Batman: Arkham Shadow

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Batman: Arkham Shadow
Batman Arkham Shadow cover art.png
Developer(s) Camouflaj
Publisher(s) Oculus Studios
Director(s) Ryan Payton
Designer(s) Ryan Darcey
Composer(s) Kazuma Jinnouchi
Series Batman: Arkham
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
ReleaseOctober 21, 2024
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Batman: Arkham Shadow is an action-adventure video game developed by Camouflaj and published by Oculus Studios. It is the second virtual reality game in the Batman: Arkham series and a narrative sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins (2013). Set six months after the events of Arkham Origins, the game's story follows a younger and less experienced Batman, who attempts to stop a mysterious villain called the Rat King from destroying Gotham City on the Fourth of July, and depicts his transition from a violent and vengeful vigilante into a symbol of hope. Arkham Shadow was released for the Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S on October 21, 2024, to largely positive reviews.

Contents

Gameplay

Batman: Arkham Shadow is an action-adventure video game played from a first-person perspective. In the game, the player assumes control of Batman, who must stop a new villain called the Rat King from unleashing chaos in Gotham City. The rhythmic, free-flow combat from the previous Arkham games returns in Shadow, allowing Batman to attack, stun and counter. Combining these three main abilities can keep Batman attacking while moving between enemies and avoiding being attacked himself. [1] The stealth predator sections are also back. Batman can activate Detective Vision to identify the locations and the patrol patterns of all enemies in an area, and stealth tactics such as silent takedowns, inverted takedowns and hiding in grates can be used against armed enemies. He also has a large arsenal of tools, such as smoke bombs and batarangs to aid combat. [2]

The game's structure is similar to that of Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009), in which Batman explores a series of large but confined spaces. Batman can glide from heights using his cape, and use his grapple gun to climb onto higher ledges. As players progress, they will gain new gadgets and tools, enabling them to open up new paths to reach previously inaccessible areas. [3]

Synopsis

Setting and characters

Set six months after the events of Batman: Arkham Origins (2013), the game follows a young but confident Batman (Roger Craig Smith) who must prevent the Rat King from executing public office officials such as District Attorney Harvey Dent (Troy Baker) and Police Commissioner Jim Gordon (Mark Rolston) and unleashing chaos in Gotham City on the Fourth of July. A number of supporting characters, including Joker (Troy Baker), Otis Flannagan / Ratcatcher (Khary Payton), Killer Croc (Khary Payton), Dr. Jonathan Crane (Elijah Wood), Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Tara Strong), Lyle Bolton (Earl Baylon), Boone Carver / Shrike (Rick Gomez), Carmine Falcone (Darin De Paul), Joe Chill (Armin Shimerman), Arnold Wesker (Dwight Schultz), Barbara Gordon (Chelsea Kane), Leslie Thompkins (Mara Junot), Alfred Pennyworth (Martin Jarvis), Vicki Vale (Ali Hillis), Andrea Beaumont (Amber Hood), Thomas Wayne (Andrew Morgado), Black Mask (Brian Bloom), Selina Kyle (Chantelle Barry), Deadshot (Chris Cox), Firefly (Crispin Freeman), Lucius Fox (Dave Fennoy), Vic Sage (David Dastmalchian), Bane (Fred Tatasciore), Jack Ryder (James Horan), Deathstroke (Mark Rolston), Anarky (Matthew Mercer), and Gray Ghost (Roger Craig Smith), also appear in the game. [4]

Plot

On Independence Day, a movement led by "The Rat King" and his followers dubbed "Rats" sought to destroy Gotham. Batman saves several police officers from being held hostage by Rats in the sewers, although one of the police officers dies. Batman also learns that the Rat King is planning an attack dubbed the "Day of Wrath". At the GCPD headquarters, Batman meets with Commissioner Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent to discuss the Rat King. After Dent leaves, a sniper attempts to shoot Gordon and is then pursued by Batman. Batman identifies the shooter as a man named Shrike and investigates his apartment, learning Shrike is planning to display Rat King propaganda at the Monarch Theatre.

