts was where I really had to make an effort.

Stoo: That’s tougher, you know what to do with the Titan guys but the regular goons get in the way and mess up your tactics.

Rik: There’s an element of buying yourself time. Rather than beating up all the goons, you sort of keep them off your back while you focus on the big titans. It’s kind of what you imagine Batman would have to do. Even if those fights do get slightly repetitive or maybe reused a bit too often.

Stoo: It’s fun to jump on one titan guy and steer him into decking his buddies, but yes there are a few quite similar battles towards the end.

Rik: Yeah, I do like jumping on them. It feels like you have to master that to get through some battles, especially towards the end.

Stoo: I was thinking, again, these are what fights in a Batman movie should be like.

Rik: Yep.

Stoo: You have about 15 goons, and Batman is blocking and dodging and them BAM knocks someone out cold, or slams them into the floor. Again and again until there’s a lot less of them. With a real sense of kinetic energy to it all. Then when the last one falls he just kinda dusts himself off, because this is comp letely routine for him. That’s what you’re aiming for as the player, anyway.

Rik: Although there is a level of scripted damage to his costume, I noticed, as you progress.

Stoo: Yes, that’s a nice bit of detail, makes him look a bit worn out as the ordeal progresses. Oh also, just as an aside, I made a note that Harley [Quinn] doesn’t even get a fight scene. He clobbers her in one hit in a cutscene.

Rik: Is she a fighter usually?

Stoo: I think she’s supposed to be highly athletic, and, traditionally has a huge mallet. But I guess, like Joker, you might ask how would she even stand up to Batman?

[note – any DC fans reading, help us out here. Can Harley take him on in the comics?)

Rik: Right. Like, you don’t fight the Joker until the end and he’s kind of not himself.

Stoo: Basically to stand up to Batman one-on-one, baddies have to be either unnaturally huge, or have some sort of upgrade, like [Poison] Ivy.

Rik: That’s quite a bossy boss fight.

Stoo: A huge monster with a weak spot, and distinct phases in the fight. As opposed to fisticuffs with a huge goon.
 

Bats frighten me. It’s time the world shares my dread.

Stoo: So we’ve covered fighting, but there are the sneaky bits too. Where the goons have guns, but you’re lurking on a gargoyle and waiting for the moment to pick them off.

Rik: I am bad at stealth, but this was all within safe limits. I think there’s probably cleverer stuff you can try, but I was quite happy with basic isolation of baddies, killing them and swooping off.

Stoo: It’s fairly easy to escape if you mess up.

Rik: Yeh, you just cheese it between gargoyles up on high. Although again they build in elements to make the same tactics less effective.

Stoo: Oh yes, in one sequence the gargoyles aren’t safe for some reason? (I should have written better notes)

Rik: Yeah, but also the goons work together better, so they investigate and stick together a bit more. You have to work to isolate them.

Stoo: If I recall right you can throw batarangs from up there?

Rik: Yeah.

Stoo: To knock one dude down briefly, then swoop and clobber his buddy.

Rik: Plus a special sonic batarang can distract them.

Stoo: Oh, I just remembered you can punch goons when they’re on the ground, in combat or stealth bits. That always helps.

Rik: Also, you can sneak up behind them and do a silent takedown in stealth bits.

Stoo: Ah yes, and there are a couple of sneaky stealth bits where you are at ground level, and the silent takedown is handy.

Rik: Yes. There’s a hard section towards the end where there are no gargoyles, or maybe it’s the bit with exploding ones. You have to make no big mistakes basically, and ideally blow up walls when goons are walking past etc. I imagine these are the advanced tactics other players use throughout.

Stoo: It is always fun to spray that plastic explosive stuff to lay a trap.

Rik: I also unlocked the hanging ability but never used it.

Stoo: That’s occasionally useful, but you need goons to obligingly walk directly underneath you.

Rik: There were times when I thought I could have been a bit smoother but generally I lived with any minor errors. On normal difficulty you’re not really watching your health that much.

Stoo: Not unless you try to just rush guys with assault rifles.

Rik: With stealth I like to do the bare minimum – as long as it doesn’t feel like I’ve got away with not internalising the basic skills required.

Stoo: The stealth sections make for a good change of pace with the fights. What really adds to the experience is how the goons become progressively more agitated and jumpy as you pick them off. The whole idea of the bat symbology was meant to be to scare criminals, after all.

Rik: You do have the detective mode to get a jump on them in general, see their vitals, see through walls etc. Anyway: you’re the stealth guy, whereas I’ve only really played Metal Gear Solid. How does this compare to stealth systems in contemporary titles? I got the feeling it was kind of light touch, but still impressive.

Stoo: It’s less elaborate than something like Dishonored, where you have a big toolkit of weapons and abilities and more complex enemy behaviour.

Rik: That’s the kind of thing that makes me panic.

