Are you interested in Batman Arkham Shadow?

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I was recently at gamescom and got the opportunity to play Batman Arkham Shadow early. Batman Arkham Shadow has seen a bit of a mixed reaction since it’s launch as it is a VR game, and I want to acknowledge that first. Many were hoping for a new 3rd person entry to the Arkham series and this isn’t that, but it still is quite good. I got to play it for 45 minutes and while the footage on screen is not my own, I can attest that things performed, played, and generally felt, the same as it looks here. Since the footage is captured in a smaller aspect ratio to maintain fidelity, I’ll have footage of myself next to it so you get an idea of what you look like when playing the game. I want to talk about the good, the bad, my expectations, and basically all of my thoughts from this playtest. I need to inform you for transparency that I was flown out to Gamescom in Germany to play the game. I’ll cover the details more later in the video, but for now, let’s talk about the game.

Batman Arkham Shadow takes place a few months after Arkham Origins, with a younger angrier Bruce who is still learning the ropes of being a superhero. The latest villain, the Rat King, not ratcatcher, and the new gimmick this time around is that it takes place in Virtual Reality exclusively through the Meta Quest 3. Our demo took us through the opening of the game and while it was light on story, it was heavy on gameplay, secrets, exploration, and being Batman. Almost every Arkham game has touted the idea that you can “be the Batman” and yet, this is the only game where I feel that tagline is earned. With virtual reality , you physically, do all the moves as Batman, so getting immersed and actually feeling like Batman is not just possible, but it felt natural.

In the game, I was doing what I thought were cool martial arts takedowns, imitating the moves I remembered from the games, but fair warning, you still look dumb to anyone watching you. Tracking of both my head and hands worked well and never failed, and I never felt as though I did something I hadn’t intended to. From a technical aspect, the game ran smoothly for me, and the controls all felt intuitive. This is to be expected when it comes to the developers, Camouflage, who previously developed Iron Man VR, but my concern when playing the game was; how does it feel as an Arkham game? I am not super familiar with VR, but I consider myself wholly familiar with the Arkhamverse, and if there's one thing I know from playing those games, it’s that when the series briefly deviates from 3rd person action, it never quite nails the feeling of an authentic Arkham game.

Batman is a character synonymous with the Batman Arkham series, and Batman Arkham Shadow intends on expanding that series. The Batman Arkham Shadow gameplay is not what many were expecting from the next Arkham game, but this new Arkham game, is by all means a full story, unlike Batman Arkham VR. The Batman Arkham Shadow trailer that released left many excited about the Batman Arkham Shadow story, but still sceptical of the gameplay. This is not a Batman Arkham Shadow review, though that will be coming soon, and instead this video will talk about the Batman Arkham Shadow reveal, my time with it, how Batman Arkham Shadow effects the Meta Quest 3, and if you should buy a Meta Quest 3. Batman Arkham Shadow VR looks good, and I hope we get Arkham Shadow VR on other headsets. Maybe even a full 3rd person Arkham Shadow port.