Batman: Arkham Shadow Preview - Get ready for a big VR hit on Meta Quest 3
I got to play Meta's first Quest 3 exclusive, Batman: Arkham Shadow, at Gamescom and I am convinced we are in for a real treat.
Meta booked a prominent slot at this year's Gamescom Opening Night Live to present the first gameplay trailer for Batman: Arkham Shadow. A rarity for VR games, and despite the big brand, the crowd knew little about the Meta Quest game — VR is still a niche among gaming fans and only moderately represented in the consumer sector at the world's largest gaming fair.
For VR enthusiasts, however, it was clear after this trailer: either Meta is helping out in the video, or we are seeing the best VR game for Meta Quest 3 in terms of graphics. After my play session at Gamescom, I can confirm that the trailer doesn't promise too much. Batman: Arkham Shadow looks damn good and has the potential to be a VR megahit!
Content
The first official Arkham game in nine years
Camouflaj founder and studio head Ryan Payton presented his biggest project to date to me and other members of the press behind closed doors: Batman: Arkham Shadow. When Meta knocked on his door with the Batman license after the release of Iron Man VR in 2020, Payton had no idea that Camouflaj had just been awarded the contract for the next official installment in the Arkham series.
In Batman: Arkham Shadow, you'll meet familiar characters such as Harvey Dent and Gordon. | Image: Meta / Camouflaj
"We thought Warner was secretly working on a new game, and had no idea that we would be the first official Arkham game in so many years. It's a great honor for us — but also kind of scary," Payton joked. The last installment, Arkham Knight, was released in 2015.
In order to stay within the canon of the series in terms of story, Camouflaj chose a time period that would still leave room for new stories. Arkham Shadow takes place about six months after the events of Arkham Origins and before Arkham Asylum. So we play a younger, more confident Batman who prefers to solve problems with his fists, and we meet some characters who are still at the beginning of their development.
These include Harvey Dent, who later becomes the legendary Two-Face, and Dr. Harleen Quinzel, who becomes fan-favorite Harley Quinn over the course of the series. According to Payton, we can look forward to seeing if we can experience their evolution into evil in Arkham Shadow. As the antagonist, Camouflaj introduces the "Rat King" , whose trail I followed through a dark sewer during my playthrough.
Batman Arkham Shadow: The trailer doesn’t promise too much
Graphically, Batman: Arkham Shadow impressed me right from the start. The narrow corridors and gangster camps are full of detail, the play with light and shadow creates atmospheric tension, and the characters are also excellently animated. Hats off to what Camouflaj has done here with Quest 3.
"It was clear from the beginning that the game would not be released for Quest 2, so we were able to squeeze everything out of Quest 3 during development. You can see that in the textures, the atmosphere, the real-time lighting and the shadows," says Payton.
Batman: Arkham Shadows also has a lot to offer when it comes to sound. The voice cast, including well-known voices from the series such as Roger Craig Smith as Batman and voice acting icon Troy Baker, are in excellent form.
In addition, Arkham Shadow will be the first VR game to use Meta's recently announced audio ray tracing. However, due to the ubiquitous noise floor at Gamescom's B2B area, I found it difficult to hear any differences from other games without headphones.
Camouflaj perfectly translates the look and feel of the Arkham series into VR
Arkham Shadow fits perfectly into the Arkham series in terms of art design and graphical style. I immediately felt like I was in the VR version of Arkham Asylum. According to Ryan Payton, the first title in the Arkham series was the inspiration for the VR spin-off, and it shows. Arkham Shadow is very close to the level design of the original, taking me through a lot of dark, narrow corridors with small branches to explore and larger areas with combat and puzzles.
However, this also means that Batman: Arkham Shadow will be a largely linear gameplay experience. "We made it clear when we pitched to Warner four years ago that we would not be making an open world. After all, it took Rocksteady several installments to get this far. We took a lot of inspiration from Asylum. We love the openness and Metroidvania elements of the game, which is a good starting point for us," says Payton.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is built around five pillars: combat, exploration, investigation, boss battles, and cinematics. However, unlike Arkham Asylum, the emphasis has been changed to take into account the unique nature of VR. For example, the exploration part has been kept a bit tighter.
