Not the Hero We Deserved
Editor’s Note: This review was originally published on October 13th, 2016 for the PlayStation VR (PSVR) version of the game, but has been updated for its release today on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Additional details can be found at the end of this review.
The caped crusader has a long and storied history with video games. To this day, one of my favorites arrived on the original NES and it was simply called: Batman. It featured gameplay similar to that of Ninja Gaiden, but it plays like an excellent rendition of the World’s Greatest Detective and his more ninja-like tendencies. There have been lots of bad games too, and most recently, lots of even greater ones.
Rocksteady have delivered the excellent Arkham series of Batman games, creating a wonderful balance of stealth, action, investigation, and cinematic storytelling. It doesn’t get much better than that. As a result, you’d understand how excited the world was when it was revealed at E3 2016 that Rocksteady would be crafting a VR-exclusive Batman adventure coming directly to Sony’s PlayStation VR called Batman: Arkham VR. Some might even argue that it seemed too good to be true. Unfortunately, it seems like this is neither the Batman game that the VR community deserves, nor the one that it needs right now. That adventure is now also available on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive starting today.
In Batman VR, you put on the cowl and become The Batman himself. The entire game is played from the first-person perspective and is undoubtedly, as a result, one of the most immersive Batman games ever made. Visually, it’s splendid, the music and voice work is fantastic, and the atmosphere alone is worth the price of admission for hardcore Bat-fans.
There is certainly enough fan service in the game’s opening moments to warrant a giddy squeal of delight.
While playing, I got to peruse the entry hall of the Wayne Manor. I spun a world globe, played the piano, and listened to a music box. Family portraits and regal decorations adorned the billionaire family’s home and it truly made me feel like I was living out the life of Bruce Wayne — or at least peering into his life through my VR headset.
Once the descent down into the Batcave began, that’s when the game was as its strongest. Reaching out and putting on the gloves, placing the cowl on my face, seeing myself in the mirror, and testing out my gadgets in Batman VR made me feel more like the titular character than anything else I’ve played to date. Unfortunately, the opening 10-15 minutes are the best part.
After this montage of a power fantasy, the actual game begins with me ushered from short scene to short scene. I run into the likes of Penguin, his henchmen, Nightwing, Robin, and several other classic characters.
I don’t want to spoil any of the details, since the actual narrative itself is worth experiencing if you’re a fan, but it moves too quickly to really carry any weight.
From start to finish, Rocksteady are banking on you entering each moment with a high-degree of understanding for the events and characters. The entire experience plays out more like a highlight reel of a single episode of a Batman TV show than it does a completed game in and of itself.
When I first went hands-on with Batman VR at E3 2016, all of the warning signs were there. This was always marketed as a brief VR experience, but I didn’t quite think that strictly meant only a single hour of content. Once you’ve completed the core storyline, you can replay missions to find Riddler secrets, but that’s essentially all there is to do in the entire game.
I could stand on a launch pad in the Batcave and choose my vehicle, but then the loading screen plays the sounds of me driving without actually putting me in the driver’s seat.
I can ignite a fire extinguisher to cloud a rooftop and make the jump on an enemy, but the sounds of fighting and scuffling are all I hear as the screen dims again and fast forwards to after the action. I can investigate the remains of a crime scene, but are forced to point and highlight specific “clues” without any real challenge or deductive reasoning required.
To be frank, plastering the Arkham label on Batman VR feels like a bit of a disservice to the legacy that franchise has built and a major missed opportunity. Its a beautiful, immersive, and downright believable simulation of what it feels like to wear the suit and don the cowl, but it forgets to let us feel the rush of excitement that comes along with actually doing something as Batman.
Playing the game on the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift with Touch yields a more visually impressive experience and the inclusion of 360-degree tracking enhances the sense of presence, but at the end of the day the game was designed for 180-degree setups and the additional movement doesn’t make a big difference.
Ultimately, it just never asks you to move around or take advantage of the space in the first place.
Update: This review was slightly modified to account for its release on Rift and Vive. The previous paragraph about Rift and Vive support was added, references to specific headsets have mostly been adjusted, and additional purchasing information has been added to the end. The score and content of the review remain the same since the game itself is the same.
Batman: Arkham VR isn’t a terrible VR experience — it even manages to deliver a satisfying twist ending to the short narrative — but it’s a far cry from the type of game fans want or expect. What was shipped here is little more than a tech demo, or a museum of objects and features that are never fully realized. Just as each scene from the game starts to feel like its picking up some steam, it’s over and you’re onto the next vignette of content. Die hard Batman fans will find enough fan service to warrant a purchase, but if you’re looking for an actual game featuring the Dark Knight in VR, then you’re better off waiting a while longer.
