Live preview of Batman: Arkham Shadow – the best VR game in the world

It’s really hard to be positive about the current state of VR. Or at least that’s what he thought before playing Batman: Arkham Shadow. Sony’s shameful treatment of PlayStation VR2 is bad enough (especially when it has been confirmed that there is no possibility of Astro Bot using it) but with reports of billions of dollars in losses on Meta, it seems that the whole concept of VR is still there. not ready for the mainstream.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the game itself has done little to combat our pessimism, with most of the best being just a VR mode for flatscreen games like Gran Turismo 7 and Resident Evil. Dedicated VR games are still struggling to be more than a tech demo, which is exactly what Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham VR was when it was released in 2016.

However, Batman: Arkham Shadow is a real game. It took four years to create, it’s up to 12 hours long, and has surprisingly complex battles, puzzles, and a recreation of the predator stealth sequence from the original game. It’s not only the best game we played at Gamescom last week, but it’s definitely one of the best VR games ever made.

To be fair to the other games at Gamescom, something like Civilization 7 isn’t the ideal thing to play at a crowded trade show, while going into cyberspace to pretend you’re Batman is the perfect escape.

We don’t get much context for the story, but it’s a sequel to 2013’s Arkham Origins, which was a prequel and the only major entry not made by series creator Rocksteady Studios. All we know is that the original character called the Rat King (who is connected to but different from the existing Ratcatcher) is the head of a cult that is ready to take over Gotham City.

According to developer Camouflaj, who created the almost massive Iron Man VR, there are also some small Easter eggs for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, as the two games were built at the same time. Although what will happen if the final fate of the game is known, we will not like to say.

What you play is a tutorial level, as Batman arrives in the sewers, in an attempt to stop the cult at its source. Since it’s wireless, and doesn’t connect to a console or PC, Meta Quest 3 isn’t as graphically powerful as PlayStation VR2, but Arkham Shadow still makes a great first impression.

Not only are the graphics great, but the feel is just right that is Batman is almost perfect, with a full virtual body when looking down, and not just the usual disembodied arms.

We were told before starting that the game had all the comfort settings turned on, which we assumed would mean a teleport-style movement system and turning round in 45 ° steps – which is the norm for other VR games.

There’s nothing like it, and while the view narrows as you move forward, there’s always freedom of movement and no nausea. It includes combat sequences, which are well orchestrated, use every trick in the VR book and still bring to mind the original Arkham games.

Combat consists of multiple thugs coming at you at once, while you raise your fists and pummel them wherever you want. If you have made a choice, a QTE-style symbol appears, to encourage you to jab with your left or right fist, when sometimes you have to swipe left or right instead.

You can also fight and if an enemy attacks and you can’t see a small icon pop up, it advises you to keep your arm and punch without looking. Because you’re Batman and that’s the kind of thing you do.

We are not sure how hard this, or other elements of the game, will get but what we played felt good, especially the finishing moves where you knee someone in the face or dough when they are down.

The predator part is even closer to the Arkham games, when you switch between gargoyles or creeping under the vents, before emerging to catch the unfortunate criminal. You’ve got a smoke grenade in your arm if something goes wrong and you can choke people out by a different set of QTEs. As usual, it comes down to catching the enemy and hanging from the rafters which is the most satisfying way to deliver.

However, the best motion control is to put your arms at a 90° angle and lean forward to swat at an unsuspecting perp using a Batman cape. Actually, we’re not sure you have to be advanced to make it work, but it still works, because at that point we’re pretty sure we’re superheroes.

Every action in Arkham Shadow is immensely satisfying to perform, including using a batarang to activate a remote machine or switching on the detective’s vision by pressing the side of the head. We’re not really sure how complex the puzzles will be, but according to Camouflaj, the game will be a full Metroidvania, just like Arkham Asylum.

Given how well everything else works, we have no reason not to believe it, especially when it promises a minimum of 10 hours of play. At the moment Asgard’s Wrath 2 is the pinnacle of a complex VR game, but while Arkham Shadow doesn’t have the same sense of immersion, and fulfills all the fantasy that the main character can have, it seems out of place.

The Batman character turns 85 this year and there couldn’t have been a better birthday gift for his fans than this. Unless Mark Zuckerberg takes on vigilantism, that’s about as close to reality as Batman can get with today’s technology.

Format: Meta Quest 3
Price: TBA
Publisher: Oculus Studios
Developer: Camouflaj
Release date: October 2024
Age Rating: 16