Batman: Arkham Asylum Walkthrough Guide (Secrets, Bosses, Start to Finish)

Updated:

30 Nov 2018

Batman: Arkham Asylum Walkthrough Guide (Secrets, Bosses, Start to Finish)

Hey fellow gamers, here’s a full-on, start-to-end, walkthrough guide for playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. Please note, that although these video demonstrations are for a PC, I have this game on my Mac computer. Therefore, my control references will be Mac based. So, read on, have fun, and get ready to get your Bat-game on.

Walkthrough videos by michaeltm83

Part: 1 - Be The Fighter And The Hero

The gameplay starts with you, as The Batman, escorting a captured Joker into Arkham Asylum. The first big gameplay scene begins when Batman’s archenemy escapes and leaves you to fight your way through the inmates he just released. On your computer, use your cape stunning ability to daze and confuse your opponents by clicking the “E” key. That’s the best special-move you have access to, for now.
Once you’ve defeated the inmates, look for a ventilation shaft. You’ll find it next to the entrance that’s been blocked off by an electric gate. Force open this vent shaft by repeatedly pressing the spacebar. Your first Riddler trophy is in this vent.

One leading cause of indigestion: a bat-kick to the gut.

Head-up the ramp just right across from the vent. You’ll want to wait for The Joker to deactivate the electric gate before you try to go through. Of course, he’s setting you up for a trap, but hey, you’re Batman, you’re going to go for it anyway.
There’s a room just right off to the left, once you make it to the top of the ramp. Enter this room and destroy the Joker teeth. You can use your batarangs to do this by holding down the “Q” and pressing the “V” key.

Yes, Gordon, Batman does know it’s a trap. So, what’s your point?

Head down the hallway and fight your way through a couple of thugs. At the end of this hallway, you’ll run into an Arkham security guard. Talk to this guard, and he’ll point you in the direction of Victor Zsasz. The latter will have a hostage you’ll need to be rescuing, so, be ready for that.
You’ll want to make a left at the turning-point, on your way to Zsasz’s location.
Be sure to talk with Aaron Cash before you enter the room where Zsasz is, he’ll be the one to explain the situation in more detail.

Have your fun while you can Zsasz, because you’re going down in a few minutes.

After you have defeated Victor Zsasz, look for two nearby ventilation shafts. Inside one of these shafts, you’ll find another Riddler trophy that you’ll want to collect, before moving onto your next rescue mission.
Once you’ve taken the trophy, go over to the next vent. This one will take you back to the security guard who originally pointed you towards Zsasz.

Work those muscles, and show that ventilation grid who’s boss, Batman.

Make your way to the decontamination room. Here is where you’ll face your next rescue challenge. Since the door will be locked, you’ll want to grapple to the area up above your head. There’ll be another vent shaft you’ll need to make your way through to get into the decontamination room.
Once you’ve rescued the security guards, and, yes, the escaped inmate as well, you’ll want to use your detective mode to locate the control box for the ventilation fan. Aim pressing the “Q” key, with a batarang to hit the control box. This will activate the vent fan and clear out all the Joker toxin.
Something to keep in mind as you progress throughout the game: keep an eye out for those Joker teeth and those Riddler trophies, since collecting these items will increase your chances of leveling up and being able to upgrade your skills and your gadgets. Personally, I would just collect the ones that are in visible range or otherwise easy enough to find, just to keep the momentum going and stay focused on the main mission. Of course, whether or not you take this approach yourself is up to you.

Don’t leave the Arkham guards hanging. They are, after all, on your side.

Part: 2 - The Big, The Mean, And The Low-Lifers

Follow the green arrow trail that The Joker has marked for you. This trail will take you straight to The Joker’s location, where you’ll have to face-off against one big and mean Titan-enhanced inmate.
You’ll want to rely on your batarangs and the double-clicking of your spacebar to out maneuver Joker’s monster to survive this fight. Aim and throw the batarangs at the creature’s face, as he’s charging towards you. This’ll temporarily blind him, so, you can run or jump out of his way.
One thing to bear in mind: you’re not trying to take down this monster. You’re just trying to stay out of his way mostly, until this guy dies do to a bad prototype version of the Titan-venom.
Something else to remember is that you can press the Tab key to access and choose your upgrades. You’ll be able to upgrade your skills, your armor, the gadgets you collect along the way, things like that. You’ll want to upgrade, regularly, to keep Batman performing at peak-levels.
You can, also, use the Tab key to access your map and your main objectives.

