Batman: Arkham Asylum - Reception

Reception

Batman: Arkham Asylum received critical acclaim. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 3 version 92.02% and 91/100, the Xbox 360 version 92.22% and 92/100, and the Microsoft Windows version 91.89% and 91/100. As of April 2013, GameStats rates the game at 9.1/10. The game also holds a Guinness World Record for Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever based on an average Metacritic score of 91.67.

Arkham Asylum was called one of the best comic book superhero games ever made. Edge magazine said it was "by some distance the best superhero game of modern times", IGN's Greg Miller called it "the greatest comic book game of all time", and Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead called it "the best superhero game bar none", and wrote that it has "excellent visuals, a compelling story and superb voice acting.". Whitehead also wrote, "Even if you were controlling a generic ninja rather than an iconic superhero, this would be a polished and engrossing game." PSM3's Andy Kelly wrote, "Rocksteady have struck the perfect balance of giving you the confident power of a superhero, but with enough weaknesses to make the game challenging; a remarkable feat of balancing and design". Wired's Chris Kohler said that the game's strength lies in its tight script and masterful acting, making what could be a generic game captivating. 1UP.com's Thierry Nguyen gave the game an A-, stating that Rocksteady "manages to combine combat, stealth, storytelling, and cartoon voices into the best digital Batman simulator we've seen to date."

Several reviewers compared Arkham Asylum to other games—including BioShock for its ability to deliver a unique adventure and establish a connection with the gameworld, and its innovative ideas; The Legend of Zelda for it adventuring style; Metroid for its world layout; and Resident Evil and Tomb Raider for its classic action-adventuring that acts as a true hybrid of brawling, stealth, and platforming.

The gameworld's design and the game's attention to detail were well received by critics. Game Informer's Andrew Reiner said the game's setting had a taut and mesmerizing atmosphere, and was a place of wonder and inexplicable horror. Miller called it the right mix of creepy and cool, and appreciated the gradual damage reflected on Batman's suit as the story progressed, but said that pixelated CGI and lip synching issues diminished the presentation. Whitehead said that the impressive animation makes Batman feel alive, but wrote that the world itself was lifeless and lacking in interactive objects. He criticized segments in which character logic was sacrificed for video game tropes, citing repeated use of poison gas and electric floors as obstacles.

The combat system was well received for the simplicity of its implementation, allowing players to use it effectively without learning complex combinations of special moves, and the emphasis upon timing and flow to create fluid, graceful, and satisfyingly brutal attacks. Reviewers said that the combat remained challenging with the inclusion of more difficult-to-overcome enemies, and better use of combat was well incentivized without punishing those unable to master it. The design of stealth and the wide variety of methods available to disable enemy opponents were praised. Computer and Video Games' Andy Robinson wrote that the "thinking man's stealth game" and is the centerpiece of the game, and Edge said that the stealth offering was thrilling. Others wrote about the way in which enemies react with fear to the elimination of their allies, but some reviewers criticized the AI for allowing Batman to easily escape when discovered, and for being oblivious to Batman's presence. Whitehead said that stealth was not as directly rewarding as combat, citing difficulty in controlling Batman at close quarters and the inconsistent contextual actions.

Arkham Asylum's boss fights were criticized, with many reviewers labeling them as the game's biggest failing. Reviewers found that the battles often rely on old-fashioned, tedious, and repetitive game tropes that required the player to learn and repeat monotonous routines—some of which, in the case of Bane, had already been employed on lesser enemies—or to confront repetitive attack patterns and one-hit deaths. Reviewers generally agreed that the fights were anti-climatic to their build-up spectacle. The final boss fight with the Joker was singled out for vapid gameplay, a battle with Killer Croc was labeled boring and overly long, and the reviewers said these should not have been in the game. However, the fear toxin-induced hallucination segments of Scarecrow's battles were almost unanimously praised as some of the game's best and most cerebral moments for their fourth wall manipulation, subversion of the game's established narrative and expectations, and meta-textual influences that were compared to the battle against Psycho Mantis in 1998's Metal Gear Solid, and 2002's Eternal Darkness.

The main voice cast—including Conroy as Batman, Valenza as Poison Ivy, and Wingert as Riddler—was well received, but Hamill's performance received consistent praise, with reviewers commenting upon his excellent inflection and timing on a cackling, maniacal performance that steals the show. Nguyen said that Dini and Hamill's Joker was the best depiction of the character outside of The Killing Joke and Heath Ledger's incarnation in The Dark Knight (2008).

Writer Grant Morrison said the game was the inspiration for his Batman Incorporated comic book. He said, "one of the things I wanted to do was capture the feeling of the Batman: Arkham Asylum game ... When I played that game, it was the first time in my life where I actually felt what it is like to be Batman. It was very involving ... So I wanted to follow that concept: We are now the heroes, and we can look through their eyes."