“Batman: Arkham Shadow” proves that virtual reality gaming isn’t just a gimmick

There’s a tendency for VR games to be viewed as gimmicks, forgotten spin-offs of well-known franchises. The truth is the last attempt Batman Arkham VR It was exactly that – little more than a mysterious interactive movie. That’s not the case here though. Arkham Shadow It’s an ambitious, full-fledged outing (expect 10-15 hours of gameplay) with a satisfyingly twisty and layered story. It has the time and space to flesh out its world, giving players the chance to spend as much time outside of the Batsuit as in it, with Batman holed up in Blackgate Prison as his “Matches Malone” persona for most of the game.

It boasts a wide range of allies and enemies to face (some of which, e.g Shadow Positioned as a prequel, it has yet to take its place in Batman’s rogues gallery), and it even has a bit of star power in the voice acting – Roger Craig Smith returns to voice Bruce Wayne/Batman with gravel-voiced menace, while Elijah Wood takes on the role of pre-Scarecrow Jonathan Crane . There is nothing strange about this.

All of this is enhanced by powerful gameplay mechanics that make you truly feel as if you are Batman, like never before. Camouflaj has adapted each pillar making it brilliantly traditional Arkham Great gameplay – stealth, combat and investigations – in an immersive first-person virtual reality experience.

Small touches like activating Detective Mode – a visual filter that highlights clues in the environment – ​​by raising the controller to the side of your head, quickly make you feel like you’re wearing the infamous hood, while stealth play is a real treat. It’s easy to feel like the urban legend Batman is cultivating for himself by sneaking through the shadows and taking out the Rat King’s lieutenants, sneaking out of an air vent to take out a grunt, or hoisting them aloft to hang helplessly.

When stealth isn’t an option, melee combat creates the same great flow state as the original game Arkham games. You’ll directly pummel enemies one-on-one, switching between uppercuts, jabs, thrusts, powerful strikes and more to penetrate defenses, then seamlessly weave in blocks and counters in real-time as you juggle groups of enemies.

Courtesy of Meta/Camouflage

Courtesy of Meta/Camouflage

An alert on the side of your vision signals incoming strikes – move your arm to the side and you’ll intercept the attack off-screen, instantly drawing your attention to the next enemy, while sweeping your arm without pressing the Quest controller’s head triggers for a deflected strike. All the while, she’s building the charge for devastating knockouts that land with sheer gravity. Doing it all with your fists, rather than tapping buttons on a controller, makes you feel like an unstoppable badass.

Enjoy the ability to start a confrontation with a brutal slide kick or a well-aimed Batarang, or to mislead enemies with smoke grenades, and it’s enough to make you think you could really take on dozens of masked attackers in real life. You can’t, so don’t try, but the fights here offer enough effort that it feels like a workout – a body combat category the game introduces every now and then, making the gameplay only possible in VR.

Virtually unbeatable

This is magic Arkham Shadow– It beautifully balances the experience of console and PC players with the unique immersive elements of VR. While there are plenty of other great VR games out there already —wrath of asgard 2 vr room, And of course Saber wonto name a few – they all preach to converts, the relative few who have actually joined VR gaming. Batman, arguably the world’s most popular superhero, brings the most elusive crossover appeal ever. With the promise of an untold story set in one of its most popular locations, this has the potential to attract new players, introducing them to the VR ecosystem.

To be sure, to some extent, Camouflaj is playing the hits here, remixing the best parts from Rocksteady’s original work Arkham Virtual Reality Games – There are also a range of collectibles that can be hunted, and they are scattered throughout Gotham City by rat cultists in the same way as the Riddler’s Trophies were in previous games, often requiring solving a puzzle or obtaining a new piece of Bat-technology to access them. However, there is comfort in this familiarity, which makes it easier for players to make the transition to VR.