How Batman: Arkham Asylum Redefined the Superhero Game

Rocksteady’s first Batman game was not just an excellent video game, but a standout piece of Batman fiction.

If there’s a single moment in Arkham Asylum that makes you feel most like the Dark Knight, it isn’t dealing a knockout blow to a bone-headed henchman or swooping from a ledge to grab a terrified goon. For me, it’s in those few seconds as a group of Joker’s thugs charge and you, as the Batman, walk slowly towards them – confident, calculating and ready to deal out another beating.

When Arkham Asylum came out in 2009, Christopher Nolan’s grounded take on DC’s most beloved character was at the peak of its popularity and superhero games were stagnant to say the least. Flying in the face of Nolan’s realistic take, Rocksteady opted to delve into the larger-than-life side of the Bat-universe, and in doing so they created a world that gamers and Batman fans alike (there’s a large overlap I’m sure) ate up.

Arkham Asylum was inspired by numerous entries in the Batman canon, particularly Grant Morrison’s celebrated tale Arkham Asylum: Serious House On Serious Earth, which is about as dark a story as has ever been told about the Caped Crusader. Just as in Rocksteady’s game, the inmates – led by the Joker – take control of the asylum, but that’s where the comparisons end. Aesthetically, Rocksteady chose to present something more approachable than Dave McKean’s wonderfully twisted art, but still evoked the book’s feeling that the asylum itself was every bit as insane as its inhabitants.

From the dank sewer dwelling of Killer Croc to the trashed Arkham Mansion, the far-from-sanitary medical complex to the Botanical Gardens in need of a prune, each area of Arkham Asylum is different enough to remain interesting while also fitting perfectly into an interconnected whole. Like any great game world the devil is in the details; every weathered nook and cranny of the map helps create an atmosphere in which these outrageous characters – from the billionaire vigilante, to the enormous crocodile man, to the plant-controlling psychopath – feel at home.

Setting the tale in Gotham’s notoriously-easy-to-escape-from mental institution also makes a story with multiple villains feel less contrived than it otherwise may have been. In even the best Batman stories it sometimes feels like villains turn up for the sake of it, but with The Joker in control of the island he has its many inmates at his beck and call. This pits the Dark Knight against the like of Bane, Zsasz and most memorably Scarecrow, whose sections are particular highlights.

Hallucinogen-induced nightmares are a recurrent motif in Arkham Asylum, creating some of its most memorable moments and touching on Batman’s past without feeling forced. It’s the second hallucination that sticks most, not just because it’s the only time in the game that you play as Bruce Wayne, but also because of its poignancy. Even if you know his origins like the back of your hand, the scene still holds incredible weight because it’s in a young Wayne’s shoes that you finally begin to feel that you are inhabiting a character not an avatar.

Third person action games came into their own in the current console cycle, the innovations of multiple series combining to create a rock-solid foundation for the genre. Third person combat has always been tough to get right, and previously most examples of it had a tendency to feel mechanical and rigid. In comparison Arkham Asylum has a fluidity of animation that turns combat into a rhythm-based puzzle, the key to which is the counter, which brings with it a vicious array of animations.

Rocksteady’s greatest achievement was in perfectly juggling the serious nature of the story with the light-footedness of the animated series, for which the game’s writer Paul Dini also wrote. It evokes the gothic decales of Morrison’s story and morbid undertones of other Batman classics such as Jeph Loeb’s Long Halloween, but thanks to its established voice cast it brings back fond memories of the friendly 90s cartoon too.

Bringing in Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to reprise the roles that made both beloved figures in the eyes of Bat-fans was a masterstroke. Whether, as some say, they are the best to ever play Batman and the Joker is a matter for debate, but they are undeniably brilliant and brought an element of magic to the finished game.Their return wasn’t unexpected, but it was this decision that tips Arkham Asylum into being not just a classic game but a classic Batman tale.

Of the two, it’s Hamill who shines brightest. The Joker may not be his most famous role, but it is his greatest, and here he has the benefit of extensive dialogue – thousands of lines – to give his best performance. The key to all great Jokers is to mix his twisted humour with truly sinister moments, and there are few better examples than Arkham Asylum.

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, Rocksteady Studios managed to perfectly juggle everything that makes a Batman story work. There’s an appreciation of the inherent absurdity, a dark sense of humour, a sense of fun and a vein of pure menace that runs through everything from The Joker’s plan, to the Amadeus Arkham backstory, to the inmate tapes and of course, the Dark Knight himself.

Not only does Arkham Asylum sit proudly among the greatest Batman stories but it also changed the perception of superhero video games. They don’t just have to be movie tie-ins, they can be their own thing, and accomplish things films simply can’t. Just compare the Rocksteady’s work to the most recent Spider-Man games and the difference is clear. Warner Bros has taken over development for the upcoming prequel, Arkham Origins, but Rocksteady’s eventual return to Batman will be eagerly awaited.