Arkham Asylum is over.

Hey thanks for being here! This video discusses some pretty serious topics, some of which may trigger sensitive discussions in the comments, so before heading down, just be aware of that. Please feel free to talk in the comments below and to offer alternative viewpoints about the game (that's a large part of what this particular video is about). I'm a small enough channel to control what goes on in my comments though, so any sign I see of unhealthy conversation which belittles, diminishes or discriminates will be instantly shut down. I work hard on my videos, so let's please keep being nice to everyone while you're at my place. Thanks!

Wait hold up, people don’t like Asylum’s opening? I think it’s great. It’s far from slow and like you said it’s almost breakneck in pacing considering everything they’re throwing at you. They’re setting so much up in just a few minutes while also letting you build up that anticipation.

“Why is Killer Croc here? He has a physical disease not a mental one.” He also lives in the sewers, eats raw meat, and thinks he’s a crocodile pretty sure that qualifies him for Arkham, lmao.

Arkham knight was actually an unreal engine 3 game as well. Crazy how it looks better than most unreal engine 4 games

It's great to see 3 hour videos still being made about this game even after 13 years

In the Arkhamverse, hardly any of the Arkham patients are insane. A lot of them are psychopaths, i.e. mentally ill but still sane. It's a misconception that mental illness and insanity are synonymous. Joker, Zsasz, and Penguin are psychopaths/sociopaths, as in they are impulsively, remorselessly violent yet still lucid enough to fathom morality, consequences, and to stand trial. At best, Joker feigns insanity so he's not executed. Scarecrow's doctor explicitly said he's not insane, just "evil" (i.e. a psychopath.) Batman personally diagnoses Riddler with narcissism and severe obsessive compulsion, which, once again, are mental illnesses but not insanity. The only reason villains like Ivy, Freeze, Clayface, Bane, and Croc are held at Arkham is because their superhuman physiology requires specialized treatment. Furthermore, Arkham Origins retroactively establishes that most of Gotham's supervillains are simply transferred from Blackgate to Arkham due to its incompetence as a proper holding facility, not just Joker's goons. So for all intents and purposes, Arkham Asylum is a maximum security prison with a misleading name. Nothing more, nothing less. The only rogues who actually belong in Arkham are Harley and Two-Face, because they have psychosis/dissociation.

I can't fault Quincy for wanting Joker dead. Anyone with even the basic understanding of psychology knows that the Joker isn't insane. He's evil. He knows what he's doing is wrong, and he still does it because he likes causing harm to others. Joker isn't an agent of chaos. He's an agent of suffering.

Interestingly Arkham Batman can object to inhumane treatment: in fact he does in Knight's Beneath the Surface DLC mission when he finds out the Warden of Iron Heights was experimenting on Killer Croc. He also interferes when Crane tries to gas people in the tapes the 2nd time within Asylum too. It's likely he just doesn't stop and reflect on what the Arkham staff are exactly doing or worse, selectively ignores it except when it's particularly heinous, even if in reality it's just a product of Rocksteady just wanting to not dwell on the uncomfortable implications of Bats being a megacop

Joker doesn't want a revolution. This Joker is the same exact Joker that's in Arkham Knight, where we get to see EXACTLY what would happen if Asylum had played out the way he wanted. Gotham on fire. Everyone dead in the streets. Police unable to handle it. All of Batman's foes brutally murdered by Joker's forces. And Joker laughing the entire time, because that's what Joker wants. He's not crazy, you're right. But he's not a revolutionary either. He's just a sadist who wants everyone to suffer and likes it when what he does causes turmoil, chaos, and pain, whether what he's doing will lead to something positive or not. Eventually, he'll corrupt that positivity anyway when it bores him.

I think its a hard sell to tell me Killer Croc is only acting out for how he is being treat at Arkham. Its true he isn't there for a mental condition but is kept there due to how physically secure the old building is.

I think what this video is made me realize is that I feel future games do actually address batman's actions here in asylum. He sees the actions of City and decides he's going to take a proper political approach to dismantle it only putting on the cowl when it's basically the only option he has. In Knight he's just riddled with self doubts about what it means to be The Batman, and ending the game by realizing he needs to leave and that gotham doesn't need someone like batman they need to rely on themselves for change. That's at least how I interpret it.

The story literally explains why croc is there. All Blackgate inmates were transferred to Arkham, the reason croc is in the sewers is because Arkham doesn't have the proper facilities to contain him. One of the riddles shows the first cell croc was in, the bars are broken and there is a skeletal corpse inside, showing that even in a cell he is a danger. So they modify the sewers, to make sure he can't escape and transfer him there during the opening of the game.

This is one of the darkest videos I’ve seen, and it being about my favourite video game ever is what makes it great. I love this game to death, the grindhouse horror aspect, the gothic architecture, the simplistic and straight forward story with a massive and in-depth lore that can be chosen to be explored, and my favourite interpretation of Batman, a hero who’s professional and gets the work done. Some of the stills and shots you’ve made are absolutely perfect showcases the horror and the beauty of Arkham Asylum. This is the best examination of this game, you should be proud of the work you’ve put in.

I agree with alot of what you're saying but for me the Batman franchise focusing so much on psychology made me more aware of mental health issues as a young person and made the villians more sympathetic then the usual comic book affair. Batman is also clearly a character suffering from mental illness and the whole idea of Batman and his rouges gallery to me at least is about how trauma shapes you. The best Batman stories are ones where these themes are explored which is why he's the best Superhero imo and why he has such a strong and sympathetic rouges gallery. I do agree though that the backgrounds of these characters and why they are like this should be explored in a more sympatheic way and that Batman as a franchise should be at the forefront of this kind of thought process.

Extraordinary. One of the most nuanced, challenging, engaging, creative videos I’ve ever watched. Beyond description. You should be proud, I can’t believe something like this is on YouTube.

Now THIS is what I wanted out of a 3.5 hour essay on a single video game. Not just rehashing the same praises and criticisms that we’ve been hearing for over a decade, but coming up with a completely unique (as far as I can tell) take on this subject. I never would have thought about the game in the same manner and depth as you did, and that’s exactly what’s great about this. Sub definitely earned.

So nobody else is gonna talk about that beautiful “Talkin’ ‘Bout Stealth” song at… the Stealth section? No? Just me? Alright, because it was fucking hilarious and I kinda want a full rendition now. Just. Perfect.

Isn't Anarky the Anti Capitalist Villian? I find it hard to believe that Joker has any motivation other then pure chaos thats kind of the idea of his character. Putting a ideology on him is the antithesis of whats he's supposed to be as the Joker. There are more villians in Batman's rouges gallery who fit the theme of a villian showing societies ills i think. The game should have been more critical of the institution of Arkham Asylum though and it should have shown us a sympathetic view towards some of these inmates. Maybe have them cower in fear rather then attack like "crazy" people.

As the holder of the top comment on your old video on the Arkham series, let me just say that I cannot WAIT for you to make up for your past mistakes and FINALLY make a video where you talk about Batman Arkham Origins: Blackgate, for the Nintendo 3DS, for 5 hours.

You forgot (I think) that The Joker's lifegoal is not to be forgotten. Kind of like a catastrophic event that will be remembered through the ages. He wants to bring chaos to the city with the use of monsters so that everyone will come face to face with him. There is no alterior motif, there is no search for justice. He wants to be glorified one way or another.