Games involving DC's caped crusader have helped provide revolutionary highs and a couple of disappointing lows; thankfully, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League failed to captivate fans of the Arkham franchise, developer Camouflaj's Batman: Arkham Shadow's brilliant writing and immersive gameplay are exactly what Batman game fans have been waiting for.

After 2015's beautiful Batman: Arkham Knight from developer Rocksteady was released, it set a high bar for superhero games. Few have arguably come close to crafting a gaming experience that captures the mood and feel of characters like Batman and Spider-Man, especially with the immersive capabilities of modern VR technology, until now.

One reason that Batman: Arkham games have been so beloved was their world-building, writing, and action, all combined to make players feel like they were The Dark Knight. While the technology isn't perfect, Batman: Arkham Shadow does a fantastic job with its compelling story and gameplay to make players feel more like Batman than ever before, while also revolutionizing how action games can work with VR.

An Original Batman Story That Deconstructs The Mythos

Arkham Shadow Feels Like A Full Game Compared To Batman: Arkham VR

Batman's decades of DC lore means there's a wealth of iconic storylines any game based on the legendary character could adapt, and yet Arkham Shadow avoids adapting one directly. That actually adds to how fantastic Batman: Arkham Shadow's writing and story are.

The game's events occur six months after the underrated Batman: Arkham Origins, and several fan-favorite characters appear long before they make their villainous turns. Even though fans of the franchise are more than well aware of the fate its characters meet, BAS manages to shock players with its plot twists and presentation that sur previous Arkham games in many ways.

A mysterious new enemy, known as The Rat King, has begun forming a dangerous cult across Gotham City, and it's up to Batman, Commissioner Gordan, and District Attorney Harvey Dent to stop the violent gang before a looming day of reckoning. Without spoiling too much, a large section of the game has Batman go undercover as an inmate in Blackgate prison to find the Rat King, which leads to some unfortunate pacing issues.

The game's story takes place closer to the start of Batman's career than the end. It involves a version of Bruce Wayne, who is still learning how to manage the persona and what it can mean to the citizens of Gotham. The messaging is beautifully contrasted with the Rat King's following, who worship the villain as a god who will bring solutions to all of their problems. As Batman learns more about his foe, he is forced to confront the effects and difficulties a symbol can bring about, a lesson that is growing painfully relevant in the real world.

Gotham In VR Feels Like A Dream That Doesn't Last Long Enough

Blackgate Prison Feels Less Vibrant To Explore Than Gotham

Much like the revolutionary VR experience of Half-Life: Alyx, Batman: Arkham Shadow is a complete game with linear stages to explore. As expected from a full-fledged Arkham title, players navigate its rich world packed with hidden collectibles, crime scenes to investigate, and a plethora of thugs to punch. The sections where Batman investigates and fights crime in Gotham show a game world that balances a gloomy yet vibrant tone with lore-filled posters plastered on walls and glowing ments for locations and characters DC fans may spot.

Opening a door and seeing Batman's shadow fill a room from his perspective never gets old.

Gotham's iconic atmosphere is brilliantly recreated in VR; however, more than half of the game takes place in Blackgate prison. While BAS does a great job creating engaging missions there, beating up criminals and solving puzzles in Gotham is a highlight players will likely want more of. Still, the prison is filled with plenty of beloved characters, portrayed by ludicrously fantastic actors, that make time in confinement feel more like a well-produced television series, which is both a blessing and a curse for Batman: Arkham Shadow.

The Game's Cast Is So Talented It's Criminal

Many Great Batman Voice Actors Return for Arkham Shadow

One aspect of VR gaming that often goes under-appreciated and underutilized is that, since it more effectively immerses the player in the game world, it enables its characters and performances to feel much more personable. Fundamentally, the cast directly interacts with, rather than at the player. The body language, voice acting, and head tracking of the game's characters help make the game feel more real than most video games can convey. This becomes especially apparent during many of Batman: Arkham Shadow's dialogue-heavy Blackgate scenes and flashbacks involving Bruce and Harvey Dent's reworked bond.