However, Batman fans and collectors will not be left out. There are said to be over 100 collectibles and easter eggs to discover in the finished game. Instead of Riddler trophies, you will be looking for figurines and propaganda radios of the Rat King in Arkham Shadow.
The big question mark: How does the Arkham Combat system work in VR?
When Meta approached Camouflaj after the release of Iron Man VR, Payton was initially unsure how to translate the gameplay of Arkham to VR. He describes the combat system as the biggest challenge.
At the time, Arkham Asylum had an intuitive combat system that allowed you to quickly switch between enemies and combo attacks by simply aiming with the joystick. Instead of running to the next attacker, Batman attacks immediately. It is a system that many action games still use today.
The yellow arrows indicate the direction in which you need to strike during combat. | Image: Meta / Camouflaj
After a discussion with his design team, however, it quickly became clear how the implementation would work: "The question was, what do you want to do — just walk up to people as Batman and punch them? Batman doesn't just walk through a room, he fights through it. So we took the Rocket Punch that we developed for Iron Man VR, combined it with the rhythmic feel of Beat Saber and the time manipulation of Superhot VR, and the combat system for Arkham VR was ready."
In practice, the combat system works like this: When I enter an area with multiple enemies, I aim at one and initiate a punch. As a result, I immediately slide towards the opponent, time slows down for a moment, and yellow arrows show me one by one which punches will be successful — swing, uppercut, or jab.
If another opponent attacks me during a punch combination, a blue arrow shows the direction from which the punch is coming. If I move my arm in that direction, I glide toward the attacker, deflect his attack, and am immediately ready to counter. In between, there is always room for special attacks or gadgets like the Batarangs.
When I manage to switch between attack, defense and counter, it creates an incredibly satisfying flow and the combo meter goes up. The attacks feel forceful and instantly give me a sense of power — in those moments I become The Batman and feel how superior I am to these simple-minded thugs!
Detective work and attacks from the shadows
I can't say yet if this feeling of superiority will continue in later boss fights. Unfortunately, I was denied one. I did, however, get to try out some gadgets and fight my way through a stealthy section. Just like in Arkham Asylum, I can use Batman's popular Batarangs, a grappling gun and of course the cape.
If you activate Detective Vision, important things such as ladders and air shafts or silhouettes of enemies are highlighted. | Image: Meta / Camouflaj
I use the Batarangs to cut through ropes or throw them at enemies. The grapple gun catapults me to higher anchor points or pulls enemies towards me in battle. The cape can be used as a glider to cross canyons or reach lower platforms. To use it, I simply grab my hips with both hands, press the trigger, and pull my arms up in a T-shape.
Gliding feels especially cool when I dive down from a higher anchor point onto an unsuspecting opponent, taking them out of the game undetected. If I am spotted, I throw a smoke grenade to the ground and use the grapple gun to pull myself back up onto a platform and out of sight.
Arkham veterans know these sections all too well, and they work almost perfectly. With the help of Detective Vision, a kind of thermal imaging camera, I can see where the enemies are patrolling. When one of them moves toward a secluded spot, I jump on him and put him in a chokehold.
Therefore, I move my arms forward and pull the opponent toward me. Once I have him in a headlock, I shake him from left to right and back again until the lights go out. Grappling opponents also works through chutes or doors, so I always have multiple options for silent takedowns. Detective Vision is also a valuable tool for spotting clues in puzzle sections or hidden entrances. However, I can't say yet how exciting and challenging the puzzle sections will be.
My impression: With Arkham Shadow, we are in for a real VR hit
For the life of me, I can't imagine Batman: Arkham Shadow will not be a great VR game. The combat system works brilliantly, the graphics are stunning — not just by Quest standards — and I was immediately captivated by the atmosphere. It remains to be seen whether Camouflaj will be able to maintain the suspension in terms of level design, bosses, and story over the game's intended 8 to 12 hour runtime. In any case, I am confident.
Note: Links to online stores in articles can be so-called affiliate links. If you buy through this link, MIXED receives a commission from the provider. For you the price does not change.