Just follow the green-arrow-brick-road, Batman.

You’ll want to press the caps-lock to crouch, so you can sneak up on inmates armed with guns. Right-click so that you can silently attack and overpower each of the three inmates from behind.

These guys are idiots! Batman’s sneaking up right behind them, and they don’t even know it!

Make good use of your aerial attacks, as well as your silent, sneak attacks when you’re going after The Joker’s henchmen in the Intensive Treatment lobby. They’re armed, as well, so a head-on attack would not be wise, since it would alarm them to your presence.
You will, also, want to make good use of detective mode, while you’re taking down these thugs. It would be wise to stay in detective mode, while you’re rounding up The Joker’s men, just as you see in this video demonstration.

Can you see in the dark? The answer is, ‘yes’, when you’re using Batman’s detective mode.

Part: 3 - One Order Of Raw Fighting And A Deadly Toxin To Go, Please

Remember to keep a look out for The Riddler’s trophies and puzzles as you progress. Collecting these trophies and solving these puzzles will buy you points that’ll help you to earn your upgrades that much quicker. I wouldn’t go too far out of my way to find these Riddler goodies, however. Stay focused on this mission at hand, and collect whatever Riddler’s left for you, if and when you can see those clues. After all, there are plenty of other ways to earn your upgrades that won’t take you too far away from your main objective.

Scope out the area, and get those Riddler clues, my friend, get ‘em all!

To use the explosive gel or any gadget, you’ll want to select that gadget from its number. The explosive gel, for example, is your third gadget. So, press “3” on your keyboard to choose that gadget. The explosive gel will allow you to blow up the wall that’s blocking your way to the alternate entrance you need to access to keep following Gordon’s trail.

Blow some stuff up and blow it up good.

Right-click during an all-out group fight to use any special moves that you might have picked up, while you’ve been upgrading throughout the game. If you haven’t upgraded lately, then, now would be a good time to do so, since some of those special moves might really come in handy.

These criminals are going to need medical attention, after Batman gets through with them.

When you’re rescuing Aaron Cash and the other Arkham employees, you’ll need to make good use of your batarangs again. Use them to activate the ventilation fans that’ll clear out the Joker toxin.
Give yourself a running start before you glide when you’re making your way around the room these employees are trapped in. You’ll have to do this to avoid getting caught in the poisonous gas that’s filled up the place.

It's the batarangs that make target practice all the more fun.

Part: 4 - The Knife Wielder And The Master Of Fear

Use your cape stunning ability to defeat this knife wielding inmate, again that’s the “E” key on your keyboard. Inmates armed with knives, wearing orange jumpsuits, will be the ones that you’ll want to stun with your cape before you attack. You have to cape stun them first, because a head-on attack won’t work.

Apparently, the knife is supposed to scare Batman. Uh, yeah, okay.

When you’re facing Scarecrow, be sure to stay out of his mind-breaking gaze. If he sees you, he’s got you.
Use the caps-lock to crouch, whenever necessary. You won’t always be able to outrun Scarecrow’s gaze. So, sometimes you’ll have to crouch, so you can wait until the latter passes you before you start moving again.

Take your time, stay out of that gazing spotlight, and you just might keep your sanity.

Part: 5 - Save Commissioner Gordon, And Don't Let The Bat Get Broken

Don’t forget to pick-up secrets maps when you spot them. These maps will mark the locations of The Riddler’s puzzles and trophies on your mission map. This’ll make finding The Riddler’s clues less of a headache.

The maps are the key to unlocking The Riddler’s secrets in this little cat-and-mouse game.

Personal recommendation for completing this rescue mission: don’t bother trying to take down any of the inmates. Just sneak passed them and make your way up to the attack point. This will be where you’ll carry out your surprise attack on Harley Quinn to rescue the captured Commissioner Gordon.
I would, also, suggest that you stay crouched, while you’re sneaking your way passed The Joker’s henchmen.

These villains really need to learn to start looking up, from time to time.

