Batman: Arkham Asylum - On this day

There are some projects where everything fits perfectly, and one of those was Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game featured screenwriter Paul Dini and actors Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill, who had previously collaborated on animated adaptations of Batman. They joined forces with the promising British team Rocksteady and delivered one of the best Batman games of all time.

Just as the name implies, Batman: Arkham Asylum was located in a mental hospital outside Gotham City. Batman freshly transported the Joker there, but it quickly turned out that the Joker deliberately wanted to be arrested to come to Arkham and make a mess there.

In Arkham, Batman had to face several prisoners who had been transferred there from Blackgate Prison but also known enemies such as Bane, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Killer Croc, and others. Luckily for Batman, there was a hidden cave on the island where Batman could pick up his gadgets.

The fight in the game was very fluid and was based on a series of combos and counterattacks. It looked so attractive that several other games later copied the concept of that mechanic. Arkham Asylum itself offered the structure of Metroidvania so there was free exploration although the game was linear. The most interesting side content was Riddler's riddles.

The graphics based on Unreal Engine 3 were excellent at the time. The release of the game perfectly matched the autumn atmosphere. The game creatively used all the material at its disposal and left fans hungry for more adventures with Batman. The ratings for Arkham Asylum were high and the game held the record for the top-rated superhero video game for three years.

Batman: Arkham Asylum has won numerous awards and is still considered one of the best games with Batman. The sequels have been equally successful and the Arkham series is among the most acclaimed action adventures of the last 12 years.