Review

Batman: Arkham VR opens with you in the role of a young Bruce Wayne, standing there helpless as your parents are gunned down before your eyes. It's a scene that we've witnessed many times before, in movies, TV, comics and games. However, by showing it in first person, with some truly incredible character animation, I'd suggest that it's never been as effective a moment as it is here. As Joe Chill stares directly at you, in full, stunning 3D, it's a truly haunting moment that send shivers down my spine.

It kicks off a slight but absorbing story that delves into the mind of Bruce / Batman and see a return to form of sorts for Rocksteady after the bloated Arkham Knight. Playing through from start to finish took less than two hours but it was thrilling to don the cowl and play with some of the bat-gadgets. I spent five minutes just flinging batarangs around the bat-cave! Even though it's short, the ending screen pointed out there were 30 Riddler challenges that I'd missed, giving me more than enough reason to play it again.

There was a faint whiff of Kinect about some of the gameplay especially the way you pick up items and examine them, which is not what Sony will want to here. However, the motion controls make a lot more sense when you're immersed in a 3D environment. Not once did I feel like I was in my living room flailing around, even though that's exactly what I was doing!

As a demonstration to your friends of what PlayStation VR can bring to gaming, this is the one you'll want to get. Any issue about the game length is answered emphatically by the £16 price point. It's the best PS VR game so far and a fantastic companion piece to the main Arkham trilogy.

About the Review

Platform

Sony Playstation 4

Developer

Rocksteady

Publisher

WB Games

Released

13th October 2016