When comparing Axiom Verge vs Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Slant community recommends Batman: Arkham Asylum for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Batman: Arkham Asylum is ranked 75th while Axiom Verge is ranked 94th. The most important reason people chose Batman: Arkham Asylum is:
Arkham Asylum is the first game to bring us freeflow brawler melee combat in its full glory. It invented the combat genre where you fight a multitude of enemies who take turns attacking you, while the player has a basic attack, a parry+counter and a combat roll. Getting multiple hits in on enemies builds up a combo streak that makes batman stronger. This streak is reset by getting hit by an enemy. Other games, like Assassin's Creed, had superficially similar combat systems, but not as optimized as this and they did not feature hit/combo streaks. Arkham Asylum's freeflow combat system is very suitable to be played with controllers.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great soundtrack
Pro Retro feel with a modern spin
Provides a good change of pace to what many modern titles offer. Axiom Verge is a well crafted combination of the original Metroid 2D platformer style, with unique game mechanics that make it refreshing.
Pro Somewhat complex story
While maybe not necessarily mind-blowing, it does have some interesting twists that one usually is more likely to find in movies rather than games. Also multiple endings.
Pro Tons of power ups to collect
In addition to having lots of things to find, the power ups give you diverse abilities that allow you to interact with the world in new unique ways.
Pro Beautiful art and environments
Pro Freeflow combat pioneer
Arkham Asylum is the first game to bring us freeflow brawler melee combat in its full glory. It invented the combat genre where you fight a multitude of enemies who take turns attacking you, while the player has a basic attack, a parry+counter and a combat roll. Getting multiple hits in on enemies builds up a combo streak that makes batman stronger. This streak is reset by getting hit by an enemy. Other games, like Assassin's Creed, had superficially similar combat systems, but not as optimized as this and they did not feature hit/combo streaks. Arkham Asylum's freeflow combat system is very suitable to be played with controllers.
Pro Fun stealth & gadgets
Remaining stealthy and getting stealth takedowns is important in Arkham Asylum's gameplay. Arkham Asylum gives the player a relatively large number of different gadgets to use for different combat purposes, such as ranged takedowns, cutting ropes, diverting enemies' attention, blasting through doors, traversing longer distances and hacking.
Cons
Con Poor weapon design
There are a ton of weapons, but most of them lack purpose. You end up sticking with just a few.
Con Not modern enough
It's intentionally retro style makes the world monotonous and dead compared to modern Metroidvania's.
Con Soundtrack can feel repetitive
While the soundtrack has some great electronic music, it can start feeling repetitive over long play sessions, especially when you find yourself just wandering around, looking for items or the next destination.
Con Too short
And no reason to replay.
Con Dark atmosphere
You won't realize how many shades of black exist until you've played an Arkham game. It's always dark outside, so to people who like daylight and colors in their games, this might get a bit dull after a while.