Batman: Arkham Shadow review: I am the Night

The Batman: Arkham series has returned in an unexpected way: a new VR game. Developed by Camouflaj and Oculus Studios, Batman: Arkham Shadow expands the franchise’s mythos with a grimy mystery story set before the events of the Arkham Asylum. It’s an immersive action game that made me feel like Batman himself.

Cleaning the streets

There’s often a suite of visual and mechanical compromises when a AAA video game franchise gets a VR installment. I’m sure longtime fans of the Arkham franchise collectively groaned when the newest game was revealed to be VR-exclusive. However, the Camouflaj team has made strides to make Batman: Arkham Shadow feel as authentic as a VR Batman game. I was impressed with how few compromises there were when comparing it to a traditional VR game.

The Arkham series is known for its combat, and Arkham Shadow features fluid combat mechanics that reward timing and patience. You can jab enemies to close the distance, dealing combos and finishing them off with a knee to the face or heavy slam. The sounds and vibrational feedback in the controllers give a sense of weight to every hit. I never tired of reaching up to my chest, grabbing a batarang, and flinging it at an enemy.

If an enemy outside of your view is preparing to strike, you’ll be prompted to stick your arm out to block their attack, with Batman then turning and facing them. It’s helpful when taking on groups of foes at once. The on-screen circles that tell you where to hit enemies are helpful for chaining combos, but I found it to be frustrating when I got into rhythm. If I punched too quickly, the game would tell me I was too fast, and the hit wouldn’t register. It felt like I was being punished for making quick, concise movements.

Arkham Shadow also nails the stealth side of Batman’s abilities. Certain areas include vents that Batman can crawl through to get the jump on enemies. Since this is VR, you have to manually remove the grates and enter a vent. I had a few heart-pounding moments where I quickly tried to uncover a vent and crawl inside of it as an enemy approached my location. In other instances, I perched on ledges to stealthily take down enemies from above, throwing smoke bombs to cover myself as I relocated to other areas.

El Rata Alada

For perhaps the first time in an Arkham game, I enjoyed myself more during the non-combat segments. Simply walking around as Batman feels good. I loved spreading my arms to glide down from a cliff or firing my grappler to quickly ascend to a ledge. During story sequences, I’d slowly pace around a room like I was Christian Bale in The Dark Knight. I stood on the edge of a roof and looked out at the Gotham City skyline while Commissioner Gordon gave me the latest updates on the case I was investigating. In the small moments, I found myself getting immersed in the role of Batman.

Arkham Shadow is also one of the best in the series when it comes to the detective side of Batman. This story, set between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum, finds the citizens of Gotham under threat of the Rat King and his cult. When he’s not throwing punches, Batman has to gather clues and use his instincts to learn more about the villain and his identity.

Enter Detective Vision. Another staple feature from the Arkham series is brilliantly adapted for VR. You simply reach up and tap a virtual button on the side of your head to toggle Detective Vision, highlighting enemies, vents, and important items. It works exactly the same way as it does in the other Arkham titles, with some added touches for immersion.

Put on the cowl

I’m someone who doesn’t experience motion sickness, but it’s still worth noting that Batman: Arkham Shadow has locomotion settings that should ease those issues for folks who deal with them. This includes the option to choose between smooth turning and snap turning, as well as support for playing in both seated and standing modes. However, I did notice that there is no option to teleport for movement.

Batman: Arkham Shadow is a gorgeous game by VR standards, which is certainly one of the reasons that it’s available exclusively on the Meta Quest 3 family devices and not any earlier models. Still, there is some of the jank that feels inescapable in VR. Things like uncanny character proportions, or models moving in ways that human bodies shouldn’t.

I am vengeance

Batman: Arkham Shadow is the blueprint for how to do AAA VR. The game makes every effort to translate the franchise’s best features to virtual reality, with a level of detail that makes you feel like Batman himself. It’s all complemented by an original story that’s on the same level of quality as most games in the series.

This review is based on a code provided by the publisher. Batman: Arkham Shadow is available now for Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_