Batman: Arkham Shadow is the last entry in the Arkham franchise, this time as a VR exclusive for the Meta Quest 3. The upcoming release comes from Camouflaj Studios, the developer behind the well-received Iron Man: VRAnd will be much more in-depth than 2016’s Arkham VR. Screen Rant Recently attended a special preview of the game at Meta, which featured a demo of the game’s first chapter and a comprehensive overview from three of the developers: head of studio and game director Ryan Payton, design director Ryan Darcey, and director of Production Matt Walker.
Throughout the preview, the trio emphasized how important it was to cultivate a sense of authenticity during the design process, with the end goal of creating an immersive VR experience that truly allows players. Feel Like Batman while maintaining the overall integrity of the already-established universe. The team studied all the latest franchise releases during development, however Shadow The chief draws a lot of his inspiration from Arkham: Asylum. Despite a few stuttering hiccups, the demo showed an impressively engaging take on the Dark Knight Justice.
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Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Story
Continuing Origins and introducing a new villain
Batman: Arkham Shadow Takes place much earlier in the timeline than previous entries in the franchise, beginning just six months after the events of Origins. Just like the aforementioned prequel, Shadow Aims to continue providing more character backstory, like Batman’s developing friendship with Commissioner Gordon and the motivations behind future villains. While the game draws heavily from existing lore, it’s also not shy about incorporating its own original ideas, the biggest of which is arguably introducing a brand new villain: the Rat King.
The chapter began on the 4th of July, where Rat King’s supporters began to march on the streets of Gotham. The hands-on time focused much more on gameplay than the storyline, although it did offer some environmental storytelling as Batman traversed the city’s sewers, freeing police hostages and stopping gunners as he made his way to the rooftops to meet with Gordon. The pipes and alcoves were filled with Rat King propaganda, with scrawled writings about a Rat-led revolution and recordings playing to followers about how they had been deceived and needed to fight back scattered throughout.
The overarching plot will largely deal with Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent working to stop the Day of Wrath led by the Rat King, although there are a few other story surprises awaiting players, such as the first in-game appearance of the villain Locke – Up. Walker also tweeted a “Big, big three“In the game, although he obviously did not elaborate further. Arkham ShadowThe cast is particularly impressive: Roger Craig Smith returns to the role of Batman along with other heavy hitters like Tara Strong, Troy Baker, Mark Rolston and Harry Payton are all onboard to help tell the story.
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Combat and exploration in Arkham Shadow
Punching baddies and going predator mode
Combat in Arkham Shadow is fast-paced and fluidWith a focus on combos and counters, and flows in a way that makes the fighting sequences fly by. The game makes it easy to automatically target different enemies based on where the player is looking, followed by glowing yellow prompts on screen that show the player what to do. Some of the commands are directional, and if the punch does not come from the specific angle required, Batman will break away from the enemy and have to start attacking again.
It was a little frustrating at times when I felt like I was following the order shown, but that could easily be attributed to a blend of a skill issue on my part and the fact that it’s an early build. The commands will be interspersed among other fun moves like punches thrown as Batman is diving from above and slamming enemies against the ground. Incoming attacks will be displayed with a warning in the player’s peripheral vision, and can be countered by swinging an arm to the side of the hit comes from, staggering the enemy.
Both combat and predator sequences will receive a score upon completion, with players earning more for things like combos or never seen.
Much of how players investigate with Detective Vision and stalk criminals during Predator sequences will feel familiar to Arkham Veterans. Detective Vision will highlight enemies and other useful clues, helping both with plotting plans of attack for rooms full of baddies and investigating crime scenes, although the demo did not have the latter. Predator sequences rely heavily on the grappling hook and smoke bombs to maintain stealth, and the device makes Batman’s silent takedowns even more satisfying; Perhaps it’s a stretch to say that choking enemies unconscious is more fun in VR, but it’s true.
One major change is that the batarang is now singular – instead of being able to endlessly throw them at enemies like ninja stars, it’s now mainly used for puzzles, like activating switches from far away. Both combat and predator sequences will receive a score upon completion, with players earning more for things like combos or never seen. These points will level Batman, unlocking Wayne Tech points that can be spent on upgrades in four different skill categories: Combat, Armor, Predator and Gadgets.
The overall VR feel of Arkham Shadow
Finally, VR that doesn’t make me nauseous
In all my experience with VR, I’ve been at least vaguely enraptured almost every time, so it was incredibly impressive that Batman Arkham: Shadow Not manifested at all despite its large amounts of movement. The game does not use teleportation, instead allowing free walking with the left analog stick, and the overall perspective of where Batman is looking can be adjusted with the others. The only real time I felt disoriented was during a few ladder climbing sequences, where the animation was a little fast and choppy, but it was otherwise smooth sailing through the sewers.
Visuals are even more important to a VR game than a flat screen, and Arkham Shadow Has done a good job of creating an engaging, immersive world with its graphics. The various ways players can traverse add to the immersion even more, like flying across gaps with the batcap or climbing through vent systems. Although most of the sewers I scoured were – right, so – quite sad and dingy, there was a scene at the end of the demo looking out over Gotham as fireworks were set off in the distance that was particularly stunning and helped showcase More visual potential.
Final thoughts on Batman: Arkham Shadow
An interesting use of a still underexplored tech
The opportunity to be immersed in the role of Batman in VR is a really fun opportunity, especially because of the style of hero he is. Batman is all about blending in with his surroundings and having heightened senses, and it’s much easier to feel authentically a part of that with a headset. Because the game’s physical movement mechanics allow players to be more active participants, getting their heart rates up against buddies, it also provides a greater sense of accomplishment – I didn’t just defeat them by pushing buttons, I did it with my own fists.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the game’s potential popularity is its Meta Quest 3 exclusivity, which undeniably ruffled some feathers on announcement, but developers emphasized how a single-console focus has allowed for more perfecting of the experience than a wide release would. Despite the few aforementioned physical hiccups, the overall gameplay really succeeds in making the player really feel more like the Dark Knight than perhaps ever before. Players will be able to walk in the shadows as the Caped Crusader himself when Batman: Arkham Shadow Release the case.