Batman: Escape from Arkham Asylum casts players as the Rogues’ Gallery in a “semi-cooperative” board game
Filling a villain’s (clown) shoes.
Escape the confines of Arkham Asylum and pray the Batman doesn’t find the trail in an upcoming board game where teamwork and betrayal are less opposites and more order of operations.
Batman: Escape from Arkham Asylum comes from Spanish Studio Knight Models and levies the Caped Crusder’s world as the setting for their “semi-cooperative” title, as described in a July 16th announcement video. Instead of donning the spandex and cape of Batman, Batwoman, Huntress, Robin, Nightwing or any of the countless other extended vigilante family members, players will have to escape from Gotham’s most secure prison as one the city's notorious criminals.
Poison Ivy, Bane, Scarecrow, Two-Face, The Penguin, Harley Quinn and The Joker will be available at the jump, each likely equipped with various tools, skills and knowledge that will aid their individual egress. Knight Models has been tight lipped with details about how the game actually plays ahead of a Kickstarter campaign planned for later this year.
They have said that no one villain will be able to secure freedom on their own and will be forced to ally themselves with other asylum inmates to bypass specific hazards and threats. It’s not hard to imagine Harley Quinn relying on Bane’s brute strength to bust down a locked door in trade for her deploying “ingenuity” and charm on a group of guards. Regardless, these alliances are meant to be temporary and easily discarded - relying too much means sacrificing a lead and giving opponents a chance to escape first.
Everyone will also need to keep an eye to the shadows and rafters because Batman stalks the clinical walls of Arkham Asylum along with the gaggle of villains. In a description that all but mirrors the 2009 video game, the designers said the Dark Knight will crop up when least expected and put players in a seriously disadvantageous situation. If you’ve watched any of the animated series, you know how those altercations normally end.
Both Bat and members of the Rogues’ Gallery will be represented by 35mm miniatures, though how much of Knight Models’ work on the Batman Miniatures Game will play in the design of Escape from Arkham Asylum is yet to be seen. The company also works on similar miniature titles for DC Multiverse and Harry Potter.
The Kickstarter campaign for Batman: Escape from Arkham Asylum, which Knight Models claimed is “intended to be the biggest Batman project ever done” on the crowdsourcing platform, is currently slated for Fall 2021. Want to get a taste of friendly board gaming beforehand? Check out Dicebreaker's list of the best cooperative titles.