8 Times Video Games Proved You Wrong

8. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman arkham asylum
Rocksteady

There was a time before Arkham Asylum, when superhero games - and especially Batman games - weren't held up as anything close to true greats.

Yes, I love the original Batman Begins game as much as the next guy and Batman & Robin's 2D animation was phenomenal in 1994, but there was a whole decade plus-long period where Bat fans had to made do with the likes of Batman: Vengeance or Batman: Gotham City Racer.

Cut to 2009 and as a deal to make a Dark Knight tie-in game fell through, Warner Bros. turned to a bunch of complete nobodies as a way to still get something turned around featuring the Caped Crusader, for a much smaller budget.

The rest was obviously history, but Arkham Asylum didn't just tick the box of being a solid action game. It invented a combat system the competition would ape across the entire eighth generation, taking lessons from Metroidvanias that kept level design fresh and rewards genuinely worth seeking out.

Advertisement
In this post: 
Mortal Kombat
 
First Posted On: 
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.