Batman Arkham Shadow review – a masterclass in immersion that makes you feel like a part of Gotham

There’s a moment a couple of hours into Batman Arkham Shadow when the prologue ends abruptly and the main game kicks off. It’s here where the experience turns from what seems like a traditional, straight forward and fairly linear Batman game in the style of Rocksteady’s Arkham series into something else entirely. It took me a little while to put my finger on it, but as I wandered freely around the interior of Blackgate penitentiary, listening to prisoners’ conversations as I tried to find some contraband to bribe a guard with, it clicked. This is a Batman Arkham game in every possible way, but it oozes some absolutely delicious Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay vibes, too.

Batman Arkham Shadow reviewDeveloper: CamouflajPublisher: Oculus StudiosPlatform: Played on Meta Quest 3Availability: Out now on Meta Quest 3/3S

Original Xbox heads will know that (whisper it) Escape from Butcher Bay was one of the best games on the system. With its light immersive-sim elements, muscular combat, exploration and character interaction, it made you feel immersed in Riddick’s world as he attempted to, you guessed it, escape from Butcher Bay prison. Batman doesn’t really have that problem, of course. He’s Batman, so he’s got a bunch of gadgets to help him out when it comes to a spot of escapology. But without risking too much of a story spoiler, you’ll spend the main bulk of Batman Arkham Shadow exploring the inner workings of Blackgate in the daytime as a prisoner of sorts, while at night you’ll revisit the prison as Batman in order to reach all those secretive places that are out of bounds for Blackgate’s genpop.

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It’s an engaging narrative conceit from developer Camouflaj, who seems to have learned a lot from its fun but flawed Iron Man VR game. While Iron Man VR had separate levels with repetitive mission structures, here you feel like an integral part of the world because there’s no interruption to the flow of the story. You don’t load in and out of scenarios, or back out to a hub between missions; you’re constantly out and about, exploring these wonderful, chunky, brooding and faintly Metroidvania-style sections of Blackgate. Occasionally you’ll also hop along to a hastily constructed temporary Batcave built in some hidden ruins beneath the prison – where you can suit up and discuss your plans with Alfred – but most of the time you’ll be heading back to your cell at the end of a hard day’s detecting (and punching, obvs) and have a nice sleep to kickstart a new cycle.