Batman: Arkham Shadow is astonishingly good on every level. While I came into the latest Batman: Arkham game a bit apprehensive (like many others), developer Camouflaj has found a way to incorporate every major pillar of the Arkham series into a VR format without skipping a beat. The resulting product isn’t just one that satiated my longstanding desire for a new Batman: Arkham game, but it’s one of the best examples of how virtual reality can make familiar gameplay experiences feel fresh.
Set after the events of Batman: Arkham Origins, Arkham Shadow focuses on a younger version of the Dark Knight who still hasn’t come across all of the members of his future rogues gallery. Camouflaj makes great use of this place in the “Arkhamverse” timeline and opts to flesh out the version of Bruce Wayne that is presented more than any other game in the series. As a result, this iteration of Batman begins to adopt a more unique identity of his own that feels different from those seen across TV, film, and comics. It also recontextualizes some of the events of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight while not retconning or hindering anything presented in those games.
The story of Batman: Arkham Shadow is likely the aspect of the game that surprised me the most. Coming into Arkham Shadow, I expected it to rely a bit more heavily on its gameplay mechanics as the VR controls and format are arguably the most unique aspect of the title. Instead, Arkham Shadow has more twists and turns in its story than just about any other Arkham game. In fact, the main thrust of its narrative involving Batman’s pursuit of the Rat King was one that I was completely taken aback by.
Thematically, Arkham Shadow also presents a lot of interesting ideas about Batman’s role in Gotham City that haven’t been explored in previous Arkham titles, let alone other Batman media. This isn’t the central focus of Arkham Shadow by any means, but it adds far more depth to its storytelling and proved to be another major point of engagement for myself.
On the gameplay front, Batman: Arkham Shadow is a tried and true Arkham game in every way. The franchise’s marquee hand-to-hand combat is readily present here in Arkham Shadow, except you’re the one throwing the punches and chaining together long combos to take down thugs. What I’m most impressed by with the combat in Arkham Shadow is just how fluid it feels. Darting from one corner of a room to another to quickly hammer foes with a flurry of fists at no point got tiresome in my time with Arkham Shadow. In fact, combat only gets better the more you play as you begin to unlock additional gadgets and special attacks that mix things up further. The Arkham series has arguably always been most synonymous with its fantastic combat and that’s no different here in Arkham Shadow.
The Predator sequences of Batman: Arkham Shadow, however, I feel haven’t translated as seamlessly to VR. These sections of the game where Batman is trying to stealthily take down armed enemies work in the same way as the mainline games and see you largely grappling between gargoyles before descending upon baddies to take them down. Getting the jump on unexpected foes is still a lot of fun here in Arkham Shadow, especially when you’re diving off of a gargoyle and stringing someone up to it. Still, the limited perspective that VR offers makes it far more difficult to keep track of your surroundings and know where enemies are at in a given moment. This ends up being that much more frustrating in some of the more challenging Predator sequences later on. While it’s not outright bad, Predator mode is a bit more chaotic than calculated at times than I would like.
When it comes to Batman’s detective chops, those are again front and center in Arkham Shadow. Solving various mysteries through the use of Batman’s Detective Vision is arguably more satisfying in Arkham Shadow than in any other entries as you’re directly interacting with a lot of the objects that are needed to solve certain puzzles. The puzzles themselves scattered throughout Arkham Shadow are of the perfect difficulty and prompt an adequate amount of critical thinking without being unnecessarily complex.
On the visuals front, I also believe that Batman: Arkham Shadow is one of the best-looking VR titles I’ve played. Its graphics line up quite well with what was seen in the earlier Arkham games and make the whole series feel that much more uniform. Still, there are some compromises with the tech that have been made, specifically when it comes to character animations. There’s often no lip movement for characters while speaking, which removed me from the experience a bit. I also had some occasional dips in performance, but these weren’t constant by any means.
In terms of its structure, Batman: Arkham Shadow has a lot in common with Arkham Asylum, which makes it a more intimate experience. This format is one I think plays to the strengths of Arkham Shadow’s nature as a VR game and kept me from ever feeling too overwhelmed by its world. In typical Metroidvania fashion, it’s also a lot of fun to revisit previous sections of Arkham Shadow’s world to solve puzzles or unlock specific areas that weren’t previously accessible. Arkham Shadow is filled to the brim with all sorts of collectibles and I’ve really enjoyed the process of trying to track them all down.
Outside of the throughline story sections of Arkham Shadow, there are a number of additional challenges that I have found myself going back to. These challenges are the same ones from the core Arkham experience and are centered around either combat or Predator sequences. This has always been one of my personal favorite elements of the Arkham series as I’m always looking to try to beat my own previous high scores. The simple inclusion of these challenges in Arkham Shadow will ensure that this is a game I keep coming back to, even after having finished its story.
If you have been longing for another Batman game in the wake of Batman: Arkham Knight releasing almost ten years ago, I really cannot recommend Arkham Shadow enough. While it requires a bit of a heavier investment as it’s only available on Meta Quest 3, I struggle to believe that any Batman fan will be disappointed by what Camouflaj has done with Arkham Shadow. It’s not only one of the best VR games that I’ve ever played, but it’s a Batman experience that very much earns its place amongst the Arkham games that have come before. If VR ends up being the predominant medium in which Batman: Arkham titles are released in the future, you won’t find me complaining.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Batman: Arkham Shadow is available now exclusively on Meta Quest 3. A complimentary copy of the game was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
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