Rate top games📜𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐑
The example of BAS clearly shows the development of the industry. It all began with "Batman: Arkham VR" for the first wired headsets in 2016, a simple 30-minute tecno demo without any gameplay depth, the game was more like a point-and-click quest, and used the name of a popular series only to attract an audience. However, the graphics were on par with games of the time, making you truly feel like a dark knight standing atop a skyscraper.
Meanwhile, Batman: Arkham Shadow has landed in the hands of 𝐎𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬 and 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 devs, who have perfectly adapted Iron Man's flights to the gaming reality.
And now, after 9 YEARS! of VR development, we're getting a full-fledged game in the franchise (a prequel), which successfully transfers that very formula to the rails of "physical control" of the character. Now we have dynamic hand tracking and one-button launch directly from the headset, because these are just Android devices.. Accordingly, we're also getting PS2-level graphics with a slight comics stylization (with the resolution is even lower than the headset's native res). Personally, I wasn't able to experience the oppressive atmosphere of Gotham City and don`t feel like Batman looking at his plastic suit, the levels are also divided into small sections with rather long loading doors, but ok these are minor details..
My point is that new technologies have brought us comfort and "unashamed" gameplay in VR games, but, alas, we are losing a lot in immersion.
At the same time, I understand all the praise for the game, and I'm glad that the rumors are slowly spreading that there is a new VR-banger ,not only HL: Alyx, especially since it's a very fortunate coincidence that they decided to give away the game for free simply by purchasing a headset in 2025, I don't think Oculus expected the game to be such a success.
Ok If you haven't heard of or tried the game yet, it's a linear adventure with free movement, using a grappling hook and a cloak (open your arms) for vertical movement.
cloak (open your arms) for vertical movement. With standard first-person cutscenes, third-person death screens, atmospheric top-down cutscenes with 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 of characters already well-worn in popular culture, yet shown from a rather original perspective, the ending even claims to be dramatic and tragic.
With short detective sections, but very casual, they are solved by turning on special vision and trial and error.
With 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: when approaching an enemy from behind, mimic a lynx leap, then twist their neck left/right, and the arenas are always dotted with bird statues you can "hang" from, pull an enemy toward you, and hang them. It's also quite immersive, but it immediately triggers enemies to examine the map more closely, fortunately, they don't raise their heads much. If you're spotted, you can always throw a smoke bomb or duck into a ventilation shaft. After all, facing at least two enemies with firearms, your batarang has no chance, and your armor will crumble in a couple of seconds.
The game's main advantage, albeit debatable, is its full-fledged 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 in the spirit of the series and the principle of "easy to learn, hard to master." Essentially, like in other VR fighting games, it remains similar to the turn-based execution of QTE: you can block and parry, throw a batarang, or punch enemies (with slow-mo assistance, of course). Several hits in a row require hitting the enemy in specific spots, but the game forgives all deviations of your hand, it`s more about the effect, finishing with a broken knee or grabbing by the scruff is probably the most brutal, But the developers also left free movement around the arena, you can dodge dash,and added a large number of moves that slightly dilute the usual fistfight, for example, jumping over the opponent's shoulder, thereby appearing behind him and counterattacking by extending your hand forward, which will also knock the weapon out of his hands, different opponents have protection from certain attacks so that you can't spam the same button (spoiler: you still can), but the most successful solution of the mechanics, which forces you to not stand still - there are always a lot of enemies, and, even if you are in a combat stance opposite the target, you can and will be attacked by others from the left and right, and you will have to "lock" on other enemies, sharply extending your left or right hand exactly 90° to the side, while there are no problems with the camera, no motion sickness, all the player's angles change very smoothly and at the same time dynamically, and over time the fight progresses due to gadgets, armored opponents, bosses who have a little more QTE moments, after each skirmish you are given a rating and a certain amount of experience, which motivates you to combine mechanics to unlock.. not exactly new moves, more like a stronger Batarang or finishing moves.
The most sad thing is that the combat becomes unbearably repetitive after just an hour.. While it's still fun and epic, you're stuck in 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧: first you target the strong enemies, then the normal ones, and you're start doing it like a robot, automatically. While even normal enemies are quite tough and annoying, each enemy requires at least 20 hits, including several finishing moves and several waits for them to get up. It's a pretty good aerobic workout, and the game even has about a dozen challenge arenas where people set zillions of records. But if you, for example, set the difficulty to maximum, which speeds up all enemy actions to the max, all the problems with the combat become more obvious; the hand tracking simply can't keep up with the instantaneous repetition of the same actions.
And the coolest combat mechanic somehow appears towards the end of the game - 𝐝𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 with your entire body. It really requires reaction and feels awesome, but by then it becomes even easier to snatch weapons from mobs, and and eventually.. there are almost no situations where an enemy manages to lock on to a knife attack on you, and the mechanic simply disappears untapped.
But I haven't covered the main thing yet: if you make it through the first hour of the game, you'll finally remember the title. Unexpectedly, the 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧, and it's conceptually brilliant. The thing is, after the prologue level, Bruce Wayne decides to create a fake identity (I don't know what kind of technology this is, but that's it), commit a minor act of administrative hooliganism, and wind up in jail himself.
And the game's structure literally alternates between civilian sections and Batman sections. During the day, we wander through the prison's utility rooms, just talking with key characters, briefly reminiscing about collectibles: you can call found phones, or hang posters and various cosmetic items in your cell (no minigames or something like that), except for overhearing little stories from some prisoners, like the escape planners.
