Batman: Arkham Shadow

Batman: Arkham Shadow
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)	Meta Quest 3 Meta Quest 3S
Release	October 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^{[citation needed]} virtual reality game in the Batman: Arkham series and a narrative sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013). Set six months after the two games' events, 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 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 gain new gadgets and tools, enabling them to reach previously inaccessible areas.^[3]

Set six months after the events of Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (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 (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 (Smith) also appear in the game.^[4]

On Independence Day, a movement led by the Rat King seeks 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 pursued by Batman. Batman identifies the shooter as Shrike and learns that he is planning to display Rat King propaganda at the Monarch Theatre. Shrike attempts to kill Dent, but is defeated and commits suicide. After stopping Shrike, Batman assumes the identity of Matches Malone to infiltrate 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 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. Malone also attends therapy sessions with Jonathan Crane and Harleen Quinzel, during which Quinzel becomes suspicious of Crane.

Malone deduces that Falcone might have information on the Rat King and unsuccessfully attempts to track him. The next day, Bolton beats Falcone in front of the prisoners and challenges one of them to stand up for Falcone. Malone defeats Bolton, but is placed in solitary confinement next to the Joker, who recognizes him as Batman. Upon being released by Falcone, Malone witnesses the quarrels between Quinzel and Crane and investigates the latter. Upon rescuing Quinzel from TYGER, Batman discovers that Crane has been experimenting on his patients using hallucinogens.

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 Yamashiro 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 hearing the following day, Crane attempts to drug Malone with fear toxin, but he knocks it away, causing it to splash onto and disfigure Dent's face. Believing that Malone intentionally attacked him, Dent swears revenge as he is hospitalized.

Taken back to Blackgate, Malone is placed in a gas chamber by Bolton, who has decided to kill him using the attack on Dent as a pretext. He escapes with the help of the Rats, who believe Malone to be the Rat King. Batman discovers that the Day of Wrath is an attack on the GCPD and that the Rat King is an alternate personality of Dent. 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 Chill leaves after apologizing, 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 Leslie Thompkins treats Dent 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 Arkham series. 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]

Ryan Payton, Camouflaj's founder and studio head, was questioned on a sequel to Batman: Arkham Shadow in an interview. His response was “We hope we make it a really easy decision for leadership over at Meta and at Warner Brothers to tap us on the shoulders to do a sequel... [And] we would very much love to do that.” While it is not confirmed, it is likely.

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]

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 won "Best VR/AR Game" at The Game Awards 2024.^[17]

• Official website