2024 got off to a rough start for Arkhamverse fans. After waiting eight years for a new game from Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady, fans were served Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a live service continuation of the Arkham universe that was panned by critics and immediately abandoned by players. With how disastrous Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was, many saw the announcement of virtual reality game Batman: Arkham Shadow as salt in the wound. While it may not be a traditional home console Batman: Arkham game, I can confidently say that franchise fans upset about Suicide Squad owe it to themselves to give Batman: Arkham Shadow a go.
Set between the events of Batman: Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum, Arkham Shadow begins on the 4th of July and sees Batman dealing with the threat of the Rat King – a mysterious enemy with a gang of devoted followers that has made some apocalyptic threats to Gotham City. Players have to solve the mystery behind the Rat King and save Gotham, all while playing through the eyes of Batman himself.
Arkham Shadow isn’t the first crack at a VR Batman: Arkham game, but while Arkham VR was more of a tech demo, Arkham Shadow is a full-fledged video game. It’s a 10+ hour experience that checks all the Arkham game boxes. Some may have immediately dismissed Arkham Shadow because it is a VR game, but that’s a mistake. Arkham Shadow is the real deal, and the closest thing we’ve gotten to a proper new Arkham game since 2015’s Arkham Knight.
Batman: Arkham Shadow does a brilliant job of translating the hallmarks of the traditional home console Arkham games to the VR space. Going into it, my biggest concern was that the game would have no way of doing the Arkham franchise’s trademark combat justice, but what’s accomplished here exceeds all expectations. The shift to a first-person perspective means a completely different take on Arkham‘s brutal melee combat, but developer Camouflaj has made the jump while still maintaining the rhythmic essence of the Arkham franchise’s hard-hitting fights. Though instead of pressing buttons to beat up bad guys, players have to literally punch them, with various visual cues implemented to add extra depth to the proceedings.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a Genuine Arkham Experience
Yellow indicators pop up to give players some direction while they’re pummeling the many foes they encounter in Batman: Arkham Shadow, not unlike rhythm games or boxing fitness apps. Players are given a warning when another enemy is about to attack, and they are given the chance to swing their arm in that direction to block the hit. As the game goes on, enemies incorporate knives and armor, which add extra steps to fights, like dodging knife attacks by physically ducking and stunning armored enemies with Batman’s cape. Fighting in this game had me sweating on higher difficulties; Arkham Shadow combat is fun and doubles as a genuine workout.
Considering how iconic Arkham‘s combat is, I think that doing it justice was the most important thing for Arkham Shadow to accomplish, and it says a lot that it succeeds in that endeavor. But there’s a lot more to the Arkham games than fighting. Atmosphere is another key component, and luckily, Arkham Shadow delivers there as well. Arkham Shadow is an Arkham game through-and-through, with its dark, moody environments, impressive attention to detail, and clever references to the larger Arkham universe. Simply put, Arkham Shadow has the vibes fans expect from an Arkham game.
While exploring Arkham Shadow‘s game world, players have a lot more to do than beating up bad guys. Detective Vision is used to investigate crime scenes, as it is in the main games, with players examining objects for clues. Detective Vision is also useful for Predator sections, where stealth is favored over straight-up hand-to-hand combat. Players can easily swing from one perch to the next, hunting down each guard in the room one by one in a manner that feels exactly like the Rocksteady games.
Arkham Shadow is a perfect translation of the Arkham gameplay to virtual reality. Fans will be happy to know that extends to its story as well. The Arkham games have always earned a great deal of praise for their engrossing narratives and shocking twists, and Arkham Shadow delivers. The game is full of surprising revelations and offers interesting backstory on key Batman characters. I don’t want to go into detail because I think Arkham fans should really experience this story for themselves, but rest assured that it’s one that lives up to the other games in the franchise.
That being said, the game is not without its flaws. There are some major drawbacks that keep it from reaching the same heights as Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, though the good news is that some of the game’s bigger problems will hopefully be fixed through patches.
Forget Rats – Batman: Arkham Shadow Has a Bug Problem
Batman: Arkham Shadow is a buggy game. I lost count of how many times I had to restart a checkpoint due to a progression bug making it impossible to continue. Story events wouldn’t trigger, Batman’s hand would refuse to close into a fist, doors wouldn’t open, and all kinds of other issues popped up frequently during my playthrough. In a couple of especially annoying instances, Batman became stuck in walls. The sheer number of bugs would be absolutely damning in other games, but Arkham Shadow‘s frequent checkpoints make it so players can reload their latest save to solve the issues and lose virtually no progress. These problems are still frustrating, but they’re more of a minor nuisance thanks to how easily they’re fixed.
Arkham Shadow‘s bugs will almost certainly be fixed with future updates, and at that point, it will become an even better game. One problem that won’t be patched out, though, is the excessive backtracking. The vast majority of Batman: Arkham Shadow takes place in Blackgate prison, with a lot of repetitive gameplay sections and repeated real estate players have to walk through. One area has players essentially re-do the same Predator takedowns multiple times, but with slightly more and better-armed guards, and it starts to get dull. There are also multiple lengthy story sections where players are stuck standing and listening to characters talk, which isn’t boring because the writing and performances are great, but can become tiresome for a standing VR game like this. I commend Arkham Shadow for offering players a full-length experience, but at the same time, I think its pacing would have benefited from trimming things down a bit.
Along with a full-sized story, Arkham Shadow also has interesting side content to check out in the form of combat challenges, optional puzzles, and hidden collectibles. Like the other Arkham games, Arkham Shadow rewards players who stray off the beaten path. Combine that with an upgrade system that continuously expands Batman’s combat options, and Arkham Shadow is easily one of the deeper VR games I’ve played.
Even still, some hardcore Arkham fans may remain unconvinced. The fact that Arkham Shadow is exclusive to Quest 3 and Quest 3S headsets may make them even more skeptical. However, I think Arkham Shadow is definitely worth picking up a Quest 3 or 3S headset for hardcore fans of the franchise, as long as they also plan on checking out other VR apps and games, of course. Batman: Arkham Shadow is a legitimately great Arkham game, one that mostly lives up to the high bar set by the Rocksteady trilogy. A few patches will go a long way in making Arkham Shadow even better, but even now, it’s an easy recommendation for Quest 3 and 3S owners.