Gameplay[edit]
Batman: Arkham Asylum is an action-adventure game viewed from the third-person perspective. The playable character is visible on the screen and the camera can be freely rotated around him.[3][4][5] The player controls Batman as he traverses Arkham Asylum, a secure facility for the criminally insane located off the coast of Gotham City.[6] The opening areas of the game are linear, serving as a tutorial for the moves and approaches available to the player. Once the player emerges onto the island they can freely explore the game world, although some areas remain inaccessible until certain milestones in the main story.[7][8] Batman can run, jump, climb, crouch, glide from heights using his cape, and use his grapple gun to climb low structures or escape to higher ledges.[8]
Batman uses "Detective Vision" to solve puzzles and track enemies throughout the game. Enemies with firearms are identified by red x-ray images.
The player can use "Detective Vision"—a visual mode which provides contextual information, tinting the game world blue and highlighting interactive objects like destructible walls and removable grates, the number of enemies in an area and their status—such as their awareness of Batman's presence—and shows civilians and corpses.[8][9] The mode is also used to follow footprints, investigate odors, and solve puzzles.[3]
Batman has access to several gadgets which he can use to explore or fight. The batarang is a throwing weapon that can temporarily stun enemies or trigger remote devices. A remotely controlled version can be steered once thrown,[10] and the sonic batarang can be used to attract the attention of specific enemies wearing monitoring collars, or detonated to knock a nearby enemy unconscious. Explosive gel can be used on weak walls and floors, and can be remotely detonated—sending rubble crashing onto an enemy.[8][11] The line launcher can be used to traverse horizontal spans.[12] The Batclaw—a grappling device—can be used to interact with remote objects such as vent covers or to grab enemies. The Cryptographic Sequencer is used to override security panels, open new paths, or disable various asylum functions.[13] Some areas are inaccessible until Batman acquires the gadgets necessary to overcoming the obstacle.[14] The player is encouraged to explore the game world away from the main game to find and solve riddles left by the Riddler—who hacks into Batman's communication system to challenge him with riddles. Objects can be collected, and some of the Riddler's puzzles require the player to find areas related to the answer to a riddle and scan it with "Detective Vision".[3][8] The game world has 240 collectable items, such as Riddler trophies, chattering Joker teeth, interview tapes with some of Arkham's inmates, and cryptic messages left in the asylum by its founder Amadeus Arkham that discuss the facility's sinister history.[8] The player is rewarded for solving riddles and finding collectibles with experience points and additional game content, including challenge maps that test the player's skill at the game's combat system, character biographies, and in-game statues of Arkham Asylum's characters.[8][9]