Think back to when you fought the Titan-enhanced inmate. You’ll want to out maneuver Bane the same way in this boss-fight. Also, you’ll have to jump onto Bane’s back while he’s temporarily blinded to start disconnecting the tubes that are feeding him the venom.
I would recommend focusing on Bane and not worrying so much about Joker’s men. Yes, they’ll attack you, but you can just flip over them when they do by double-clicking your spacebar.
Be sure to dodge the bodies and whatever else Bane throws at you, as well. Yes, Bane likes to throw dead bodies, and yes, it sounds even creepier when I say that out loud.

Bring on the pain, Bane, and Batman, don’t skimp on the batarangs.

Part: 6 – Big Fancy Mansion; Small, Dumb Low-Lifers

Make your way to Arkham Mansion. Once inside, you'll be fighting off more of The Joker's thugs. Once they're down, there will be two Arkham employees in need of rescuing.

Anytime you're ready fellas. I mean, really, anytime at all.

Part: 7 - Sometimes, Silence Really Can Be Golden

Don't stand around for too long, because you still have some more rescuing to do. First, there will be an Arkham security guard being threatened, at gunpoint, for information. After you save this man, you'll want to head over to the main library to save Aaron Cash and one other hostage from four of The Joker's henchmen. Bear in mind, however, that these men will be armed with guns, so, you'll want to use your silent-attacks to overpower them.

Hey genius, you might want to turn around and look behind you.

Part: 8 - Save Them, Save Your Sanity, And Take Some Notes

Double-back to the library where you saved those last two Arkham employees from The Joker's fake bomb. Once you're there, you'll want to use your detective mode to locate Dr. Penelope Young's notes, so Batman can dispose of them.

Sometimes it's just all about the simple location of an object, and sometimes it's not.

Watch yourself in this boss-fight. You’ll want to take down these skeleton men without being caught by Scarecrow.
My recommendation: let the thugs approach you. Don’t try to chase them or charge after them, especially if they’re backing too far into Scarecrow’s gaze.

Nothing but a bunch of skeleton push-overs for The Batman to wipe the floor with.

Keep a steady pace, as you make your way through Scarecrow’s dream-world. You don’t want to rush through this challenge, since that would be a good way to get caught by Scarecrow’s gaze.
Timing is everything at this point. Don’t take too long trying to jump past this swinging object, however, because your enemy won’t give you that kind of time.

Timing is everything and I do mean timing.

To defeat Zsasz, this time, you’ll need to aim your batarang and throw it directly at his face. Be sure to hide behind the wall, while you’re crouching, by using the spacebar. Otherwise, this little batarang trick won’t work, and Zsasz will kill his hostage.

Zsasz ain’t nothing but a mere nuisance for The Batman to knock out of his way.

When you’re fighting an inmate armed with a shock stick, you can’t take him head-on. Flip over the inmate and attack him from behind. Use the spacebar to do this.

It’s shocking as to how much of an advantage these low-lifers seem to think they have right now.

Part: 9 – Strictly A Seek-Out, Beat-Down, And Rescue Operation

People, working at Arkham, can really use some protection from all the chaos around here.

Find your way out of Arkham Mansion. Note: You might want to use your map to help you with this. Then, once you're out of the mansion, fight to get to the Arkham medic who is about to be killed by The Joker's henchmen.

After you've saved the medic, continue into Arkham Penitentiary, through the Cell Block entrance, to find and rescue the captured Warden Sharp.

Annoying and grumpy, really, not the most attractive combination for you, Warden.

The psycho inmates won’t stay down when you hit them. You’ll want to make sure they’re out cold before moving forward. So, hold down the control key and right-click to knock these guys out, cold.

The lunatics are seriously running wild in this nuthouse.

Next, you will need to head over to the Guard Room, where there will be two more Arkham security guards for you to save from Harley Quinn's death-trap.

Part: 10 - A Shockingly All-Out Fight, And Psychos On The Lose

Continuing on, you'll have no choice but to run right into Harley Quinn's little shock-trap. This time, you'll have to fight off The Joker's henchmen, as you avoid the random electric shocks from the security grids on the floor.

Shock these low-lifers with your unstoppable beat-down moves.