Batman infiltrates the Monarch Theatre only to find that Shrike has taken Dent and Dr. Leslie Thompkins hostage at the Solomon Wayne Courthouse. This drives Batman into a rage and he rushes to save them both. After Thompkins is rescued, Shrike attempts to kill Dent by dousing him in gasoline but is stopped by Batman, who then questions him. However, Shrike ends the interrogation by setting himself on fire and jumping off a balcony to his death. Realizing none of the Rats would give up their leader, Batman concludes that the only way to uncover the Rat King's identity is by becoming a Rat himself. He takes up the identity of Irving "Matches" Malone and sets the Bat-Signal alight to be sent to Blackgate Penitentiary.

At Blackgate, Malone discovers the prison's security to be run by the TYGER private military firm led by Lyle Bolton, who has a deep disdain for criminals and often mistreats the prisoners. Over several days, Malone mingles with fellow inmates during the day while changing into Batman to investigate during the night. Malone meets Takeo Yamashiro, who questions Malone and takes him to meet imprisoned crime boss Carmine Falcone but rats him out to Bolton. Malone also attends group therapy sessions held by Jonathan Crane and Harleen Quinzel, during which Quinzel becomes suspicious of Crane, questioning where he takes the patients.

Malone deduces that Falcone might have information on the Rat King. As Batman, he attempts to track Falcone but fails due to Falcone’s influence with the guards. However, this influence is discovered by Bolton, who removes the corrupt guards. Batman also investigates Crane’s activities and discovers that the doctor has been experimenting on his patients using hallucinogens. He then gets drugged by Crane which leads him to relive his parents’ death. He experiences flashbacks of staying with Dent, where he and Dent endured the abuse of Dent’s father. He confronts a rogue Batman as his "Shadow", which he can overcome. Batman then eliminates Crane as a possible suspect.

The next day, Bolton beats Falcone in front of all the prisoners and challenges any one of them to stand up for Falcone. Malone defeats Bolton but is then placed in solitary confinement, next to the Joker, who sees through his act and recognizes his voice as Batman's. After Yamashiro goes missing, Gordon and Dent reveal that he was an undercover cop named Chris Nakano, and assume that Malone killed him and bring him to court after a failed interrogation, where Malone pleads that he is mentally ill. Crane is tasked to prove Malone's mental competency and attempts to drug him, but Malone pushes away the mask, causing chemicals to splash on the left side of Dent's face, scarring him. Dent is pulled away as he angrily blames Malone for the accident.

Taken back to Blackgate, Malone is placed in a gas chamber by Bolton, who has decided to kill him. He escapes with the help of the Rats and discovers the Day of Wrath to be an attack on the GCPD, in which a ship filled with prisoners, including Nakano, and a bomb will be rammed into the building. Batman boards the ship, disarms the bomb, and confronts the Rat King who is revealed to be Dent with an alternate personality stemming from his father's abuse. After the ship crashes into the GCPD building, Batman finds Dent holding Joe Chill, one of the inmates he befriended as Malone, at gunpoint. Dent reveals Joe to be the killer of Bruce Wayne's parents and attempts to execute him, but Batman stops him by unmasking himself as Bruce. While Joe leaves after sincerely apologizing to Bruce, Dent struggles to process the revelation of his friend's double life and attempts to jump off the building, but is saved by Bruce.

In the aftermath, Malone is presumed to be the Rat King and still at large, while Dent is treated by Dr. Thompkins for his dissociative identity disorder. Although Dent has seemingly no recollection of his actions as the Rat King, including the reveal of Batman's identity, the alternate personality tells Bruce that "this is the beginning of us". During the credits, Thompkins informs Bruce that she has found a former Rat he had been asking about, and suggests that Bruce visit him.

Development

Camouflaj, the developer of Iron Man VR (2020), led the game's development. Following the release of Iron Man VR in 2020, Meta Platforms approached Camouflaj for the development of a new project with a bigger budget and larger scope. Camouflaj then began pitching for a Batman game to Warner Bros. and DC Comics for six months, convincing them to greenlight the project after demonstrating two gameplay prototypes demonstrating the game's combat and transversal. Development of the game lasted for about four years. [5] Several employees from Rocksteady Studios, the original creator of the franchise, also joined the studio to assist the team. Camouflaj billed Arkham Shadow as their biggest game to date, with its overall length being between that of Iron Man VR and Arkham Asylum. [6]

