Batman: Arkham Shadow is a game that may have passed under your radar. Released this week for Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S (see our pick of the best VR headsets), it's the second virtual reality game in the Batman: Arkham series and a sequel to Batman: Arkham Origins.
Developed by Camouflaj and published by Oculus Studios, it's an action-adventure game in which the player, as Batman, must stop a villain called the Rat King from unleashing chaos. The rhythmic, free-flow combat follows the approach of the previous game, but the new sequel is gaining attention for a very particular aspect: Batman's hands.
Players are impressed by the smoothness of the physics of Batman's hands in the VR game. As captured in the POV footage above shared on Reddit, the animation captures movements that look dynamic and unscripted akin to camera footage, although the fingers are perhaps a little overly bendy? It's created some debate about whether the game sets a new standard surpassing Lone Echo/Echo VR orDungeons of Eternity.
But the remarkable realism of the animation appears to be distracting some players from the game itself. "I'm just imagining a random henchman walking around the corner and catching batman fondling the wall and immediately noping out," one person responded on Reddit. POV of Batman sensually touching a wall was definitely not on my bingo card today," someone else wrote. You can see the game's trailer below.
Batman: Arkham Shadow | Become The Knight | Meta Quest 3/3S - YouTube
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
