I hadn't replayed this game for a long time. Doing so after having been watching a couple of Batman films, I can safely this isn't really a story ABOUT Batman, but a story about BEING Batman, which is "logical" this being the first succesful Batman game adaptation. Arkham Asylum needed to be like this: a proof of concept that the superhero can actually work in a videogame format before diving more deeply into a narrative in subsequent games (which I should replay sometime).

I had a more fond memory of this game, to be honest. In my head it was a metroidvania-like with heavy elements of horror and a great atmosphere. The atmosphere's still there, but to my younger mind many things about this really scared me and now don't. The metroidvania elements are pretty simple and the backtracking's really just an excuse to get Riddler trophies. The horror aspects may sometimes still be there (especially with the almost brilliant Scarecrow scenes) but could be stronger (though that would be an entirely different Batman experience, which I think shines more brightly on the original Arkham Asylum 1989 comic).

The boss fights are okay, the combat gets harder and somewhat more interesting but overall is pretty basic and ends up being a "smash-the-button" thing which relies more on timing than strategy. Stealth sections can also being pretty formulaic if you know what you're doing and the 3D platforming can get stale after a while. Even so, I think the game executes pretty well all of its elements to sum up to a pretty enjoyable experience. This is a game for both Batman diehards as well as Batman newcomers. I like the idea of the Asylum being some kind of museum of many iconic villains and moments of the Batman comics which can introduce you to many characters you may have been unaware of.

In the end, it's a solid game, though a much more simpler game than I remembered. It doesn't have really much going for it except for its thematic elements. Replace Batman for another licence and probably this would've been forgotten pretty quickly. Is it a bad thing? Not really.

Definetely the highlight of the game is the first half or so. It starts losing its punch somewhere around the middle even though it still has some interesting parts scattered around. Overall, would still recommend it, but wouldn't any longer say it's a "brilliant one".

I agree with many sentiments surrounding this game. From the baddest bad (a disjointed story, occasionally clunky controls, gimmicks that would be better off cut off or had some workaround) to the best of the best (an amazing soundtrack, jaw-dropping visuals, interesting narrative concepts).

There's simply no denying this game has a lot of heart and soul poured into it. It's also interesting to see that even though this game is so far removed from Silent Hill in many aspects, Keiichiro Toyama still manages to print his presence into many aspects of this that call back to his 1999 debut (dreams, reality, society gone wrong, etcetera).

Even though this game compelled me enough to get the platinum trophy and to be interested in playing its sequel, there's no denying its shortcomings, but it is rare for me that a videogame draws me so much into its world, characters and story, even when not being a coherent whole and not solving practically anything it sets up in the beginning.

Bottom line: Very recommended! Can't wait to play the second one on the PS4.

A pretty cathartic game. It's just amazing how every time I lose faith in the average videogame, an indie darling like this comes along to remind me the power of expression a game can have. Though it crashed on me like 3 times, it didn't stop me from really enjoying the story and how it is told (yeah, through blinks).

It really amazes me how this game features a no-blink mode (for those who don't have a camera) since it practically makes up for 90% of the experience, in my opinion. At least the final scene (which can pretty easily enter into my personal top 10 moments in games) wouldn't really hit hard without it.

There are some moments that didn't really convince me, but at the end I was crying a river over what this game is telling, and that, to me, is entirely worth it.

Please play it with a camera.

Oh, and please don't refund it just because it's shorter than 2 hours. Let's keep supporting these kind of projects.

A game that, sadly, has been kinda forgotten as time has moven on, and most of it may be due to Phil Fish (a topic I won't touch upon). It really saddens me because I think this game is simply extraordinary. The soundtrack and the vibes are simply put, amazing, and the sense of wonder, discovery and intrigue this game produces are enough to keep you playing for a while. The puzzles made me write on paper multiple times, something I truly appreciate from a game. Though I never completed it at 100%, the "normal" run is more than worth it. Please don't let Fez fade into obscurity! Now that it'll be releasing on Switch please give it a try.

To say this game is somewhat derivative of Journey is to state something pretty obvious not only at first glance, but after playing it and learning that the game director was art director on Journey.

There was another review stating that your enjoyment of this game is correlated to your enjoyment of Journey and I wouldn't be so sure of that. I love Journey. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and precisely because of that, playing Abzu just made me want to play Journey all over again.

Abzu has some neat ideas and I really dig the underwater controls, but following the same beats and seeing pretty much the same artistic elements as in thatgamecompany's work just makes me wonder why this game didn't try to follow another route.

Anyways, I didn't really enjoy it because of my previous experience with Journey, but still, it's a game I'm very much glad exists and would recommend it to many people I know for being a contemplative experience that doesn't need much gaming literacy.