Troy Baker has proven more than capable of delivering intense and emotional performances in games like The Last of Us, but his depiction of Harvey Dent is one filled with hope, regret, and frustration that easily ranks as one of the most fantastic portrayals of the character. But he isn't alone with Batman: Arkham Shadow including several captivating performances of beloved characters and sides of them that fans have yet to be able to see so effectively in past adaptations.

Iconic talents like Tara Strong as Dr. Harleen Quinzel return, but newcomer Elijah Wood's version of the future Scarecrow, Dr. Jonathan Crane, provides a bone-chilling portrayal of the empathy-lacking, fear-obsessed doctor. Roger Craig Smith's version of Batman also does a great job voicing a less experienced and sometimes emotionally compromised version of the beloved character.

While the cast's performances create several edge-of-your-seat moments, BAS's fluid and revolutionary gameplay is so enjoyable that its long story sections feel more like an award-winning prison drama than a game where players are hoping to beat up foes with their fists and bat-themed gadgets.

Gameplay That's The Closest Players Can Get To Being Batman

Other Franchises Can Learn A Lot From Arkham Shadow's VR Combat

The Batman: Arkham series inspired countless action games with its free-flowing, gadget-filled combat and simple controls. And thankfully, developer Camouflaj found a way to adapt the franchise's addicting fighting mechanics into the VR format. When battling enemies, an icon appears over their bodies and all players need to do is punch in that general direction, quickly bringing Batman's fist into the enemy. Battles require punches to be made in specific areas to land, but with stuns, combos, ultimate attacks, and gadgets eventually unlocking, players develop an excellent variety of combat tactics.

Fans of previous Batman action games should have a good idea of the foes they'll be brawling against in BAS. Electric stick-wielding guards must be countered, and large brutes need to be stunned before a highly satisfying flurry of punches can be executed. Incoming attacks are still signaled so players can counter, which is easy to accomplish with a push of the left stick, helping Batman evade or even hop behind an enemy. The combat's fluidity is an achievement for a VR title. Hopefully, Batman: Arkham Shadow pushes future VR games forward like Arkham Asylum did for third-person action games.

Batman: Arkham Shadow's stealth sections are thankfully as fun as in previous Arkham games. VR has done little to dull the excitement of laying traps for unsuspected foes, scoring silent takedowns from air ducts and overhanging gargoyle statues. While gameplay feels tight and responsive during the stealth and combat sections, other moments of exploration contained a share of bugs like invisible walls where they shouldn't be, sound cues going off at the wrong times or repeating consistently, and sometimes even falling through the game world, all issues that resolved after a quick reset but happened often enough to bring up.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

Screen Rant Gives Batman: Arkham Shadow A 9 Out Of 10

Thankfully, BAS's performance issues do not happen enough to ruin the game's enjoyment, but some of them were a lot more annoying than others. If players take their time, enjoy all the clever dialogue, hidden lore, tricky puzzles, and discover the many collectibles, Batman: Arkham Shadow can easily take 15 - 20 hours to complete. The Meta Quest 3's battery will force players to take breaks every couple of hours in order to recharge.

BAS effectively uses VR to sur previous installments with several clever decisions that deliver an emotional and brilliant story packed with satisfying gameplay. Combat and Predator Stealth challenges can be accessed from the main menu, complete with online leaderboards, and are a great way to jump into some fast action, especially between some of the game's longer story sections.

Hopefully, future updates will improve the bugs and add more to the six challenges in the game, but Batman: Arkham Shadow is the next stage of immersion for the franchise, thanks in part to its fluid gameplay mechanics and stellar performances.

A Meta Quest 3 Headset and game code for Batman: Arkham Shadow was provided to ScreenRant for the purpose of this review.

Source: Meta Quest/ YouTube