At the Summer Game Fest 2024, there were numerous exciting trailers. Some were confusing, many full of anime – and one came with a major disappointment. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was really looking forward to the new Batman game until the platform was announced. Even the audience on-site was noticeably frustrated.
Batman is my absolute favorite hero. Yes, I know: dark, shadowy, edgy… I’ve heard it all before, but someone who plays in the top league without superpowers simply deserves my respect. Also, Gotham is such a wonderfully gloomy city.
I was accordingly excited when Batman: Arkham Shadow was announced out of the blue at the Summer Game Fest 2024. A new and, above all, good Batman game is desperately needed:
- The last installment that was released for PC and consoles was Arkham Knight from 2015, which I found very weak. Too much focus on the Batmobile, too little on the Bat-gadgets.
- After that, we had Batman: Arkham Underworld (2016) for iOS and Android as well as Batman: Arkham VR (2016) for PSVR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift.
- In 2024, the latest Batman game without Batman was released, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Suicide Squad flopped hard and has nothing to do with a Batman game from the Arkham series.
The last really good Batman game for me was Arkham: Origins, and that’s already from 2013. I have been waiting for over 10 years for a good game featuring my favorite hero. And the latest game is already another disappointment.
A great trailer with a bitter ending
The trailer for Arkham Shadow looks really fantastic. It has everything I need from a Batman game:
- Cinematic scenes and a great look that highlights the dark Gotham
- a new and completely insane antagonist, the Rat King
- the typical “Gotham is lost and everything is in turmoil” atmosphere
- Appearances by familiar personalities that I would love to meet, like Jim Gordon and Harley Quinn
And of course, the trailer – unlike Suicide Squad – at least features Batman. He glares menacingly into the camera and has (once again) a conflict about how much he can sacrifice to save his city. A familiar narrative, but exactly what I want from a Batman game.
Even the entire audience in LA felt similarly. Editor-in-chief Leya Jankwoski was there and reported live. She said: “The hall goes wild for Batman. People are screaming WOOOOOH!”
At least until the end was shown.
A loud “Awwwww” went through the room
Yes, you see the logo right in the first frame, but at the end of the trailer, it is shown that Batman: Arkham Shadow will only be released on Meta Quest 3. A game solely for VR on a platform that most gamers simply do not own. What a disappointment.
The known journalist Jason Schreier was also on-site. He captured the reaction to the announcement (via X.com):
The crowd here at the live show from the Summer Game Fest let out a loud “Awwwww” when it was announced that the new Arkham game is for the Meta Quest. In case you are wondering how VR is currently doing.
I have nothing against VR. Many of the games look really good, and the announcement of Asgard’s Wrath 2 genuinely excited me, even though I don’t have a VR headset. These are the kinds of games I play at my brother’s or friends’ places when I visit.
But the Batman series really deserves a game “like the old days” after so many years of disappointments. I don’t care if it’s single-player or co-op, but I want the feel of Arkham Asylum and co. back. And please on more platforms than just on a headset. I guess I’ll just have to be satisfied with the new series for now: A new series in the Batman universe shows us Gotham from the perspective of a gangster boss
