On November 8, gaming streamer Vara Dark took to Twitter to claim that Deathstroke was coming toSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueand that Batman would return alongside him. In the same Tweet, Dark stated that their sources said that a remake ofBatman: Arkham Asylumhad beengreenlit internally.
Despite being a 15-year-old game now,Batman: Arkham Asylumis still home to some incredible gameplay mechanics, some riveting story beats, and some impressive presentation, most of which holds up surprisingly well today, giving a potential remake a very strong foundation to build from. In theory, aBatman: Arkham Asylumremake would just need to retain and improve upon what made the original so beloved, and there’s one feature that’s become a core part of the series' identity that a remake couldn’t forget.
A Batman: Arkham Asylum Remake Should Double Down on Death Screens
Batman: Arkham’s Death Screens Added a Lot to the Experience
Introduced in the franchise’s debut all the way back in 2009,everyBatman: Arkhamgame– includingOriginsandArkham Shadow– features a variety of game over screens, each one showing an iconic Batman villain standing above the downed Caped Crusader, loudly boasting about their hard-won victory. InBatman: Arkham Asylum, these game over screens included a slew of unique voice lines for Joker, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Bane, and Scarecrow.
A truly innovative concept, theseBatman: Arkham Asylumdeath screens quickly became a highlight of the game, turning what would normally be a moment of frustration into a fun opportunity to see more from these iconic comic book adversaries. These scenes also had a “what if” novelty to them, letting fans get a glimpse of what these villains would do if they actually managed todefeat the World’s Greatest Detective, something that’s rarely been explored in mainstream Batman media.
One ofBatman: Arkham Asylum’s greatest strengths was its characterization of the hero’s rogue’s gallery, and these game over screens felt like the cherry on the cake. Though each villain only gets a handful of lines, each one is purposeful and in keeping with the character’s identity in the source material.
How The Rumored Batman: Arkham Asylum Remake Can One-Up The Original’s Death Screens
If therumoredBatman: Arkham Asylumremakecomes to fruition, then it not only needs to include the original’s game over screens, but it should attempt to one-up the original’s in some way. The easiest way to do this would be simply adding more game over screens for each ofArkham Asylum’s villains, giving each one more of a chance to cement their character’s identity. AnArkham Asylumremake could even pull lore fromArkham OriginsandArkham Shadowto include some Easter eggs to past events in its new game over screens, such as one in which Bane references the bounty put on Batman’s head inOrigins.
Another way to improve the originalBatman: Arkham Asylum’s game over screenswould be to add ones for enemies that never received one in the original.Batman: Arkham Knightadded a death screen for generic thugs, and anArkham Asylumcould follow suit by adding new game over screens for the asylum’s inmates.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
WHERE TO PLAY
Return to Arkham and experience two of the most critically acclaimed titles of the last generation - Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, with fully remastered and updated visuals. Batman: Return to Arkham includes the comprehensive versions of both games and includes all previously released additional content.Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them into the depths of Arkham Asylum –Gotham City’s high security psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Use Batman’s legendary gadgetry, strike from the shadows, and confront The Joker and Gotham City’s most notorious super villains.Batman: Arkham City sends players soaring into Arkham City - a heavily fortified sprawling district in the heart of Gotham City. Batman Arkham City introduces a brand-new story that draws together an all-star cast of classic characters and murderous villains from the Batman universe, as well as new and enhanced gameplay features.
