Was Batman Arkham Asylum going to be a rhythm game?

Many players know Batman like the anti-hero who doesn’t hesitate to punish Gotham’s villains with punches. A look that seems to go perfectly with its halo of darkness and, hell, we fans love it so much. However, while the action seems like the genre that best suits this character, some companies’ plans have wanted to give it a renewed twist … even with more pacing.

It may sound strange, and yet it was the idea that crossed Rocksteady’s mind at the time. While developing the game, they claim that the game has gone through various designs. For a moment there was the idea that instead of focusing on the action we’re so used to, Batman should focus more on the beat

. Does that mean you have to dance? Not a lot.

Batman Arkham Asylum battles reportedly more rhythm-driven

While we’re used to pushing buttons so we can take down certain enemies, the initial idea was that everything was a lot more rhythmic. With this, the study stated that the fights would have a choreography,

something more like a dance, but without reaching that point. This means that the company would have encouraged us to press the right buttons at the precise moment so that we can deliver punches at the precise moment.

While the idea might sound slightly appealing, it seems that during development it wasn’t enough getting used to. In fact, although beating iconic enemies like Joker

It would have been curious to see that with this beat, Rocksteady finally gave up on the idea until he finally found the perfect style for this great hero.

It would have been curious if, instead of the symphony of punches and kicks to which we are used today, we would have seen a much more dancing Batman. Something that, perhaps, would have reminded us a little more of the Batman played by Adam West in the 60s and not so much of the Batman played by Christian Bale in the Dark Knight trilogy.