| Batman: Arkham Shadow | |
| Developer: | Camouflaj |
| Publisher: | Oculus Studios |
| Director: | Ryan Payton |
| Designer: | Ryan Darcey |
| Composer: | Kazuma Jinnouchi |
| Engine: | Unity |
| Released: | October 21, 2024 |
| Series: | |
| Genre: | Action-adventure |
| Modes: | 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 series and a narrative sequel to and (2013). Set six months after the events of Arkham Origins and Arkham Origins Blackgate, 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.
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 (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]
Set six months after the events of and (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. Allies of Batman include his loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (Martin Jarvis), philanthropist Leslie Thompkins (Mara Junot), Wayne Enterprises business manager Lucius Fox (Dave Fennoy) and Gordon's daughter Barbara (Chelsea Kane).
The game primarily takes place within Blackgate Penitentiary, which is run by Dr. Jonathan Crane (Elijah Wood), Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Tara Strong), and TYGER head of security Lyle Bolton (Earl Baylon). Among the prisoners are crime boss Carmine Falcone (Darin De Paul), the Joker (Troy Baker), Joe Chill (Armin Shimerman), Ratcatcher (Khary Payton), Killer Croc (Khary Payton), Arnold Wesker (Dwight Schultz), Ferris Boyle (Stephen Tobolowsky), Bronze Tiger (Zeno Robinson), Black Mask (Brian Bloom), Deadshot (Chris Cox), Firefly (Crispin Freeman), Bane (Fred Tatasciore), and Deathstroke (Mark Rolston).
A number of supporting characters, including Boone Carver / Shrike (Rick Gomez), Vicki Vale (Ali Hillis), Andrea Beaumont (Amber Hood), Thomas Wayne (Andrew Morgado), Martha Wayne (Salli Saffioti), Selina Kyle (Chantelle Barry), Vic Sage (David Dastmalchian), Penguin (Nolan North), Sal Maroni (Troy Baker), Jack Ryder (James Horan), Anarky (Matthew Mercer), and Gray Ghost (Roger Craig Smith), also appear in the game.[4]
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. 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. Upon being released by a grateful Falcone, Malone witnesses the quarrels between Quinzel and Crane and begins to look into Crane. Upon rescuing Quinzel from TYGER, who is fired from the prison by Crane and states that Crane is the Rat King, Batman 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, only to see the gunman be taken down and killed by an evil version of Batman. He experiences flashbacks of staying with Dent after his parents died, where he witnessed the abuse Dent endured at the hands of his father, only for Dent's father to also be killed by the evil Batman. He confronts the rogue hallucination Batman as his "Shadow", which he overcomes. Batman then eliminates Crane as a possible suspect.
Upon returning to his cell as Malone, Malone is violently dragged to an interrogation room where Gordon and Dent are waiting. They reveal to Malone that Yamashrio is missing, and that his real name was Chris Nakano, an undercover police officer. Gordon and Dent state that Nakano's body is missing and believe Malone killed him as Malone protests his innocence. At the pre trial hearing the following day, Crane attempts to drug Malone with fear toxin, disguised as a sedative but Malone resists and shoves the container away, causing it to break and the drug, which is highly acidic when it is not exposed to air, to splash onto the left side of Harvey's face, severely disfiguring him. Believing that Malone intentionally attacked him, an enraged Harvey furiously swears revenge on Malone as he is dragged out of the courtroom to the hospital.
Taken back to Blackgate, Malone is placed in a gas chamber by Bolton, who has decided to kill him using the attack on Harvey as a pretext. He escapes with the help of the Rats, who believe Malone to be the Rat King, since it was stated that the Rat King would be an inmate in disguise. With the Malone identity permanently compromised, Batman returns to the Batcave and burns the Malone disguise, then discovers abandoned World War II era docks underneath the Batcave, which Batman destroys in order to reach the docks. Arriving at the docks, Batman discovers the Day of Wrath to be an attack on the GCPD, in which a ship filled with prisoners, including Nakano, revealed to be alive after all 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.
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 (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).[8] Arkham Asylum also served as an important inspiration for the team, influencing Shadows structure, combat and overall scope.[9]
Arkham Shadow was officially announced in May 2024.[10] 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.[11] [12]
Batman: Arkham Shadow received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.
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."
The game was nominated for "Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2024.[13]