Batman: Arkham VR Reviews
Batman: Arkham VR is a jump forward in gaming.
A life-changing experience for every Batman fan
It might be short and a bit simplified, but it's also well made and polished, and one of the best VR experiences. A case of quality over quantity.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Batman: Arkham VR is a short but lively experience and I wanted to keep going and finish it in one sitting. While it’s hour length may put some off, it’s not everyday you get to be Batman, and an hour in Batman’s shoes will convince you that your expensive headset, is worth every penny.
Batman: Arkham VR may seem like a glorified tech demo, but it's actually got a lot going for it and you'll get more than your money's worth after finishing the story and having a mooch around for the collectibles. It's a good looking release, too, and it does a great job at not only thrusting you inside the murky world of Gotham, but actually making you feel like a bad arse Batman. Top job, Rocksteady. More please.
When Arkham VR works, I am Batman breathing in the ambience of Gotham City. When it fails, I am a human being in my basement struggling to convince suspicious technology to behave correctly. This creates a curious dichotomy, one that actively embraces virtual reality's capability to magically transform the world while also bearing the burden of hardware in its infancy. Whether or not Arkham VR can find balance may come down to a set of personal preferences and, to a certain extent, luck.
Even without character movement, Rocksteady shows us that Batman in VR can be an empowering experience. More, please!
It’s a perfect showcase for the potential of VR to deliver powerful experience, even if it is criminally lacking in content. Rocksteady’s previous Arkham games let you understand what it might be like to be the Dark Knight, this really makes you feel like you are Batman.
It's really short and you won't get much replay value, but being Batman even for one a night, and in a more passive role, is still pretty cool.
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.
Batman fans who want to try out their new VR headsets are definitely going to want to pick this one up. Unfortunately, the game lacks a lot of the hands-on mechanics fans have come to love and the game feels criminally short, especially for the price. That said, experiencing Gotham in first-person is jaw-dropping and the game features some fantastic set piece moments fans will enjoy. Do not let children watch this game. It features very dark thematic content.
More of a VR experiment than a game, Batman: Arkham VR is light on gameplay but full of moments that will leave a lasting impression.
Batman: Arkham VR is a stunning experience. One that comes to an end way too quickly and without any kind of replayability.
Review in Italian | Read full review
How much would you pay to be Batman for an hour? If your answer sits somewhere in the region of £15.99/$19.99, then Batman: Arkham VR is a virtual no-brainer. With the exception of the finicky motion tracking and brief running time, this is an exceptional short story that eloquently demonstrates many of the advantages of virtual reality. But perhaps the most impressive thing here is that, in transforming you into the Dark Knight, it illuminates both the pros and cons of being a masked vigilante. And while the former interactions will make you feel downright awesome, it's when the Caped Crusader slowly begins to unravel that it comes into its own.
We’ve seen the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne play out in numerous ways but none of them so visceral as to put you into that world directly. It’s a surreal experience to be Bruce at that moment.
Many of the games releasing for PSVR at launch appear to be more proof of concept experiences than complete games. As I’ve mentioned, interactivity outside of the Batcave is minimal, and I’ve spent way too much time grappling to difficult vantage points than actually fighting crime. It’s like I’m more of a passenger watching the world turn right in front of eyes. More interactions would be an improvement, as well as at least doubling the length of the game. There are Riddler trophies to collect, a staple of the series if you wish to replay certain chapters of the game once completed.
Batman Arkham VR was never a spin-off to the main series that I expected to see making use of Virtual Reality. However, even though its campaign is very short-lived, it presents some very clever ideas that excites me for the future of VR.
This franchise may do well in a full VR game but they do need to add gameplay and repercussions. Also for those that are affected by VR motion sickness, this game (for me anyway) didn’t give me any issues. Rock Steady Studios may have been thinking about this ahead of time and this may be why when presented with travel options like the Batwing or Bat Mobile, the scene goes dark and you are miraculously at your destination. This is a bit disappointing, because who would not want to VR in the driver’s seat of the Batmobile or the Batwing? I mean really? However in the end, the Batman: Arkham VR experience is worth it more for the very hard core fans because it’s such a short romp and others may feel a little robbed.
If Rocksteady is prepping me for what's to come with Batman: Arkham VR, I'm sold already. A massive amount of time was spent on this project, and anyone who calls it a mere tech demo is doing it a disservice.
This is a great game for what it is. I feel like if this wasn’t a Batman related game it wouldn’t of been as good, and that’s a huge flaw. The best parts of it were being able to actually be a hero that you have always wanted to be but if it was just a normal person it would’ve lost my interest. It kind of felt like a “take your child to work day” kind of game.