Written by Ian Ball and Martin Lancaster, Arkham VR is based on the franchise's long-running comic book mythos. The game's storyline takes place between 2011's Batman: Arkham City and 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight, and follows Batman as he investigates the disappearance of his allies Nightwing and Robin. The game is presented from a first-person perspective, with a primary focus on using Batman's skills and gadgets to explore the immediate environment and solve puzzles.
Arkham VR received generally mixed reviews from critics, mainly for its short length and simplistic gameplay. It was nominated for multiple year-end accolades, winning several.
Gameplay
Batman: Arkham VR is an adventure game played from a first-person perspective using PlayStation VR, HTC Vive,[1] or Oculus Rift[1]virtual reality headsets and associated controllers to see through the eyes of the playable character, Batman.[2] The player can look around the environment freely[3] and interact with reachable items, and access three gadgets from Batman's utility belt: the throwable batarang, the grapnel gun — a grappling hook,[4] and the forensic scanner, which can be used to examine evidence and recreate crime scenes.[5][2] The player is able to teleport to preset locations around the current environment (with movement sometimes represented by use of the grapnel gun) but the character cannot walk freely.[2]
Unlike previous Arkham games, Arkham VR features no combat and instead focuses on solving puzzles to find clues that will advance the mystery.[4]Arkham VR features optional tasks, including 30 challenges from the supervillain Riddler who adds various puzzles and concealed items to locate after the game has been completed,[3][4] target practice with the batarang, and viewing profiles and models for the series' various characters on the Batcomputer.[5]
Bruce Wayne is woken by an alarm clock from a nightmare about the night of his parents' murder. He is informed by his butler Alfred that there is an urgent situation that requires his attention. Activating a secret entrance to the Batcave beneath his manor, Wayne puts on his Batsuit and gadgets to become Batman. In the Batcave, Alfred informs Batman both Robin and Nightwing have disappeared, and he has been unable to contact them. Batman activates Nightwing's tracker, which reveals he is in Central Gotham. Heading out in the Batmobile, Batman arrives to find Grayson beaten to death in an alleyway. His investigation reveals an unknown assailant brutally attacked Grayson, breaking his jaw, arm, and ribs before finishing Nightwing off by snapping his neck. The investigation also reveals one of Penguin's henchmen had witnessed the murder and fled the scene, with the assailant chasing after him.
Batman travels in the Batwing to confront the Penguin in his Iceberg Lounge club. Penguin reveals the henchman was killed in an explosion which destroyed half of his Iceberg Lounge before he could reveal the identity of who killed Nightwing; this is implied to be the work of the same assailant. Batman infiltrates the Gotham morgue to examine the victims and is able to piece together shrapnel from the explosive. Batman learns the charge belonged to a demolitions company working on a sewer project beneath Founders Island. By focusing his search in this area, Batman is able to make radio contact with Robin. Tim warns he is being held captive to lure Batman into a trap.
As Batman moves through the sewers, he hears intercom announcements from the deceased Joker. Batman finds Robin in a cage, but while attempting to free him, he is also captured. Robin notes Joker-styled graffiti on the cage and assumes their captor is emulating the Joker. The Joker's voice rebukes Tim, letting him know he is dealing with the real Joker. Batman and Robin are prevented from escaping by Killer Croc and use the electrified cages to temporarily stave off his attacks. Robin escapes, but is violently crushed by Croc after getting out of his cage.
Batman's cage suddenly transforms into an elevator descending into the depths of Arkham Asylum. Batman interacts with a few prison cells before the last reveals a captive Joker. Batman is soon locked alone in a cell himself, which begins to change, displaying scrawled and bloody accusations of "killer" and "HA" on the walls. It is finally revealed Batman himself murdered Nightwing, blew up the witness, and lured Robin into the sewers. Joker had temporarily seized control of Batman's mind and body through a transfusion of his infected blood. Left utterly horrified at this discovery, Batman looks into his cell's mirror to see Joker as his reflection. The Clown Prince of Crime announces that the "dynamic duo" are together at last before laughing maniacally, followed by the lights going out.
Throughout the game, there are several clues pointing towards the fact that the events depicted are merely a nightmare, likely caused by the Joker's infected blood in Batman's system. The sound of an alarm clock can be heard on multiple occasions, as are different versions of the lullaby "Rock-a-bye Baby". A radio station broadcasts a coded message that when decoded, reads "WAKE UP BRUCE". Additionally, The Penguin, after being captured by Batman for interrogation, screams "WAKE UP YOU IDIOT" at his unconscious thugs, rather than the grammatically correct "WAKE UP YOU IDIOTS", as this is Bruce's subconscious talking to himself. This is further confirmed by the game taking place before the events of Batman: Arkham Knight where both Nightwing and Robin are alive and Batman is dealing with the effects of the Joker's infected blood, which include severe and constant hallucinations like those seen in this game.
Development
In June 2016 at E3 2016, it was announced that Rocksteady was developing Batman: Arkham VR for the PlayStation VR, which was released in October 2016. The game has players "utilize [Batman's] legendary gadgets to unravel a plot that threatens the lives of his closest allies."[10] Following a five-month period of exclusivity for the PlayStation 4,[3] the game was released for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on April 25, 2017.[1] Rocksteady teased the plot for Arkham VR in the Arkham Knight downloadable content "Crime Fighter Challenge Pack #6", which allowed players to explore the Wayne Manor and interact with a piano to reveal a hidden wall containing references to a murder, shrapnel, and the Penguin.[11] The game was built using Unreal Engine 4.[12]
Batman: Arkham VR received "mixed or average" reviews from critics for the PlayStation 4 version of the game, according to review aggregatorMetacritic.[13]
Zero Punctuation's Ben Croshaw called the PSVR version "incredible garbage" and "a half hour CD-ROM virtual tour from mid to late 90s",[21] later nominating it as one of the worst games of 2016.[22] The Official UK PlayStation Magazine listed it as the seventh best PSVR game.[23]
The Game Critics Awards awarded the game as Best VR Game.[24] The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers awarded the game in the category Direction in Virtual Reality.[25] At IGN's Best of E3 2016 Awards the game won in the categories Best Puzzle Game and Best VR Experience.[26] At the Italian Video Game Awards the game won in the category Most Innovative Game.[27] At the Develop Awards the game won in the categories Best Sound Design and Best Visual Design.[28] At the IGN Awards 2016 the game won as Best VR Game and as People's Choice Best VR game.[29] At the PlayStation Blog Game of the Year 2016, the game won as Best PlayStation VR Game.[30] At the BAFTA Games Award the game as nominated in the categories Best British Game and Game Innovation.[31][32]
In Europe, it was the biggest selling PSVR game of 2017.[33][34]
