Scariest Moments In The Batman: Arkham Games

Highlights

The Batman Arkham series masters Gotham City's dark setting, scaring even the bravest players with intense moments and twisted villains.
From facing Copperhead's poison to battling Scarecrow's fears, Batman fights not just villains but his own doubts and failures.
Killer Croc's maze and Scarecrow's game crash provide horrifying experiences, making the Arkham series unforgettable for players.

Batman remains one of the most well-known and beloved superheroes who feature in a variety of amazing games, especially the Arkham series. All the key elements that make Gotham City such an intensely dark setting were masterfully incorporated into the beloved Batman Arkham series, which is one of the best superhero game franchises of all time, due in part, to Batman's Rogues Gallery, and the fearful moments that they contain.

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Multiple moments in the series tug at players and Batman himself through horror, some of which, are among the most memorable. Characters of Gotham, especially the villains Batman has to fight, often represent dark and unhinged facets of humanity, and the games did not shy away from displaying the full terror of those villains as they managed to scare even the most hardened players.

8 Copperhead’s Battle

Batman Must Face The People He Failed To Save

Game: Batman: Arkham Origins

When Batman comes to the Steel Mill to question Roman Sionis, his search is interrupted by one of the assassins hired to kill him, a woman by the name of Copperhead. She infects Batman with a poison that slowly weakens him and makes him easy prey for Copperhead. Eventually, Batman has to fight for his life, as his mind turns against him, playing on his fears as the Caped Crusader.

The fear from this scene comes from the fact that Batman must fight disappearing ninja-like enemies, whilst also discovering more of Batman's psyche, where his doubts and failures play on his mind due to the conversations he has with twisted victims of people he failed to save. All the while, players have to listen to the intense heartbeat of Batman as he attempts to wrangle the poison and stop his own death.

7 The Tea Party

Enter The Mad Hatter's Twisted Wonderland

Game: Batman: Arkham City

The Mad Hatter's Tea Party side mission in Batman: Arkham City is great, for it's truly unexpected. Players will head near the courthouse to try out a cure for TITAN. Desperate, and in total trust of Alfred and Lucius Fox, Batman injects himself with the cure, only to fall unconscious, as the sample had been tampered with by the Mad Hatter, a villain obsessed with creating an Alice, but he'd never dare try against the best female characters in the Arkham series.

When Batman wakes, he finds himself surrounded by the Mad Hatter's goons, which are henchmen who have been hypnotized through the use of animal masks. Mad Hatter himself is in total control, and for Batman to regain it, he must scream his way through, trying to free his mind from the disturbing bunny mask he wears, as he fights his way through a descending pocket watch, falling through the looking glass into his own insanity.

6 Officer Owen's Diner Experience

A Police Officer Is The First Responder To A City Of Fear

Game: Batman: Arkham Knight

With Scarecrow as Arkham Knight’s main antagonist, it is no surprise that his return to Gotham City is one filled with fear and panic among the innocents who just want to live their lives. In the prologue, players will enter first-person as they control a police officer called Owens, who is having a casual break at a diner. Yet, he has to confront a hooded customer who is seen smoking.

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When the player approaches the person, they are revealed to be a nightmarish ghoul, born of Scarecrow’s toxin. The restaurant immediately changes, with all the people transformed into similar ghouls. The player is given a few seconds of control to shoot the ghouls, but they are quickly overwhelmed, forced to watch terror and violence overwhelm them.

5 The Man-Bat Jumpscare

An Unexpected Terror Awaits Players Who Safely Grapnel Boost

Game: Batman: Arkham Knight

Despite only lasting a few seconds, this moment left an impression on players due to how unexpected it was. It can appear randomly on any rooftop across Miagani Island. As the player casually glides through the city, grappling with the buildings before them, they are met by a monstrous bat creature suddenly emerging and screeching at Batman before flying away.

This jumpscare can occur after a certain point in the main story, making everyone’s encounter a little different. To add insult to injury, the Joker does the same trick later in the game and laughs at Batman’s face, even breaking the fourth wall and mocking the player for the time they encountered Man-Bat.

4 Bane’s TN-1 Transformation

The Bat Must Hide From A Hulking Monster

Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Bane is the final major boss of Arkham Origins. While his battle doesn’t incorporate any direct horror-like elements, the tension, and the cat-and-mouse game can make the player feel trapped and hunted, creating an incredibly tense moment. Bane is shown to be a strong and clever villain throughout the game, but it is here that he injects himself with an extreme dosage of TN-1.

This makes him turn into a hulking, brainless monstrosity whose only goal is to hunt down Batman. There is nothing the player can do to defeat Bane in a fair fight. They have to resort to tricking Bane and using stealth takedowns. The added elements of Bane’s unhinged state of mind and a timer that only allows the players some minutes to complete the fight make this encounter more terrifying.

3 Sacrecrow’s First Nightmare

Scarecrow Shows Batman's Worst Fears, With A Dead Commissioner Gordon & His Dead Parents

Scarecrow-game-over-screen-in-Batman-Arkham-Asylum

Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum, the first entry in the series, is filled with horror elements that send chills down the players’ spines. Most notable of them have been linked to the character of Scarecrow, the Batman villain who possesses a fear toxin. His introduction in Arkham Asylum effectively shows what Scarecrow is capable of as he manipulates Batman into entering his nightmare.

After Batman inhales his fear toxin, he sees a shadow of Scarecrow killing doctors as they beg for him not to do it. As Batman chases Scarecrow, he sees the corpse of his friend and colleague, Commissioner Gordon. The music becomes eerie as Batman is led into the morgue, where he sees the corpses of his parents, before Scarecrow attacks, emerging from a body bar that players must slowly unzip, creating a perfect introduction to this psychedelic experience.

2 Killer Croc’s Sewer Maze

Enter The Lair Of A Monster

Killer Croc confronting Batman in the sewers of Arkham Asylum

Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Scarecrow is not the only character who brings horror elements into Arkham Asylum. Another terrifying villain who brings a memorable experience for the players is Killer Croc. Ever since the beginning of the game, he has shown his desire to eat Batman and claimed that he has his scent. Croc will stop at nothing to reach the hero. Towards the end of the game, Batman ventures down into his lair.

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The lair itself is a maze without a proper map, immediately disorienting the player and putting them into a state of fear. The only way they can find their way is to follow distance indicators. Any sound they make can attract Croc, causing him to rush at the player with only a few seconds to stun him. This segment creates a mortifying cat-and-mouse game, providing an unforgettable experience.

1 Scarecrow Crashes The Game

An Unexpected Crash Has Players Control The Joker & Shoot Batman

Scarecrow served as a psychological threat in Batman: Arkham Asylum through the Nightmare sequences

Game: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Out of all the horrifying moments of the Saga, one that stands out is the last nightmare sequence in Arkham Asylum. It serves as the culmination of Batman’s battles with the villain Scarecrow. It is the most difficult sequence yet, which shows Batman’s descent into insanity and Scarecrow’s most dedicated performance yet, with him almost never letting Batman out of sight.

However, the most memorable moment of this sequence is how it begins. The game’s screen glitches out in what seems like a game crash. However, this is an intended part of the sequence that takes the player back before seeing a reversed game beginning. This time, Joker brings Batman to the Asylum and kills him immediately, tricking the player into thinking they could’ve evaded death. However, they’re forced into a nightmare sequence, where they rise from their grave, creating one of the most chaotic and terrifying Arkham Saga moments.