Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum is known for its unsettling atmosphere, and one detail involving the Joker makes the game even creepier. The first installment in the Batman: Arkham franchise created an authentic and interactive version of DC's Dark Knight by taking inspiration from a variety of different interpretations, including the comics and the seminal Batman: The Animated Series. Returning BTAS voice actors in Batman: Arkham lent another layer of authority to Rocksteady's depiction, with the game reimagining Arkham Island in an even more horrific light than usual. Mark Hamill's interpretation of the Joker in Batman: Arkham Asylum is lauded as especially masterful, and one small detail makes the killer clown even scarier.
[Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Batman: Arkham Asylum.]
While Arkham City and Arkham Knight are true open-world games, Batman: Arkham Asylum is a more linear adventure game in the Metroidvania style. The titular island facility is made up of five main buildings, with small outdoor areas and a maze-like cave system connecting each location. Players start their journey by dropping the Joker off at the Intensive Treatment building, but Batman's adventure eventually takes him to the overgrown Botanical Gardens, the creepy Medical Building, and more. It has been argued that Batman: Arkham Asylum is better than Arkham City and its successors when it comes to its atmosphere, which is largely due to the game's smaller scale.
Alongside the island's five major buildings, Batman: Arkham Asylum's map also includes the Visitor Center. The unsettling building is entirely optional until the final act of the game, but players can enter it upon first escaping from Intensive Treatment. Entering the Visitor Center puts players in a first-person perspective and treats them to conversations with Joker delivered via television on a mannequin body. Revisiting the Visitor Center over the course of Batman: Arkham Asylum will often elicit new dialogue from Joker, with the Clown Prince of Crime discussing in-game events like Bane's surprising appearance and Harley Quinn's defeat. The Visitor Center lets fans enjoy more of Mark Hamill as the video game Joker, but the setting also contains a spine-chilling secret.
Arkham Asylum's Visitor Center Mannequin Was Joker All Along
Befitting Batman: Arkham Asylum's unsettling atmosphere, the Visitor Center has a creepy detail that observant players may notice. While it appears that Joker's dialogue is delivered by a television on a mannequin body, players who study the figure after turning away may notice that it suddenly changes positions. The mannequin arms may be supporting the TV at first, but after looking back the arms will be hanging over the chair instead. The ending of Arkham Asylum sees Joker reveal himself to Batman in the visitor center, with this twist being foreshadowed by the earlier missable interactions. Scarecrow's nightmares in Batman: Arkham Asylum are considered the game's scariest moments, but Joker silently studying the player in the Visitor Center is its own brand of horror.
While Arkham City and Arkham Knight delivered epic Batman experiences, Batman: Arkham Asylum really emphasized the creepy atmosphere of the character's comics. The Visitor Center is an entirely optional area, but Joker's dialogue in this room helps paint a broader picture of Batman's world and his relationship with the Clown Prince of Crime. The lifeless mannequins actually hid the supervillain all along, meaning Batman could have ended the game early by shattering a single window.