Part: 11 - Be Silent With The Gunmen, And Be Quick With The Heavy-Hitters

Find your way to the Botanical Gardens. Once you're inside, you'll have to fight your way through some inmates, working for The Joker, to rescue another Arkham employee who is being held hostage. After that, you'll have two more civilians to save, before you can continue on to the next big fight.
As with the Bane boss-fight, you’ll want to make good use of your batarangs and Batman’s maneuvering skills to defeat these Titan-enhanced inmates.
Jump on one monster’s back, while he’s blinded from your batarang. You can use him to smack around the other guy. Also, remember to avoid those bodies that are being thrown at you. The less hits you take the better.

The bigger and the uglier they are, the harder they fall.

Part: 12 – A Helping Hand From An Enemy And An Ally

Go to Poison Ivy. She'll tell you where the plant spores are that you can use to make the anti-toxin, which you'll be using later in the final fight against The Joker.
Fight your way back to Arkham Mansion. So, you can find out, from Aaron Cash, where Killer Croc's lair is.
You can kill Poison Ivy’s energy ball shooting plants. Destroy their energy balls using your upgraded, multi-target batarang. Then, run up to the plants and use the spacebar to kill them.

Apparently, not all plants are good for the environment.

Part: 13 - The Joker's Men And Scarecrow's Gaze? This Ought A Be Good

Get back to Intensive Treatment, and take down The Joker's men.
After you've taken care of the inmates, you'll find yourself trapped in another one of Scarecrow's dream-worlds. Think back to the last Scarecrow challenge. Avoid his gaze, and move carefully throughout Scarecrow's dream-world to break free of his mental-hold on you.

Scarecrow's got The Batman right where he wants him, in his nightmare of a dream-world.

Part: 14 - Several Plant Spores And One Killer Crocodile

When facing Killer Croc, you’ll want to make good use of your batarangs. Aim them at his face and throw to knock him off the platforms. Also, remember to walk and not run, unless your prompted to do so.

Killer Croc is hungry. Don’t let The Batman become his main course.

Hold down the right-clicker as Killer Croc is approaching you. Then, set-off the explosive gel that was planted earlier, once Croc is standing directly over it.

You are about to go down, Croc, literally!

After you've defeated Killer Croc, you'll want to head back to the Batcave to manufacture the anti-toxin from the plant spores you collected.

Part: 15 - Time To Put Your Close-Combat Fighting Skills To The Test

In a closed-in area like this, the best way to win the fight is to use the monster to knock down most of the thugs. Personally, I would suggest that you keep most of your focus on your Titan-enhanced opponent, until you’ve defeated him.
After the monster’s down, you can clean up house, as you take out The Joker’s men. Of course, by now, this part of the fight should be pretty second-nature to you.

Batman’s trapped in this room with the Titan-monster? Yeah, it’s the other way around, I think.

Part: 16 - If You Can Resist Her, You Can Defeat Her

The best way to win this boss-fight against The Queen of All Plants is to avoid Poison Ivy’s energy balls by flipping out and away from their line of fire.
Aim and throw your batarangs at Ivy when she’s exposed. Also, avoid getting caught by her deadly vines, while you’re fighting the Arkham security guards that she has under her control.

And to think, Batman chose today, off all days, to forget to bring his weed-killer.

Part: 17 – The Joker Thinks He’s King of All of Gotham City; Show Him Why He’s Wrong

In this final boss-fight against The Titan-enhanced Clown Prince of Crime, you’ll want to switch over to your batclaw gadget. You’ll need it to help you defeat The Joker.
Keep your distance from the clown, while he’s swiping away trying to knock you down. Remember, the less injuries you take now, the more of a hit you’ll be able to take when you’re fighting Joker’s henchmen.
You can, also, make use of The Joker’s explosives. Since their set to follow you wherever you go, you can run or flip away from them towards the thugs, preferably when they’re grouped together. Do this and when the explosives go off, they’ll knock down the inmates for you. You might even have time to do a, right-click knock out move on some of them, while they’re down, if you move quickly enough.
You’ll want to use the batclaw to pull The Joker down to your level, while his back is turned, after you’ve defeated his men. While Joker’s stuck in the floor, you can attack him. This entire routine will have to be done repeatedly, until you’ve successfully defeated Batman’s archenemy.