Batman: Arkham VR was made available on October 13th, 2016 for PlayStation VR at the price of $19.99 with HTC Vive and Rift versions on Steam, as well as Rift on Oculus Home, also available for $19.99 as of April 25th. Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score.
5/10
10
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VR Games
David Jagneaux
David covered VR games and news for UploadVR from 2016 to 2021.
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Batman: Arkham VR Review — IGN
Did I feel like Batman when I put on the mask and played Batman: Arkham VR? Well, partly.
Thanks to using the PlayStation Move controllers to interact with the environment I felt more like a detective searching for clues, but having my hands pass through other characters without them noticing left the physical side of being the Dark Knight conspicuously absent.I will keep this short, because this game is first and foremost a story and I wouldn’t want to ruin its surprises – you only get one shot at experiencing it and being awed by the way it lets you experience developer Rocksteady’s Arkham universe firsthand. Getting to stand face to face with characters that seem so small on a screen is a big jump – it’s a VR cliche now, but you won’t believe the difference it makes until you’re looking Oswald Cobblepot in the eye.LoadingLikewise, even though the detective work in this roughly 90-minute story is mechanically exactly the same as what we’ve seen in Arkham City and Arkham Knight, it feels more intimate in VR. Especially when I was using the move controller to examine bodies in the morgue, running the device in my hand over them to scan for clues, it felt great – like I was getting my hands dirty.
It felt great – like I was getting my hands dirty.
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At the same time, all of the gameplay is very simple stuff, and much of the way you move around and interact with the world doesn’t feel like a great fit for a character like Batman. What I love most about the actual Arkham games is the way Batman moves as I control him in combat and stealth. That makes me feel like a master ninja. But here, Batman teleports from place to place (which is more or less standard in VR games) but when he does move he’s is just as much of a klutz as I am. And even though my hands are Batman’s hands, I didn’t get to punch anybody. The only hand-to-hand combat happens without your participation, so that’s a disappointing lack of interactivity.Using the three gadgets is fun for a couple of minutes. You get to grab the Batarangs, scanner, and grapnel gun off your utility belt and aim them and shoot or throw, just like Batman would. That’s cool until you realize they’ll only interact with very specific things in very specific ways, and the Batarangs have some crazy auto-aim that makes it all but impossible to miss as long as you’re throwing it in the general direction of your target.
Also, Alfred’s face is impervious to being shot repeatedly by a grapnel gun. The appeal of the gadgets runs out quickly.
More PlayStation VR Launch Coverage
See more PlayStation VR launch game reviews here.
The story (which again, I will describe in only the vaguest of terms) of Arkham VR is a fun murder-mystery spinoff to experience from a real first-person perspective, even if it’s a little predictable. Be aware that the events that occur make it completely incompatible with Rocksteady’s established Arkham lore, so don’t go in expecting to fill in any missing pieces or to learn what really happened to Batman at the end. This is its own thing.
Arkham VR is mostly a one-and-done deal.
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Exploring the Batcave reveals a few more things to do, such as a Batarang target range, Riddler puzzles in which you reassemble fragmented statues, and browsing character profiles with holograms that appear in front of you as though they were really there.
The Batcave has a few scattered references you can spot from its handful of vantage points, too. But beyond that, Arkham VR is a one-and-done deal. When I’d finished the story once, some of the most fun I had when going through a second time was fooling around in front of a mirror and making Batman look like a dancing moron.
Being Batman in Akrham VR is a great way to more intimately experience Rocksteady’s universe and to search for clues in this brief mystery. However, the world and characters around you are largely rigid and unresponsive to your actions, which leaves a lot on the table for a game about a character known as much for his brawn as he is for his brains.
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3DNews Software News Adventure Batman: Arkham VR Coming to PC for HTC V… The most interesting in the reviews
04/03/2017 [20:21], Julia Pozdnyakova Warner Bros.
«Bringing Batman into VR is a very important experience, ,» said Rocksteady Studios UK creative director Sefton Hill. — Working on games about the Dark Knight has always been great, because this character is distinguished by incredible psychological depth. Thanks to virtual reality technologies that enhance the immersion in what is happening on the screen, we were able to reveal this hero like never before. We’re thrilled that PC players can finally wear the cape of the world’s greatest detective using the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
At E3 2016, during which Batman: Arkham VR was announced, the game did not make a big impression on journalists. However, the final version was received quite warmly: the average score on the review aggregator Metacritic, based on 60 articles, was 75 out of 100 possible. Estimates of foreign critics ranged from 5 to 10 out of 10 possible points.
