As a seasoned Batman: Arkham fan and a proud owner of a Meta Quest 3, I must say that the demo for Batman: Arkham Shadow left me absolutely thrilled! The immersive VR experience took my love for the franchise to new heights, and it’s clear that the developers have worked tirelessly to make this adaptation feel like a seamless extension of the Arkhamverse.
In the storyline of “Batman: Arkham Shadow“, we find ourselves six months following the events of “Batman: Arkham Origins” and three months after the happenings of “Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate“. This timeline is crucial for understanding any relevant backstory, but it also hints at how the gameplay might be structured based on what kind of abilities, technology, or tools Batman would possess during “Batman: Arkham Shadow“. Fortunately, the picture has become much more vivid in this regard.
As a dedicated fan, I was fortunate enough to attend a private, interactive preview session hosted by Camouflaj and Meta, just a week prior to the unveiling of the Batman: Arkham Shadow gameplay trailer at Gamescom. For approximately an hour, I immersed myself in this thrilling game, starting from its early stages – post an expository prologue that wasn’t disclosed to us.
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Combat and Predator Encounters are Its Bread and Butter
Notably, the combat in Batman: Arkham Shadow is rhythmic and graceful, effectively utilizing Rocksteady’s freeflow system. Specifically, Camouflaj’s refinement of the renowned counter mechanic enables players to parry attacks from attackers behind them by using a traditional blue warning prompt.
Users control Batman, moving their arm in the indicated direction outside the Meta Quest 3’s view. This action causes his point of view to rotate, focusing on an approaching enemy, and Batman begins a series of continuous attacks. The player continues this sequence of attacking enemies until they are interrupted by another adversary. The immersive nature of these encounters is heightened because the user can make Batman leap towards enemies from significant distances with a single punch, seamlessly chaining combos together or starting fights instantly with rapid momentum.
In the realm of gaming, I’ve come to appreciate the instinctive nature of stealth, especially when it feels like a natural extension of strategies I’ve used in previous Arkham games. As Batman, I find myself darting towards unsuspecting adversaries, wrapping them up in a chokehold, and spinning them around for a few moments to bring them under control. This method of subduing enemies is not only swift but also one of the quickest stealth takedowns in the series, depending on how nimbly I manage my side-to-side movements.
As a devoted fan, I can’t help but marvel at the intricate motion action prompts in this game that bring predator and combat maneuvers to life. Every move feels interactive, like the thrill of hammer-fisting an enemy instead of just punching them for a regular ground takedown. It’s these motion prompts and their immersive depth that make combat and stealth feel challenging yet rewarding, perfectly embodying Batman’s agility across all Arkham games.
As a fan, one captivating moment in the demo of Shadow that really caught my eye was how they interpreted Batman’s iconic cape. Since Meta Quest 3 offers an intimate perspective, it doesn’t always show off cape physics like we’re used to seeing in flatscreen Arkham games. However, rest assured, Batman’s cape abilities such as the stun and glide are still a part of the game. What makes these moments special is that they provide unique chances to witness the cape sweeping into view from around the player – something less common when a cape glide offers a quick peek at Batman’s imposing, pointed-ear silhouette on nearby surfaces.
In addition to other features, Batman now includes an elusive sidestep move that lets players avoid enemy attacks, which is a fresh take on the usual dodge roll mechanic as designed by developer Camouflaj.
Arkham Shadow’s Gadgets are Inspired and Immersive to the Batman Experience
In this demo series, Arkham Shadow progressively guided users through the use of three devices: the batarang, smoke bomb, and grapnel gun. Instead of showcasing Batman’s seemingly endless supply of batarangs hidden in his utility belt, as seen in other iterations, Arkham Shadow features a single batarang that players can detach from Batman’s chest, similar to Matt Reeves’ The Batman. When thrown towards an objective, the batarang should be aimed roughly at the target location. However, the reticle is lenient as the batarang naturally curves toward its target when launched in any direction. Notably, this batarang functions like a real boomerang and comes back to the player once it has hit its mark.
