I get your question: does playing the virtual reality Batman game make me feel like Batman? The answer, however, is no. I never once felt like I had a billion dollars during the lengthy gameplay of Batman: Arkham Shadow and the simulation would never be finished without it. However, by incorporating all of the hallmarks of Rocksteady’s renowned series—punchy combat, a complex level design reminiscent of Metroidvania that unlocks more and more as you gain new abilities, and some genuinely challenging optional puzzles—it did a remarkable job of giving me the impression that I was playing an actual Arkham game.
Although it can be a bit awkward and glitchy at times, enough of it works effectively in virtual reality that it feels more like a legitimate game than a gimmick, and the mystery plot succeeds without repeating too many of the Arkham series’ plots. I would not be lying if I claimed it was not enjoyable, even though anyone seeing you play might think it is completely ridiculous that you are grasping at your sides and lifting your arms to glide around on your cape.
This prequel sequel is set between Arkham Origins (and Arkham Origins: Blackgate) and Arkham Asylum, a period in which Roger Craig Smith, rather than the late, great Kevin Conroy, voices a younger Batman in a straightforward but competent manner. Following a brief opening scene in Gotham’s sewers, where he rubs elbows with Jim Gordon and a youthful, unreliable Harvey Dent, we go undercover into Blackgate Prison, where Batman first meets people like Jonathan Crane and Doctor Harlene Quinzel, Barbra Gordon, Arnold Wesker (The Ventriloquist), and a few others.
The Camouflaj developers, of course, are unable to refrain from repeating things we have seen done many times. For example, an Arkham game would not be complete without a Scarecrow hallucination scenario, and we are treated to yet another recreation of Crime Alley. However, Arkham Shadow has enough original material to work with that it does not feel overly cloned thanks to the new mystery villain The Rat King and his populist cult, as well as the outrageously sadistic jail warden Bolton.
Having Bruce Wayne visit his temporary Batcave under Blackgate (similar to the one under Arkham Asylum) to switch between two costumes is another creative strategy. At night, he dons his full Batman outfit, but after the Batsuit is put away, he dons a Mission: Impossible mask of Matches Malone, a two-bit thug who has been sent to Gotham’s worst for minor arson. As Malone, you will engage in some gadget-free prison yard fighting, but these portions are primarily about getting to know the other inmates and incarcerated mob boss Carmine Falcone. You will also learn the layout of the prison yard as the days lead up to The Rat King’s ambitious plot.
There is only so much variety in the dark dungeons below and the ridiculously high-tech doors and walls of a prison, so I will not claim I was not ready to put the cape and cowl back on by the conclusion of each session as Matches, but the change of pace and perspective is not unpleasant.
Having said that, Arkham Shadow is easily comparable to Arkham Asylum as it appeared on the Xbox 360 in terms of character models and textures (and running at a much higher resolution and frame rate), if not quite up to that level of art direction or the scale of its open areas. This is true even though it is running on a tiny machine that is strapped to your face. Naturally, to be fair, that is a very high standard. Since it is only available for the Quest 3/3S and does not have to make any compromises for compatibility with prior models, it is undoubtedly the most visually appealing Quest-exclusive game I have ever played. It was always a thrill to see my bat-eared shadow whether I floated around with a light behind me or strolled down a hallway.
However, because they conceal a lot of loading in the new region you are going to, those hefty doors do frequently take a while to open. To finish Arkham Shadow’s story, which can take up to ten hours if you do not pause to sniff the numerous Rat riddles along the route, be prepared to recharge your Quest 3 four or five times. (In any case, it is usually a good idea to come up for air after a few hours in VR.)
You have to work quickly to take down an attacker because additional thugs frequently surround you.
I was working up sweat-throwing physical punches that do more damage if you swing like you mean it when things heated up a bit to introduce foes with armor, stun batons, shields, knives, and guns—the majority of which required various takedown moves. Brawling worked surprisingly well. Here, timing punches is less important than waiting a moment after the initial blow, which can send you lunging ten feet toward a target, to see what sequence happens at random. In some cases, you will be prompted to snap a leg like a twig, while in others, you will have three spots to jab at or a right, left, or gut punch.
It is often quite rewarding, though sometimes it misinterprets a side swing as a straight-on punch or vice versa. The pressure is on because several other thugs usually surround you, so you must work quickly to take down an enemy before you see an incoming attack icon in your peripheral vision. You have to detour to block it with a no-look punch to the side, like Michael Keaton, which pulls you to a different target.
You will need to use skills like confounding adversaries with a cape swing or flipping them over with a forward flick of the right stick and smacking them from behind since some enemies must be disoriented before you may beat on them. Doing this in the simplest method possible is simple enough, but the chance to increase the score with unbroken combos and combining other tools like explosive charges and batarangs adds a very fashionable aspect of difficulty that goes beyond just surviving. Additionally, you must physically duck under knife attacks and use the thumbsticks to avoid unblockable hits. A lot is going on, with increasingly frequent openings as the plot advances and you obtain access to new devices.
Although the ride was not as seamless as I would have preferred, I saw the conclusion and was happy with it. Other than that, I will not disclose much about how it worked out. Although I did anticipate one major revelation, there was more to it that positively surprised me. It should not be too much of a spoiler to mention that the Rat King is not The Joker, because Camouflaj uses Batman’s adversary in a very limited manner.
I was relieved when other characters received some attention after the big, eye-rolling reveal of Arkham Origins and the huge postmortem role he had in Arkham Knight. Relying on that crutch again would have irritated me much.
Except for a few really direct lines where Batman states frankly, “I will find the Rat King; I will halt his night of vengeance!” or when Barbara Gordon acts like a tween fangirl, the dialogue is generally solid and the plot is a well-done Batman tale overall. We will just have to wait and see how it plays out. Additionally, there is a very noticeable loose end left hanging at the end of the story that worried me until I was informed that it was deliberate.
Verdict
Batman: Arkham Shadow does a fantastic job of incorporating nearly all of my favorite elements of the Arkham series into a fully functional virtual reality game, and it looks amazing for a game that is only available on the stand-alone Meta Quest 3 headset. Its intense fighting, exploration, challenging puzzles, and stealth are all in full force as you sneak and punch your way through Blackgate prison in a convoluted undercover pursuit of a mysterious cult leader where almost everyone is a suspect. However, there are a few glitches and annoying bugs that make some parts of the game not work quite as well as others. Although it is undoubtedly smaller than any full game since Arkham Asylum, it is far bigger and more detailed than you might anticipate following Batman: Arkham VR and the return to an enclosed prison environment gives it a rich, complex sense.
