Strong return to license? We tested it!

This isn’t the first time the Batman universe, especially the Arkham trilogy, has delved into the small world of virtual reality. We all remember Batman: Arkham VR, which in 2016 offered us an immersive experience in the Dark Knight’s costume. The experience envisioned by Rocksteady was more of a short interactive tech demo than a real game, but it still managed to impress a large audience in the midst of discovering virtual reality and its possibilities.

We had to wait many years for the new Batman Arkham game to be announced on the one hand, and on the other hand in virtual reality, news that will not necessarily please early fans. Developed exclusively for Meta Quest 3, we had the opportunity to put on the Batman mask during a long play session.

In the skin of the guard

Batman Arkham Shadow is developed by the Camouflaj studio, to which we owe in particular Iron Man VR. Rocksteady is therefore not responsible, but their titanic work will serve as a basis and model for the development of the game, also being integrated between the events of Arkham Origins and the beginning of the trilogy that began with Arkham Asylum. A period that has not been much explored in the timeline of the vigilante's video games, which allows us to find several emblematic characters in a new perspective, such as the young Harvey Dent or Harleen Quinzel, before the appearance of the Joker that players began to see in 2009. Bruce Wayne will here face the Rat King (also known as Ratcatcher), a relatively minor villain in the Batman lore.

The demo we tested revolves around three fundamentals: exploration/stealth, investigation and combat. Our first introduction begins in the sewers of Arkham, with a tutorial. Batman's character cannot be improvised, but can be learned quickly and naturally. If you are already familiar with VR experiences, you will not feel confused since the game uses the same movement mechanics as other products of this type. But with one detail: there will be no teleportation in Arkham Shadow. Those who fear increasing the effect of motion sickness with this choice can rest assured, as a whole range of secondary options are available to satisfy all types of stomachs, from the most fragile to the most robust.

With a grappling hook at the push of a button, automatic jumps and deploying a cape by simulating the movement of the arms, every action becomes intuitive once you get it. The combat phases are not left out, which in my opinion is the greatest strength of Batman Arkham Shadow. There were undoubtedly many of us asking ourselves the question of how to translate the combat system that Rocksteady imagined into a VR game. The teams behind Shadow also asked themselves this question, and we thought about it a lot to come up with a truly effective proposal. Your hands are obviously used to distribute potatoes in the fairground, but with a certain precision so as not to break the chain of combos. We then have to respect the timing and even the pattern of striking by alternating between the left and right hands, grabbing enemies to throw them or smashing their skulls on our knees, and a whole host of other joys. Counterattacks are indicated by a warning to the left or right of your field of vision, the equivalent of the famous flashes above enemies that signal an imminent attack in previous Arkhams. All you have to do is send your arm to advance on your opponent before taking care of his case. Explaining this gameplay is not easy without experiencing it yourself, but it is clear that the developers have succeeded in conveying what constitutes the DNA of the Arkham games. Ultimately, there were few moves or tools available during our testing, and again a tutorial, but there is no doubt that everything will be more intense and possible in the full version. In the helmet, I was Batman. On the other hand, I will not lie to you, from the outside, my chaotic choreography was much less impressive…

Your hunting ground

Another key element is the Predator mode sequence, which allows us to experience the game of hunting bad guys, crouching on our gargoyles, out of sight. Here again, Camouflaj did an excellent job of transporting. We watch the enemies coming and going, swinging from one point to another with our hook before pouncing on isolated prey that we neutralize in a few moves. Ventilation grilles in the walls or floor allow you to sneak up and attack by surprise or grab an unsuspecting person and silently strangle him. Tools like the batarang can also help us. At this point, we saw in the trailers for Batman Arkham Shadow that the tools would be numerous, and certainly upgradable, and unfortunately we didn’t have the chance to discover them in such a short time of play.

Finally, the investigation phases will have your neurons spinning a bit. Really a bit from what we could see. Pressing your right hand to your temple will activate detective mode, which will cause a spotlight to appear and thus clearly highlight each specific item in your immediate environment. Here again, it’s hard to really judge since this sequence was there to teach us the basics of investigation, which hopefully will be more twisted in the full experience. As it is, and in such a short time in the game, it’s true that this phase of the game was just meant to make us stupidly follow yellow items until we found the right one, which would unlock progression. A point worth keeping an eye on during the full test.

Dark Zone in Arkham

However, not everything convinced us during the first interaction, and the fault is largely due to this choice to make Batman Arkham Shadow a Meta Quest 3 exclusive. Maybe I'm too used to PCVR games, or maybe my expectations were too high (sure. A bit of both…), but at no point during the test did I have that feeling of “success” as other VR games have done before. We agree that seeing a full title of this size run on a completely independent headset is truly impressive if we consider the technical resources that this technology requires. Yes, Batman Arkham Shadow is faithful to the “flat screen” models, both in terms of atmosphere and gameplay, but it is clear that the universe created by Rocksteady deserved a more advanced game. The limitations imposed on Quest 3, despite their efficiency, frustrate us in the face of the desire to always think bigger. If you were hoping to fly over Arkham City or even one of its districts, you will be disappointed. Flying over the street would not be bad. Overall, the outdoor environments we traversed were particularly linear and narrow, without the grandeur one would expect from an Arkham game. Again, we haven't seen enough of the title to draw a definitive conclusion, but it seems unlikely we can expect much more in this regard.

We're waiting for Batman Arkham Shadow… like a curious monster lurking in the shadows!

todifference Camouflaj, with their vision, offers us a true Arkham experience in virtual reality, immersive and faithful to its original models. Much of the transfer work has been done with brilliance, both in terms of locations, atmosphere and gameplay. The iconic stealth and combat stages in particular seem particularly successful, cleverly integrating everything that makes up the DNA of the Rocksteady trilogy, all available in your hands in a dynamic and intuitive way. Although we do not know much about the story yet, the presence of many characters from the Dark Knight universe should certainly please many fans. On the other hand, we regret this choice to make Batman Arkham Shadow a Meta Quest 3 exclusive, the game will not be accessible to everyone, in addition to suffering from the technical limitations imposed by its support, which is certainly strong, but far from what it could be. They have given us an experience designed for PCVR.