Batman: Arkham Asylum
When this first came out in 2009, I remember watching the intro video, and not realising it wasn't video anymore and had become playable - the graphics felt that good. That was 14 years ago, and it feels like the graphics have held up pretty well. I've never really been into super heroes, but this feels very accessible for anyone who knows nothing about it. The acting and animations are excellent, and it really feels like playing Batman. Melee combat is very tight, mostly based on parrying. There's also some really fun gadgets during combat. Mostly linear, but lots of collectables and lore to find if you want to know more about the world and characters. A very memorable experience.
Pros
- Still looks good in 2023, subjectively
- Joker's voice acting in particular is excellent, but they're all great
- The melee combat system feels good. Sound effects, slow downs and parrying make it feel really impactful
- Stealth gameplay is really good
- Lots of tools for combat and trap setting
- Lots of lore to find if you want to find out more about the world
- A good length, self-contained batman game
- Batman has a kind of x-ray vision that helps both in analysing puzzles and electronics, but also lets you see through walls to track enemies
Cons
- Batman walks very slowly unless you’re running, or crouched (which is still faster than walking)
- I don’t like combo counters. The combat feels good when you get it right, but breaking your flow is frustrating
- The Scarecrow sections are bad
- About once an hour, Batman would get stuck, or the controls stopped responding (even during a boss fight, which was especially annoying)
- The last fight before Joker with the two titan guys is a complete mess
- Once I beat that encounter (at last), it played a cutscene where Joker spikes himself with titan and his eyes open, then... suddenly I'm in an arena with an already-transformed Joker (it missed a cutscene) and he's just standing there not moving... had to restart from checkpoint again.