I’M BATMAN! No, seriously…I am…
Here we go…our first PlayStation VR review. I’ve been spending the past few days just trying to get my head around just how amazing VR really is, but nothing prepared me for how intense it would be to be the Dark Knight…
Batman: Arkham VR lets you don the caped crusader’s cowl as he tries to find where Robin and Nightwing have gone to. The strangest thing is looking in a mirror to see Batman looking back at you, not only that but you can twist and turn your head and Batman will do the same. You also get to use some of Batman’s gadgets such as the Batarang, Batclaw and even a scanner that will work during your crime scene investigations.
You can play with either the Move or DualShock controllers. I found the Move to be the best way to experience the game as you have to look down and manually pick out the gadgets attached to your belt instead of simply tapping a button to get them…also pointing and aiming or throwing your gadgets is more satisfying with the Move controllers. During the course of the game, you’ll explore a few areas of Gotham and bump into familiar characters from Batman’s Rogues Gallery.
The story itself is pretty short, but holy cow is it memorable. There are actually a number of jump scares that I wasn’t expecting and the whole experience did feel quite real, especially towards the end…which I obviously won’t spoil…but suffice to say, it’s truly amazing and makes me sad that this is the final farewell from Rocksteady when it comes to Batman. I wonder if they’ll tackle another superhero next…perhaps the Man of Steel?
There is a reason to carry on after playing the game once, such as Riddler’s challenges and so on…but overall, the game itself isn’t that long. I would have loved for it to be longer, but it doesn’t stop the experience from being one of the VR games that I will remember the most. It’s also incredibly realistic visually, making me have a diminished sense of reality afterwards….
VR is crazy…I even felt a sinking feeling going down a lift in-game when obviously I’m just standing in a room. It does like to play tricks with your head and make you believe you are in these crazy places…while the jump scares were unexpected and really surprising, but brilliant and I can safely say that I won’t be forgetting them for a long, long time.
The Verdict
Batman: Arkham VR feels more of a tech demo than a full game, but it’s one of the most immersive experiences I’ve ever faced. On top of that, you get to be Batman…BATMAN!