Batman: Arkham Shadow is an intricate interquel designed to quell anxiety over the series' integrity
Take a break from killing the Justice League to become the Bat once again.
With respect to the Apple Vision Pro, virtual reality has yet to affirm itself as a viable commercial tool - instead championed by niche, positively premium cliques. Candidly, the concept alone bears shades of Total Recall; can you trust in your material memories? Regardless, its implementation within the medium of gaming has made manifest a microcosm of the Metaverse; Mark Zuckerberg’s streamlined, if not sanitised Horizon Worlds notwithstanding, ironically. Zuckerberg, furthermore, believes - in a similar manner to himself - we would willingly coat our eyes in abrasive glass to chart their dire, dystopian distortion of social mores. We, the people, would rather put on a headset to become Batman.
Batman: Arkham Shadow is the first instalment in the eponymous series since its swansong in Arkham Knight.
Thus, through Meta’s bespoke Quest 3/3s headsets, developer Camouflaj delivered Batman: Arkham Shadow: a reconciliation of Arkham Origins’ storytelling concerns and Arkham Asylum’s design philosophy. As a subsidiary of Reality Labs, the prodding and production arm of Meta, Camouflaj have a pressing prerogative to iterate upon their last superhero adaptation: the soaring, if not staid Iron Man VR. I did take to the skies as Tony Stark through my own PlayStation VR headset; I found its novelties to mostly waylay my general ocular discomfort - though its loading times were rather cumbersome. A subsequent port to the Quest 2 ostensibly remedied my quarrels, yet the fixed station the studio set players to reminded me of charting a treadmill or playing with an arcade cabinet rather than actively performing as the eponymous genius, billionaire, playboy, or philanthropist. Insomniac’s Spider-Man series and Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy cast a particularly long shadow over the superhero genre in this space, perfecting locomotion and combat coordination from a third-person vantage point. Ultimate immersion is dependent on design, not overly reliant on perspective.
Consequently, Arkham Shadow, the second virtual reality title concerning the Caped Crusader after Rocksteady’s excellent, if not terse Arkham VR, aimed to further the tactility exhibited within the latter - whilst remaining in conversation with its canon. In a technical respect, the game is a faithful evocation of Arkham’s inalienable atmosphere, transcribing its signature blend of procedural deduction and blunt brawling to a continuous, first-person perspective. In a kindred regard to Half-Life: Alyx, a generational title mired in a maelstrom of early pandemic mania and mechanical exclusivity, Shadow adds additional weight to each enemy encounter, requiring the player to physically punch their opponents. However, the world’s greatest detective affirms his title through a canny implementation of detective vision, rendering your eyes those of a predator; prepare your thighs for a notable deal of gargoyle perching.
As Batman’s arms are your own, make sure to appropriately condition yourself for action.
To those without access to a Meta Quest 3, extensive walkthroughs portraying the narrative are accessible. Evidently, its concept emphasises grandiosity through mechanical minutiae; having a shorthand knowledge of Batman’s tools is a textual attempt to draw one in further to Gotham and Blackgate’s conspicuous corners, ceilings, and cramped corridors. Curiously, however, Shadow is the second Arkhamverse title of 2024, providing a combo-counter reversal to the series’ lengthy hiatus. Inadvertantly, the game was tasked to sweep through the detritus of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League: valliantly perserving in spite of universal apathy - a muted evolution of its initial derison.
Indeed, Shadows and Suicide Squad represent the two halves of corporate coordination: the former to intuitively innovate upon a successful formula, in turn delivering a sophisticated advertisement for their hardware, the latter a belated attempt to capitalise upon a competitive market with no identity of its own. Narratively, the series has diverged, attempting to pair episodic statements with a live-service revolution of revenue: one cultivates goodwill, the other generates better margins of profit. Ironically, Shadow’s standing as the Quest 3’s ostensible killer app affirms its financial standing against Suicide Squad’s self-immolation; neither Arkham enthusiasts nor looter shooter idealogues have a desire to ensnare themselves within a rote rendition of known notes.
A hero shooter charting the misadventures of largely anonymous villains is not an ideal successor to three of the most effective comic book adaptations gaming has known.
Ultimately, Arkham Shadow looks to serve as a triumph of creative incubation, remaining in conversation with its source material, its audience, and the inherent novelty of virtual reality as a service. With respect to its constitution, the design sensibility suggests a suitable future for the Arkhamverse’s frayed canon: pulpy yarns delving into the darker recesses of its universe, centred upon the paradoxically dexterous, yet robust presence of Batman. Hopefully, financial incentives for these teams produce complete, macrocosmic statements, rather than protracted measures of enticing microtransactions.