Stoo: Here it’s just one aspect of a larger game. Maybe they could have let you pick up ko’ed goons and hide them? That’s a very standard Stealth thing. Still, I didn’t feel it was lacking anything major.
 

What’s your superpower?
I’m rich.

Rik: There are various gadgets but not all to do with stealth.

Stoo: Some are more for mobility, or helping in combat.

Rik: Accessing different parts of the map, like the zip line and then the security zapper thing.

Stoo: Lots of bat-toys. No bat-shark-repellent tho…

Rik: Lol!

Stoo: I was stuck on some bit for ages, thinking how am I meant to get there, until I remembered that I had to come back later once I got the horizontal zipline thing.

Rik: There was a bit where I kept falling into red gas, due to incompetence. Poison Ivy stuff.

Stoo: Ziplining to the wrong spot?

Rik: I think I couldn’t get the hang of the ‘drop down’ move.

Stoo: You need to use all these toys to get the Riddler trophies, which I guess we should mention. How many did you find?

Rik: About half, I think. This kind of thing is not always up my street. You were much more diligent. I guess at first I was drawn too much into what was happening to bother about them. Then later on I realised it would be worth it for levelling purposes. But in general I guess I thought it seemed a bit gamey. Like ‘the Riddler really wants you to do this thing that kind of feels like video game busy work’.

Stoo: When did he have time to sneak around the island putting trophies in air vents? Or bricking up a wall in front of them? It is very gamey, yes.

Rik: The clues are the kind of thing that make my brain turn off. I’d just end up looking for significant scenery.

Stoo: After a while you realise when the clue is phrased a certain way it’s one of those ‘line up the question mark’ ones. Like ‘Do you see what I can see? No? Then maybe I am in a stronger position’. Time to start climbing! Otherwise you just look for vents, or destroyable walls etc, or unusual items in display cases.

Rik: I basically did all the easy ones, until I got the maps then hoovered some others up.

Stoo: As a reward you get a lot of character bios, 3D models, and interviews tapes. Which kind of makes those hours of searching drainpipes worth it. Although I think maybe they could have thrown in a combat upgrade or 2.

Rik: They contribute to XP though right? So in some small way help you along to some upgrades? At least that was my entire rationale for doing them.

Stoo: Ohh, yes they do, d’oh.

[edit – this whole discussion is clearly a sham and I never actually played the game]
 

Not the Batman review you need, or the one you deserve

Stoo: So I think we’re vaguely steering towards wrapping this up. I was going to mention, this is not really an open world game, at least not compared to its sequels. It has some outdoor areas, but they are fairly limited. I was actually ok with that, though. Not everything needs to be vast and sprawling.

Rik: I was going with the flow and then started panicking that I could have been exploring more. But apart from Riddler trophies you’re funnelled in the right direction and that’s fine.

Stoo: Also the interior sections are very much in bitesized chunks. Like here’s a fighting room, here’s a stealth bit, here’s some climbing rickety brickwork. You get a door and a save point between each one, which is useful to a time-poor gamer.

Rik: Yes. Not the quick saving of a PC gamer’s dreams, but good for a checkpoint system.

Stoo: Anything I’ve missed? (checks hasty notes)

Rik: No, let’s get onto overall verdicts!

Stoo: I think it does successfully drop you into the experience of being The Batman. Fighting goons, lurking around in the rafters, glowering at the Joker. A bit of detective work also. (Those occasional sections where you hunt for clues in a room using detective mode).

Rik: Yes, not just goon bashing. Good changes in tempo, and a bubbling sense of peril. I’m trying think of any contemporary titles to compare it to. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed I guess is a similar vintage, also a third person licensed actioner. But is pretty shallow by comparison. This is a good distance better.

Stoo: If there’s a weakness, it’s maybe lack of story? Like, Joker sets a trap, you’re stuck on the island…. that’s it. Batman himself has no story arc or personality here, he just punches and glowers.

Rik: Yep, let’s find a way for Batman to get caught up with multiple baddies. And you’re just chasing the Joker, basically.

Stoo: I’ve talked of hypothetical Batman movies a few times, this feels like one where they forgot the plot but wrote some really awesome action scenes. (Also cast someone surprisingly jacked as Jim Gordon).

Rik: Yeah, as a result I don’t know if I’m itching to continue with the next games, even though I enjoyed this one.

Stoo: ‘Like this but bigger and open world’ doesn’t immediately appeal to you?

Rik: Maybe it does, but there isn’t a compelling story reason to dive back into the world. That’s usually a big driver for me. Batman fighting baddies again maybe isn’t enough on its own.

Stoo: I think I’m in agreement, then. I’m glad I replayed this one, but I’ve had enough Batman for the time being. So we’re around the 7 or 8/10 mark?

Rik: I’m happy with 8.

Stoo: 8 it is then!