December Assassination #6 (Backlog)

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I can't believe I slept on it for so long. Arkham Asylum is a freaking masterpiece that has aged like fine wine.

You're thrown in a world that is fully realized and cohesive. It's big enough that it feels real, not just a series of videogame levels, but it's still small enough that you'll know your in and out from each and every building by the time you beat the game.

The pacing and the plot are explosive - villains get introduced and dangerous situations arise with every heartbeat, and the downtime is usually accomplished by you traveling between locations. Gameplay switches frequently between a melee brawler, an open-world free roam (albeit on a small open-world) filled with secrets and shortcuts to explore and discover, and stealth/predator sections where the power fantasy is complete. By the time you're getting used with your kit, the game throws another tool to your arsenal and asks you to make full use of it before repeating the formula.

Villains are not just memorable as a pacing mechanism - they are also accompanied by great setpieces, be it in the form of combat encounters or puzzle sections. You'll be surprised at how many villains you'll have kicked the ass of by the time the credits roll. And all of this is packaged in a beautiful game that has this light cel-shading which hasn't aged a day in the last 15 years. This is what they mean when they say that art direction never gets old, graphics do. I particularly experienced a lot of issues with the sound mixing being all screwed up, which is a shame since the few moments it worked well, it worked really well, and really showcased how the atmospheric music can really make the moment, and how crazy and undone the voice acting for the villains really is.

Arkham Asylum really encompasses the best of action, platforming, exploration, stealth, and technical aspects in a plot that never loses steam and is graceful enough to be over before it gets old. It's perfect. There's nothing else I can say here. It's a work of art made by people who are deeply passionate about the character and its lore.

If I have to find fault with one thing, is the melee combat. I played the game on Normal and most of my deaths were in combat encounters. A lot of praise has been showered in how 'fluid' the combat is, but the issue is that you don't really have a lot of options while in combat - it's be aggressive (and probably be retaliated by some attack that you couldn't counter in time), or be reactive (countering everything in a chicken game where it's hard to build a meter), which gets even harder when enemies start wielding knives (which can't be countered) or probes (which you can't attack directly). While innovative and probably ahead of its time, it's the aspect I liked the least 15 years after the release, and that I hope was improved in the sequels