I loved Metro Awakening VR, but there’s a good reason Batman Arkham Shadow won GOTY. It’s a proper Arkham game that’s not ported, but designed for virtual reality from the ground up. Crazy that the thing runs off of the Quest 3 directly. It’s great to become Batman with so much immersion and a proper length game.
Virtual Reality Interactions as Batman
Right from the start of the tutorial, I could tell it was special. Batman Arkham Shadow looks so good, especially considering it’s all standalone graphics. It’s not as crisp as a PCVR game, but it nails the look of the Arkham games.
Starting out as a Criminal in Batman Arkham Shadow
The movements from the start “felt” good. I started out in a criminals apartment and could walk around to interact with the various items. It reminded me a bit of how HL Alyx had me playing around on that first roof top. Unlike HL Alyx, though, I could see my entire body and full arms. I’m not a fan of floaty hands.
Mounting and crouching were simple, but smooth. It was great sneaking past cops to head toward the bat signal roof. Simply grabbing a liquor bottle and using a lighter to ignite it with the other hand was great. Nothing ground breaking for VR, but made it clear this was not some button heavy port.
Then it was a rubber bullet to the chest and time for the arrest.
Batman’s Moves
When I finally took control of Batman, that was the true wow moment. Looking at the parts of the suit from behind the mask was so great. I spent a good minute or 2 just looking at the arms and the legs of the suit.
Before long, I was off vaulting over obstacles, dashing, climbing and using the bat grapple to reach heights. I was pulling open grates and moving them to the side. Detective mode returns by moving the controller to the side of my face and clicking a button.
I could use the xray/heat vision like view to find evidence, traps, switches and enemies. It also helped me find the Riddler-like puzzles that are much more fun in VR than in the Arkham games. Instead of the Riddler though, I was looking for Rat King totems and propaganda radios to smash.
Recreating the Classic Arkham Fights in Batman Arkham Shadow
That brings me to the fighting. I was concerned how Batman Arkham Shadow could capture the fast pace, acrobatic fighting of the Arkham series. Camouflaj (the developer) nailed it though. They came up with a genius system for the fighting.
Punching is natural, but there’s also various combo chances to punch or swing certain directions to do more damage. To counter incoming attacks from different directions, I could just extend my arm to land a punch on that attacking enemy.
That kept me moving without triggering crazy motion sickness that a ton of smooth turning might have. Over the course of the game, the fighting ramps up with new moves and upgrades. In one particular sequence, I jumped over an electric baton wielding enemy, punched him in the back, then dashed to the side to avoid gunfire.
I used my Batarang to disarm him, then activated a combo attack on him. Right after that, I swung my cape to stun an armored enemy then hit hims with a flurry of punches before knocking him out. A knife wielding enemy swung at me and I ducked, then dodged out of the way before whooping him too.
At that point, another enemy with a firearm started shooting, so I threw a smoke grenade and used the Bat Grapple to escape. Once I had the high ground, I used a glide kick to take him out. The game builds up to complex fights like that, but it’s just surprising how well Batman Arkham Shadow captures the fights of the older games.
Bat Cape
Moving on in the game, I ran into a gap too large to jump and no way to bat grapple. That’s when I learned to jump off a ledge, then physically grab both sides of the cape and raise my arms to glide across. Yes, you can glide like Batman. I could also grab just one side of the cap and swing it in front of me to stun enemies.
Bat Grapple
I could point my hand out and press a button to launch the Bat grapple and pull myself up. Later, I upgraded it with the Bat Claw to grapple and then pull things. By pull, I mean actually grabbing the line and pulling it like a rope. There was also an upgrade to use it in combat to pull enemies to me and punch them.
Batarang
I could grab the Batarang off of my chest and throw it at enemies or button/switches. With later upgrades, I could throw it at multiple enemies in one shot. There was a sonic beacon upgrade I’d could use to draw enemies to where I wanted them. I could switch between the various modes, but holding the Batarang, then pressing a button to cycle through.
