I’m standing in the dark streets of Gotham, as I have done countless times over the years, but now I’m physically craning my neck up to look at its street signs, the names of boarded up shops, the police helicopters buzzing overhead. I’m near the end of an hour-long look at the upcoming Meta Quest 3 exclusive Batman Arkham Shadow, and have finally emerged above ground. It’s my first proper view of the city, and it feels familiar. And yet, deliberately I think, the action is being kept at street level for now, next to burning braziers and amongst swirling fog, rather than among the rooftops above.
Batman: Arkham ShadowDeveloper: CamouflajPublisher: MetaPlatform: Played on Meta Quest 3Availability: Out October 2024 for Meta Quest 3
There are moments in this opening hour of Arkham Shadow where you do find yourself up relatively high. But this street level introduction to Batman’s stomping grounds makes sense here, both to highlight how you can naturally gaze around its world – and also likely to avoid too much early vertigo from wobbling atop a skyscraper.
Developed by Camouflaj, the talented team behind Iron Man VR, Arkham Shadow is a canon entry to the Arkhamverse sandwiched between Origins and Asylum. Batman is still relatively young here, and guided by the voice of Alfred in his ear as I pick up the ropes of the game’s controls. You can walk normally or zip about areas by grappling, quickly changing your view orientation 90-degrees via the thumbstick and then zooming over to the nearest area you’re looking at. Batarangs are stored on your chest for you to fling. Smoke bombs are on your arm for you to pick up and lob. If you hold your hands by your sides and then raise them together, you can extend your cape to glide.
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The demo begins beneath Gotham’s streets, with Batman on the trail of the mysterious Rat King. Of course, we’re in Arkham’s sewers. Here, each of the game’s systems are slowly introduced, with particular focus on Shadow’s melee-based combat. You can launch yourself towards enemies by aiming a punch towards them, then land a series of follow-up blows to knock them out cold by following on-screen gesture prompts.