The team chose the Rat King as its villain because the team wanted an antagonist fans of the franchise were not familiar with. The team wanted to use the opportunity to create an original story without being constrained by events of the Arkhamverse. The character is separate from the Ratcatcher, though the team affirmed he will play a big role in the game. [7] Inspired by Half Life: Alyx (2020), the team strove to ensure that the transition between gameplay and cutscenes was seamless. Learning from player's feedback for Iron Man VR, the team spent time to ensure that combat encounters were better paced so that players will not be fatigued easily. For the combat, the team attempted to recreate the free-flowing combat system from previous Batman games while implementing gesture-based controls, taking inspirations from Beat Saber (2019) and Superhot VR (2016). [3] Arkham Asylum also served as an important inspiration for the team, influencing Shadow's structure, combat and overall scope. [8]

Arkham Shadow was officially announced in May 2024. [9] Publisher Oculus Studios released the game for Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S in October 2024, and it will be included for free with new headset purchases until April 30, 2025. [10] [11]

Reception

Batman: Arkham Shadow received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [12]

Dan Stapleton of IGN rated the game a score of 8 out of 10, praising the translation of the Arkham franchise into a VR format. Stapleton took note of the game's combat system and its differences to that of the main Arkham games. He characterized it as working "surprisingly well" and "interesting", though he criticized the stealth sections for their controls, as well as the game's bugs and boss fights, citing most of them as "unmemorable". He praised the fidelity of the game, labeling it "the best-looking [Meta] Quest-exclusive game I've played." [16]

The game was nominated for "Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2024. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ McCaffery, Ryan (August 31, 2024). "Batman: Arkham Shadow – The First Preview". IGN . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  2. ↑ Phillips, Tom (August 29, 2024). "Batman Arkham Shadow is a sweat-inducing slice of nostalgia that captures the essence of Rocksteady's trilogy". Eurogamer . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Hopper, Don (August 27, 2024). "Batman: Arkham Shadow First Impressions: Taking Big Swings At Gotham's Rats On Quest 3". UploadVR. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  4. ↑ Yin-Poole, Wesley (August 21, 2024). "First Look at Batman VR Game Arkham Shadow Gameplay, Voice Cast Revealed". IGN . Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ Lang, Ben (June 21, 2024). "'Batman: Arkham Shadow' Development Started in Late 2020, Rocksteady Alums Among the Dev Team". RoadtoVR. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  6. ↑ Phillips, Tom (June 7, 2024). "Batman Arkham Shadow might be VR, but it's the first DC game since Arkham Knight I'm actually excited for". Eurogamer . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  7. ↑ Hector, Hamish (June 8, 2024). "Ryan Payton breaks down that Batman: Arkham Shadow story trailer for us, reveals new gameplay details, and explains why it had to be a Meta Quest 3 exclusive". TechRadar . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  8. ↑ McCaffery, Ryan (June 8, 2024). "Batman Arkham Shadow Developer Cites Arkham Asylum as Its 'North Star' – Summer Game Fest 2024". IGN . Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  9. ↑ Bonthuys, Darryn (May 1, 2024). "Batman: Arkham Shadow Announced, Coming Exclusively To Meta Quest 3". GameSpot . Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  10. ↑ Romano, Sal (August 20, 2024). "Batman: Arkham Shadow launches in October". Gematsu. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Batman: Arkham Shadow Comes Free With Quest 3S & Quest 3". UploadVR. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-27.
  12. 1 2 "Batman: Arkham Shadow". Metacritic . 2024-10-22. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  13. ↑ Carter, Chris (October 24, 2024). "Review: Batman: Arkham Shadow". Destructoid . Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  14. ↑ Colantonio, Giovanni (October 24, 2024). "Batman: Arkham Shadow review: the Bat's best game since Arkham Asylum". Digital Trends . Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  15. ↑ Higton, Ian (October 24, 2024). "Batman Arkham Shadow review — a masterclass in immersion that makes you feel like a part of Gotham". Eurogamer . Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Stapleton, Dan (2024-10-23). "Batman: Arkham Shadow Review". IGN. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  17. ↑ Jackson, Destiny (18 November 2024). "The Game Award Nominations: 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Slices Its Way To Victory With Seven Nominations". Deadline . Retrieved 18 November 2024.
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