2016’s Batman: Arkham VR was a 90-minute tech demo for the original PSVR that served two purposes: generating countless videos of people doing silly dances in front of a mirror as Batman, and making those same people wonder why they spent $400 on the headset in the first place.
It’s generous to even call it a ‘game’, yet it was the best-selling PSVR software of the year in Europe. The damage Arkham VR did to the reputation of the new medium cannot be overstated. Maybe it’s weird to be this hostile towards a game no one remembers, but it’s one of the most flagrant uses of IP I can think of.
Arkham Fans Weren’t Fans Of The Arkham Shadow Reveal
So, it’s no surprise that people are hostile towards Arkham Shadow. I was at the Summer Games Fest showcase when the first trailer was shown. When it was revealed to be a VR game, a discontented rumble made up of the audience’s collective groan swept across the arena. That doesn’t happen at these kinds of things. People are there to fanboy out. The guy next to me jumped out of his seat and screamed at the Killer Bean trailer. But when you put the letters ‘V’ and ‘R’ together, especially after the word ‘Batman’, people get mad.
As VR’s bravest little soldier however, I eagerly anticipated Arkham Shadow. I want a legit Arkham game as much as anyone else, but I also know Camouflaj, the studio behind Arkham Shadow, knows more than a bit about VR superhero games. Iron Man VR is one of my favorite PSVR games and a great example of how a super hero’s powers can be translated to virtual reality controls. If any one could do Arkham justice here, it’s Camouflaj.
I’m ten hours into Arkham Shadow, and so far it has exceeded every expectation. Aesthetically, it’s spot on. You begin by exploring a post-Origins Gotham amidst ongoing riots, and the look and feel of the city is just right. All the familiar Arkham versions of Batman’s supporting characters, like Alfred, Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon, and Barbara are present and accurately represented. The writing is solid, the acting matches, and the music is so resonant that, while all original compositions from composer Kazuma Jinnouchi, sounds exactly how I remember the old Arkham games sounding.
Elijah Wood is also playing Scarecrow in Arkham Shadow, if you fancied seeing how Frodo would go about doping Gotham with hallucinogenic drugs.
Arkham Shadow Is A Real Arkham Game
Gameplay is where Arkham Shadow really earns the ‘Arkham’ name though. It mixes Metroidvania-esque exploration, puzzle solving, hand-to-hand-combat, and stealthy ‘Predator’ encounters exactly as you would expect an Arkham game would. It’s also full of gadgets to unlock and upgrade, and secrets to collect – though this time you’ll be smashing rat statues instead of Riddler trophies.
Predator missions are just as good as they’ve always been. Using Detective Vision (activated by tapping your temple), you can survey a room filled with baddies from a vantage point, then plan out your attack as you silently and systematically eliminate them one by one. You can do everything here you can do in a normal Arkham game, including swinging from gargoyle to gargoyle (why do all these rooms have gargoyles?), dropping smoke bombs, inverting to silently grab an enemy and tie them up, swooping down to kick goons in the back, hiding in a duct and leap out to subdue them, stunning others with a Batarang, and so on. The techniques you’re familiar with are all here, but now you get to physically act out Batman’s siege, which is exactly as cool as it sounds.
The thing that impresses me the most is the combat, which perfectly replicates the rhythmic dance of an Arkham brawl in a way I didn’t think was possible in VR. You leap around the arena landing blows on enemies and parrying incoming attacks just as you would in the other games, while also mixing up your techniques to build your combo meter and unleash brutal finishing moves. The way Camouflaj translates Arkham’s combat into VR is brilliant in its simplicity, and I can’t get enough of it even if my arms are so sore I can barely type this. It’s so easy to get into that famous Arkham flow state where you’re landing hit after hit and leaping all around the enemies, breaking legs and bashing skulls wherever you please.
I’ve played a lot of VR games with great melee combat, but never one that made bare-fisted brawling feels this great. Your first hit on an enemy triggers a follow-up combo that you’ll either need to activate by punching from a specific direction, or rapidly hitting small targets. Once you knock down an enemy you can finish them off by leaping on them and smashing both fists into their head, and when an enemy comes out behind you, all you have to do is stick out your arm and you’ll automatically turn towards them and initiate a counter. It all feels fluid, intuitive, and – if you feel like punching someone right now – extremely cathartic.
Arkham Shadow is about as far from Arkham VR as you can get. The only concessions it makes are in terms of its scope. It’s not a sprawling open-world game like Arkham City and Arkham Knight, and it’s not as pretty as either one – but what VR game is? In all the ways that matter though, Arkham Shadow is a true Arkham game. I know that won’t win everyone over, but if you’re an Arkham fan and you’re willing to give VR a try, I
don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Batman: Arkham Shadow is an all new game in the superhero action series, developed by Camouflaj exclusively for the Meta Quest 3 VR headset.