According to the journalist of Gaming Age, who gave the game the maximum score, the story scenes turned out to be «top-notch» , and the game mechanics are perfect for VR and motion controllers. The only significant complaint from Digital Spy, who gave the game a 9, was the lack of content — otherwise, in his opinion, this is «an amazing episode of the life of Batman, with unexpected twists that keep you on your toes, and competent use of touch controllers and detective mode» . Most reviewers, however, found much more flaws in the game. According to an IGN employee, the characters in Batman: Arkham VR «wooden» , world «unresponsive» , and playing the game a second time is not at all interesting. GameSpot’s review called ‘s story «too predictable» and the gameplay of «very limited» . As the journalist of the portal noted, with great attention to detail and the ability of the game to immerse yourself in your world, Batman: Arkham VR offers undeveloped game mechanics and too shallow gameplay. Destructoid also lamented that the game is too dark and, among other things, worthy of being called a proof of concept at best, but not a full-fledged game. Metro Game Central called the game nothing more than a technological demonstration, albeit with the most impressive graphics for PlayStation VR. Source:
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Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment have officially announced the PC adventure game Batman: Arkham VR, which was released for PlayStation VR on October 11, 2016. The game will be released on PC on April 25, 2017 for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift virtual reality devices with support for DualShock 4, Xbox One and Steam Controller controllers. The announcement was accompanied by a new trailer, which can be seen below, as well as three screenshots. 
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what Resident Evil 4 VR looks like and what critics write about it — Games on DTF
Good port worth buying Oculus Quest 2 for.
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Armature Studio (Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, ReCore) releases Resident Evil 4 VR on Oculus Quest 2 on October 21st.
Some journalists and bloggers shared their impressions of the game a day before the release: in their opinion, the port was a success. At the time of publication of the material, the rating of Resident Evil 4 VR on the aggregator OpenCritic is 85 points.
First of all, the reviewers noted that the VR version is a full-fledged port of the main campaign. According to them, the authors skillfully adapted the game for virtual reality helmets and did not cut out any of the main mechanics. Moreover, they have added a lot of settings to make it more convenient for players to play in first person.
Journalists advise to play the horror game in full movement mode, in which the player can move in any direction, shoot on the move and reload manually. In this case, the items are located on the character model, and the player needs to reach for the desired object, rather than switching them using the inventory.
For example, grenades and a knife are located in the chest area, a shotgun is located behind the right shoulder, and a pistol is located above the hip. Health and ammo data can now be viewed on the watch by simply glancing down.
Weapons can be combined in VR Source: IGN trailer
Source: IGN video
If you wish, you can opt out of all this by turning on, for example, movement using the «teleport» and hanging the choice of items on the buttons of the Oculus Quest 2 controller.
Critics say that detailed settings will allow you to enjoy Resident Evil 4 as experienced players who know the game by heart, as well as newbies.
As a seasoned VR user and veteran of the series, it felt like I’d spent my entire life preparing for this game. Thanks to VR, the next playthrough of Resident Evil 4 feels new, even though we have to do the usual activities.
Chris Carter, Destructoid
Blogger GameXplain notes that the potential of the new version of the game is fully revealed in the first control mode. It’s not just about the atmosphere: you have to constantly come up with new strategies against opponents and quickly respond to what is happening. He separately noted that he began to actively use windows, since it is now convenient to shoot enemies from them.
If desired, the red sight can also be turned off Source: video GameXplain
The matter is not limited to one management.
Armature Studio adapted all the puzzles in the game and inventory for VR: the player now presses all sorts of panels and examines objects. In their opinion, it works great for immersion and does not slow down the pace.
This is what the new inventory looks like. Source: IGN video
One of the mysteries of the game Source: GameXplain 9 video0007
But journalists note that the authors managed to successfully transfer far from everything into virtual reality. For example, Leon’s cutscenes and melee moves still work in third person. At such moments, the scene is rendered on a separate screen.
Critics were disappointed by the decision of the developers: according to them, this switch knocks out of immersion. However, in the episodes when Leon calls the contact, the action takes place in the first person.
Boss fight Source: GameXplain 9 trailer0007
Source: IGN video
Another major issue is missing content.
In addition to the main campaign, Resident Evil 4 VR has a shooting range, but the Mercenaries mode and additional scenarios have disappeared somewhere.
In addition, the writers cut some dialogue and animations that they felt were inappropriate for a modern audience. For example, in the new version, Leon does not flirt with Ingrid’s assistant, and Luis Sera does not make a crude joke about Ashley’s appearance.
Most of the objects in the game can be touched, but there are no new items in the levels. Source: IGN trailer
Other minor problems have been noted by critics. For example, in full motion control mode, the game may seem too simple, since ordinary opponents and bosses are not adapted to the player’s fast movements.
Almost all reviewers also noted the outdated graphics. Of course, the authors of the port improved the textures and increased the resolution, but it is still noticeable that the game was released 16 years ago.
Source: IGN video
However, minor flaws do not spoil the impression of Resident Evil 4 VR.
