Arkham Asylum is as important a location to Batman as the Batcave. The menacing old institution that houses most of the Dark Knight’s worst enemies already spawned a series of video games. And now, it’s a premium puzzle box game too. The Arkham Asylum Files: Panic in Gotham City combines augmented reality tech with tabletop board gaming. And it tells an original narrative that draws from decades of Bat-lore.
The folks at Infinite Rabbit Holes, creators of Why So Serious?, have launched a countdown to a Kickstarter campaign for The Arkham Asylum Files. And you can see the game’s first trailer right here, along with several images:
Bat-fans will be able to solve a series of epic mysteries devised by the Joker himself. And they’ll also be able to sift through evidence, as well as interact with over 100 game pieces, secret documents, and artifacts. All in a 6-hour escape room style experience.
The puzzles take the forms of cyphers, jigsaws, word games, spectrographs, and blacklight images. The game comes with an iOS/Android app that facilitates the gameplay with original animation and live-action content. All creating a brand new experience.
Players will be able to unpack a series of amazing collectibles, among them Arkham Asylum patient files, Joker playing cards, detailed schematics, police evidence bags, and newspapers. And all of them are in-universe and in service of a linear storyline.
Players can work alongside Dr. Harleen Quinzel herself. Yes, in this game, Harley Quinn has persuaded the authorities to let her return to practicing psychiatry to unmask the Arkham’s most infamous residents. Panic in Gotham City even comes with randomly packed Batman or Joker masks.
The game is said to be production-ready and good to go for a December 2022 release. For more information, be sure to head on over to The Arkham Asylum Files’ official Kickstarter page.