Arkham Shadow is the Batman game I wanted back in 2016

A new trailer for Batman: Arkham Shadow was revealed at the Gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live showcase, finally providing a first look at the Meta Quest 3 exclusive title’s gameplay, and it looks like the Batman: Arkham VR Game I wanted back in 2016. Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham VR Occurred between Batman: Arkham City And Batman: Arkham Knight With a mystery story that showed Batman’s descent into madness – something that played a major role in Arkham Knights story however was even more profound when told through the eyes of the Dark Knight himself with the added immersion of VR.

While Rocksteady is not at the helm of Batman: Arkham ShadowLikely due to the studio’s commitments to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Iron Man VR Developer Camouflaj and Oculus Studios are working in partnership with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment and DC to tell a new story in the Arkhamverse. Batman: Arkham Shadow Takes place between the prequels from WB Games Montréal Batman: Arkham Origins And the game that kicked off the series, Batman: Arkham Asylum, With Roger Craig Smith reprising the role as the Caped Crusader from the former.

Batman: Arkham Shadow has an impressive cast of characters

And seems to let players play as Bruce Wayne and Batman

The story focuses on the rise of a new threat in the form of the Rat King. While he resembles the comic villain Ratcatcher with a very similar costume and gimmick, he does not appear to be the same character as Otis Flannagan (aka. Ratcatcher), who can be heard offering to bring the Rat King to Batman. Several other villains are also shown in the gameplay trailer, such as Lock-Up, The Ventriloquist, and Jonathan Crane, who appears to have turned into an early version of Scarecrow from the previous story trailer.

Harley Quinn also appears as a psychiatrist who has yet to be corrupted by the Joker, and It seems like players will not only interact with some of the characters like Batman, but also like Bruce WayneSomething that the Arkhamverse games haven’t spent too long dwelling on, but rather reminds me of Telltale’s approach to being Batman Games, where both Bruce and Batman played a role in different events, and the aforementioned Iron Man VRWhich has a mix of moments like Tony Stark to break up the superheroics.

Batman: Arkham Shadow’s motion looks much smoother than Batman: Arkham VR

Batman is no longer limited to teleporting around locations

Unfortunately, due to the technical limitations of the time – it was developed for the first PSVR and was later ported to PC VR headsets – I find Batman: Arkham VR A bit clunky VR experience now, especially when revisiting it after playing more modern titles. While it was relatively standard for VR titles at the time, Batman: Arkham VR Has an overreliance on teleporting to get around locations, especially as the original PSVR used the PlayStation Move controllers which don’t have thumbsticks for movement like most modern VR controllers do. This is also not amended in the PC port as I have tried playing the Steam version through my Meta Quest 3.

Therefore, a lot of the movement involved dipping in and out of black screens constantly, whether it was to “Go“To another location or to pick up to another area, and I find that breaks up the overall immersion, which is a shame because his story was decent. VR has come a long way now in how players can move and explore Worlds, and Batman: Arkham Shadows gameplay reveal is a clear example of this, as Batman can be seen moving around locations much more commonly.

While the grapple gun returns Batman: Arkham ShadowIt does not cut to black when used. Instead, it can be seen zipping up to ledges, gargoyles and cranes in real time to plan an attack, something that’s crucial in the series’ stealth-heavy Predator missions. Batman can also be seen jumping into battle and gliding through the streets of Gotham With much more fluid gameplay that feels natural to the character. This is hardly surprising considering Camouflaj’s previous work Iron Man VRWhich has extremely fluid movement, with flying sequences and aerial dogfights being a highlight in this title.

Batman is no longer limited to detective work in VR

Series staples return in more action-packed gameplay

While I understood this approach at the time due to the limitations of the VR hardware of 2016, I was always a little disappointed that Batman: Arkham VR Seemed to miss so many elements that were synonymous with the Arkhamverse games at this point. The story was limited to purely focusing on the detective side of the Dark Knight as he solves a murder mystery.

While there were set pieces in the Batcave, Arkham Asylum, and high above the rooftops of Gotham, along with the option to throw batarangs and wield other gadgets, one of the most recognizable elements of the Arkhamverse, freeflow combat is nowhere to be found. See. In fact, the only time Batman confronts his Penguin and his henchmen in Batman: Arkham VRHe drops a smoke grenade, the screen cuts to black, and the sounds of a fist fight play out before Batman interrogates Penguin.

This could not be further from the case in Batman: Arkham Shadowlike Batman can be seen not only taking down enemies with stealth tactics such as corner and inverted takedowns, but also using a new, VR-friendly version of Freeflow combat. I was never expecting the full Freeflow combat of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, Arkham Origins, And Arkham Knight To appear in a VR game due to the sheer skill Batman has as a fighter would have to be more accessible to most players, and Arkham Shadow Seems to have found a way to handle this.

The classic counter mechanic is still out there, only now it’s with the use of icons that tell players where an enemy is attacking and give them enough time to physically dodge and counter. There’s also a combo meter and some rapid-fire gadgets, such as the Batarang, Batclaw and Explosive Gel, to get the numbers in quick succession. As a side note, as a long time Batman: Arkham Fan, it was extremely satisfying to hear the haters scream, “It’s the freaking bat!Once again as Batman jumped them.

I understand why some people are disappointed that the next canonical entry in the Batman: Arkham Series is not accessible to many, because VR is not as common a gaming platform as PC and consoles, and it is narrowed by a Meta Quest 3. As someone who owns this VR system, however, I look forward to being. Release this October, as it finally looks like a true adaptation of what I loved in the previous games translated into a first-person perspective.

Source: Meta Quest / YouTube

Systems

platforms

Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 3S

Released

October 21, 2024

developer(s)

Camouflage

Publisher(s)

Oculus

motor

Unity

ESRB

T for teen // violence, mild blood, language