Summary
Summer Game Fest 2024 unveiled a full trailer forBatman: Arkham Shadowand, like in its announcement teaser, there are tons of Arkhamverse Easter eggs to sift through pertaining to the larger continuity it belongs to. It was already presumed thatRoger Craig Smith would be reprising the role of Batman fromArkham Origins, and hearing his voice-over narration in the trailer confirms it; likewise, Dr. Harleen Quinzel is confirmed to be featured, as well as Scarecrow. The fiery mayhem in Gotham City is palpable in this cinematic story trailer and, if gameplay is half as atmospheric as these cinematics have been,Batman: Arkham Shadowshould be a treat.
Batman: Arkham Shadowhas all the makings of a great installment in the Arkhamverse from its thematic teasers alone, which plunge Gotham City into a nightmarish apocalypse aesthetic with orange hues from the fires that loyalist goons are raging, whether they’re following the Ratcatcher or the Rat King. It’ll be exciting to see how this translates to gameplay on the Meta Quest 3. Scarecrow, Ratcatcher, and the Rat King could all contribute their horrific themes towardShadowbeing the scariestArkhamgame yet, but especially through the intimate lens of VR.
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Horror-Centric Villains Make for a Spooky VR Game
In a recentGame Rant interview withBatman: Arkham Shadow’s Camouflaj, it was revealed that the game offers the origin of Dr. Jonathan Crane’s Scarecrow. This is evidenced by his simple appearance inBatman: Arkham Shadow’s Summer Game Fest 2024 trailer, where Crane is seen standing in front of the courthouse.
Crane wears a gas mask, a suit and bolo tie—which hopefully is intentionally emblematic ofThe New Batman AdventuresScarecrow’s noose necktie—and holds a mild-mannered briefcase that’s likely full of his experimental fear toxin paraphernalia.
Ratcatcher and Rat King should beArkham Shadow’s primary focusso that it doesn’t lean too heavily on an antagonist who’s already had their own lead role. That said, it would be tremendously exciting to play sequences where Batman first experiences ingesting Scarecrow’s fear toxin.
Otherwise, the teaser suggests that players will be tackling hordes of rats in alleyways and that could be deeply disturbing, too, with all of their red, beady eyes swarming the player.Batman: Arkham Shadowisn’t being billed as a horror game but there’s a lot it could do in that space and it has the perfect assortment of villains for that to be a viable subgenre, even if players will be busy predominantly gliding, stringing enemies to vantage points, tossing batarangs, and investigating crime scenes.
VR Can Instill First-Person Horror in Batman: Arkham Shadow
If Camouflaj has drawn any inspiration fromRocksteady’sBatman: Arkham VRit should correlate to how poignant and dread-inducing its emphasis on horror is.Arkham VR’s ending is particularly haunting as it features a Joker-infected Batman snapping Nightwing’s neck, looking down at players’ bloody hands, and looking at his reflection as Joker in the mirror.
Scarecrow’s fear toxin could create terrifying sequences that mirror whatArkham VRachieved, flashing jump scares at the player while they’re completely immersed in virtual- or mixed-reality. The Rat King’s amassed flood of gas-mask-laden henchmen is not dissimilar from the rats Ratcatcher can control and it’ll be interesting to see if andhow successfullyBatman: Arkham Shadowcan wield horror. The wait isn’t much longer to discover what that might look like sinceBatman: Arkham Shadowis slated to have its gameplay reveal at gamescom in August.
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Become Batman in this official new entry into the Arkham franchise.It’s the Fourth of July, and Gotham City is under attack by a new threat: the mysterious Rat King and his cultish devotees. As widespread rioting engulfs the city, Batman races to prevent this so-called “Day of Wrath” before it all goes wrong.Experience the World of Batman Like Never Before:Immerse yourself in all the grit of Gotham City with the power of VR, and take down its most notorious criminals.Hard-Hitting Arkham CombatRealized exclusively for VR—choose from fan favorite gadgets and bold fighting styles reimagined from the beloved Arkham franchise.Friends, Foes and Other Familiar Faces:Meet Dr.’s Quinzel and Crane before they became Harley Quinn and Scarecrow, as well as other iconic characters including Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon, and Ratcatcher.