Bat Gauntlet
I could grab a smoke bomb from my gauntlet to confuse enemies or stealth escape enemies. There were also memory sticks I’d find I could slot into the gauntlets for storage to analyze later. They were also useful for block some attacks.
Explosive Gel
Just like the classic Arkham games, the gel gun returns. I could grab the gel gun from the right side of my tool belt, point and deploy gel to break through barriers and stun enemies. Seeing that bat shaped explosive gel brings back a lot of nostalgia from the old Batman games.
Batman Arkham Shadow Decoder
From the left side of my tool belt, I could grab the Decoder to hack doors. It triggers a pleasant little mini game where I move a ball in 3D space to find the unlock spot. I later unlocked the Disruptor upgrade to disable enemy firearms with a similar mini game.
Shock Gloves
Late in the game, I acquired the shock gloves that charge up after attacking enemies. I could use those to perform a special charged attack. I’d mostly use them to grab power conduits to charge up doors or other systems with them.
It took me physically grabbing with both hands, then press the sticks in and feel the vibration as he electricity would flow.
Predator Mode
It would not be a true Batman Arkham game without Predator Mode. I could activate the Detective view to see all the enemies in the area, along with switches and places to hide. I’d hang off gargoyle statues, then zip down to physically grab enemies by the collar and physically throw them off to let them hang upside down.
I could hide in vents underneath enemies, then hop up to grab them. Sneaking behind guards I could grab them by the neck and put them in a real chokehold, then rock them to sleep. This perfectly captured that classic feeling from Arkham games.
A Proper Batman Arkham Story in VR
Although many virtual reality games have similar physical interactions as Batman Arkham Shadow, it’s rare they have a proper story and be longer than 4 hours. This game has all of that. The story is good, it’s closer to 10 hours and all those Batman interactions feel great. This Arkham game though, has a fantastic twist.
It was confusing that the tutorial for the game started with playing as the criminal Malone. It then flashes back to Batman running around Gotham, chasing after the Rat King gang. After enjoying some time as Batman in VR, it was clear why the start was weird.
Batman went a little crazy and a gang member ended up dead. Needing information on the Rat King before his Day of Wrath and as a bit of penance Batman went under cover as the criminal, Matches Malone.
Batman Goes to Prison
It was quite a trip to pretend to be Malone, walking through Blackgate Prison with the handcuffs on. The prison undercover work was a great game mechanic. I’d get into fights in the yard, smuggle contraband for the Commissary and cozy up to mobsters like Falcone.
Using my time during the day, I’d complete tasks for other inmates in exchange for more information on the Rat King. At night, I’d sneak out of my cell and descend to the makeshift Batcave under Blackgate prison. The capsule leading to the cave would allow me to equip the Batsuit or the Malone disguise.
I’d use the temporary Batcomputer to contact Alfred or Barbara Gordon. The nighttime hours I’d use to follow up on leads I gathered during the day. Over the course of my investigation, I chased after the Rat King, Dr. Harleen Quinzel (before she was Harley Quinn), Dr. Crane (aka Scarecrow) and even Two-Face.
The set pieces looked great as I uncovered the secrets of Blackgate as both Malone and Batman. Moving between the 2 identities was a great change of pace. In between, there was plenty of backstory to young Bruce Wayne and how he became friends with Harvey Dent.
Those top down flashbacks literally provided a new perspective to the story. The flashbacks and switching between identities elevates it above some of the past Arkham games for me. As with any proper Arkham game, Batman Arkham Shadow has it’s own “Scarecrow” mission with trippy visuals and boss fights. It’s almost tradition.
Batman Arkham Shadow GOTY was Well Deserved
All the references to other Batman universe characters and nostalgia really put an exclamation point on all the other great pieces of the game. Batman Arkham Shadow was meant to be a system seller for the Quest 3 and really it sold me. Any VR gamer owes it to themselves to play it, even if they need to borrow a friends headset.