In the game “Shadow”, just like how Batman can quickly deploy a smoke pellet when he’s suddenly spotted by enemies in games like “City”, “Origins”, and “Knight”, players have the ability to do the same without having to reach for a smoke bomb within their VR gauntlet. This feature allows for strategic use, such as dropping a smoke bomb on multiple adversaries during a predator encounter, which can help create stealth takedowns and swiftly clear the area in a matter of seconds. However, I haven’t personally tested this strategy, but it seems that skilled, experienced players who understand VR functionality well and manage their gadgets effectively could potentially utilize this tactic.
Unlike the batarang and smoke bomb, the grapnel gun isn’t something players can manually pick up in their games. Instead, as is common in the Arkham series (a pattern that has become quite familiar), players just need to aim the grapple reticle at the target before pressing ‘A’ to use it.
Grappling to a normal ledge in ordinary traversal even gives players the ability to hang there, potentially to prepare for a subsequent ledge takedown before literally hoisting themselves up, or immediately land atop the ledge. Moreover, the interactions and transitions between combat and gadget usage are impactfully responsive, though this was mainly apparent when maneuvering between a beatdown and several successive gargoyle perch grapples thereafter in a predator encounter stage that gives players a diverse range of options between inverted and floor grate takedowns.
Speaking of, Shadow’s inverted takedowns are surprisingly and satisfyingly elaborate: players move forward and hang below the gargoyle they’re perched on, lunge out at an unsuspecting nearby enemy, yank them up to the gargoyle, and shove them away to incapacitate them as they shriek and dangle from a cable (that players can then cut with batarang, of course). In turn, enemies are immediately alerted to players’ perched positions following an inverted takedown and essential gargoyle-to-gargoyle grappling is entirely fluid on Meta Quest 3.
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Detective Vision and Collectibles Tease a Wealth of Exploration
In Shadow’s version of Detective Mode, players receive an exact replica, offering them the blue lens filter and NPC skeletons as anticipated. However, the demo did not include any crime scene investigations or related tasks. Players could activate Detective Vision at their leisure to discover points of interest marked by unique colors, and there was a brief tutorial on stealth strategies included.
In the Meta Quest 3, you can toggle Detective Mode on or off by pressing the right trigger when your hand is positioned near your head. During a preview demo, I kept Detective Vision active for an extended period because I love exploring hidden items in the environments of Arkham games. This persistence paid off as I found secret paths and collectibles.
Apparently, Shadow is said to have a vast collection of more than 100 items in total, scattered throughout the game world. Among these items we encountered during our demo, there are breakable Rat King idol statues and radios.
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Gameplay Should Put to Rest Any VR-Related Woes
The preview demo had me emerge on Gotham City’s surface, breathe in the same gloomy atmosphere that Origins elicited with familiar neon signage, and glide down into a street below. This street resembled Origins and even City with impeccable detail punctuated by advertisements that have either all been seen before or reference previously seen and visited locations. The draw distance decorates the skyline with a GCR tower, Soder Cola sign, and bat signal, and even more to stare out at in the final moments of the demo on a separate rooftop.
One of the most trivial yet gratifying experiences in Shadow’s tutorial demo slice was something any Arkham veteran will be able to attest to doing countless times: grabbing vent covers, ripping them from a wall, and gingerly sliding them away to the left or right of the duct. If the rest of exploration and gameplay in general in Batman: Arkham Shadow is even half as atmospheric as this opening tutorial section it will undoubtedly be impressive.
Batman: Arkham Shadow seamlessly expands the Arkham universe, offering a smooth transition from traditional screens to Meta Quest 3. This shift has been carefully designed to feel familiar and comfortable for players who’ve honed their skills in any of the previous Arkham games. It’s been almost a decade since the last Arkham game was released, but Shadow is doing an exceptional job of not only paying homage to its roots but also delivering a substantial, standalone addition to the Arkhamverse that promises to be warmly received.
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2024-08-27 16:07