But at night, we climb out the window of our cozy SHU cell on the edge of a cliff, descend into the cave that flows into the prison (oh ye those comic book conventions), where Alfred delivers a portable Bat-computer and a disguise—we replace the fake human skin with the Batsuit, and we're now we can move on "combat" missions within the Arkham expanses. Essentially, like in 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐀𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐦, the prison is a mini-Metroidvania filled with numerous secrets that can only be unlocked by acquiring new gadgets. For example, with a new mechanic for removing bars by pulling a grappling hook like a rope, but there it literally takes half a second (Rope tricks were already implemented much more deeply in 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 game).
Well, Batman didn't become my favorite VR-game. Due to the graphical simplicity, I can't immerse myself in the character (which is why I enjoyed playing even the 2016 version more). Technically, it's also not exactly flawless, interface of the game even doubled sometimes due to the "accommodation-convergence" conflict in our eyes.. come on, how did they manage that? I've never encountered this in other games. The combat, while unique and spectacular, was quite tedious in terms of gameplay. he plot is likely only suitable for fans of the character. However, the game has many strong points throughout, making it undoubtedly one of the most significant projects that has given impetus to the industry. However, this alone is far from the peak of VR Experience (HL Alix is not the peak either) by the way... a sequel has already been announced.
𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩: https://backloggd.com/u/grihajedy/list/publisher-oculus-studios/
The example of BAS clearly shows the development of the industry. It all began with "Batman: Arkham VR" for the first wired headsets in 2016, a simple 30-minute tecno demo without any gameplay depth, the game was more like a point-and-click quest, and used the name of a popular series only to attract an audience. However, the graphics were on par with games of the time, making you truly feel like a dark knight standing atop a skyscraper.
Meanwhile, Batman: Arkham Shadow has landed in the hands of 𝐎𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐬 and 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 devs, who have perfectly adapted Iron Man's flights to the gaming reality.
And now, after 9 YEARS! of VR development, we're getting a full-fledged game in the franchise (a prequel), which successfully transfers that very formula to the rails of "physical control" of the character. Now we have dynamic hand tracking and one-button launch directly from the headset, because these are just Android devices.. Accordingly, we're also getting PS2-level graphics with a slight comics stylization (with the resolution is even lower than the headset's native res). Personally, I wasn't able to experience the oppressive atmosphere of Gotham City and don`t feel like Batman looking at his plastic suit, the levels are also divided into small sections with rather long loading doors, but ok these are minor details..
My point is that new technologies have brought us comfort and "unashamed" gameplay in VR games, but, alas, we are losing a lot in immersion.
At the same time, I understand all the praise for the game, and I'm glad that the rumors are slowly spreading that there is a new VR-banger ,not only HL: Alyx, especially since it's a very fortunate coincidence that they decided to give away the game for free simply by purchasing a headset in 2025, I don't think Oculus expected the game to be such a success.
Ok If you haven't heard of or tried the game yet, it's a linear adventure with free movement, using a grappling hook and a cloak (open your arms) for vertical movement.
cloak (open your arms) for vertical movement. With standard first-person cutscenes, third-person death screens, atmospheric top-down cutscenes with 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 of characters already well-worn in popular culture, yet shown from a rather original perspective, the ending even claims to be dramatic and tragic.
With short detective sections, but very casual, they are solved by turning on special vision and trial and error.
With 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡: when approaching an enemy from behind, mimic a lynx leap, then twist their neck left/right, and the arenas are always dotted with bird statues you can "hang" from, pull an enemy toward you, and hang them. It's also quite immersive, but it immediately triggers enemies to examine the map more closely, fortunately, they don't raise their heads much. If you're spotted, you can always throw a smoke bomb or duck into a ventilation shaft. After all, facing at least two enemies with firearms, your batarang has no chance, and your armor will crumble in a couple of seconds.
The game's main advantage, albeit debatable, is its full-fledged 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 in the spirit of the series and the principle of "easy to learn, hard to master." Essentially, like in other VR fighting games, it remains similar to the turn-based execution of QTE: you can block and parry, throw a batarang, or punch enemies (with slow-mo assistance, of course). Several hits in a row require hitting the enemy in specific spots, but the game forgives all deviations of your hand, it`s more about the effect, finishing with a broken knee or grabbing by the scruff is probably the most brutal, But the developers also left free movement around the arena, you can dodge dash,and added a large number of moves that slightly dilute the usual fistfight, for example, jumping over the opponent's shoulder, thereby appearing behind him and counterattacking by extending your hand forward, which will also knock the weapon out of his hands, different opponents have protection from certain attacks so that you can't spam the same button (spoiler: you still can), but the most successful solution of the mechanics, which forces you to not stand still - there are always a lot of enemies, and, even if you are in a combat stance opposite the target, you can and will be attacked by others from the left and right, and you will have to "lock" on other enemies, sharply extending your left or right hand exactly 90° to the side, while there are no problems with the camera, no motion sickness, all the player's angles change very smoothly and at the same time dynamically, and over time the fight progresses due to gadgets, armored opponents, bosses who have a little more QTE moments, after each skirmish you are given a rating and a certain amount of experience, which motivates you to combine mechanics to unlock.. not exactly new moves, more like a stronger Batarang or finishing moves.
The most sad thing is that the combat becomes unbearably repetitive after just an hour.. While it's still fun and epic, you're stuck in 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧: first you target the strong enemies, then the normal ones, and you're start doing it like a robot, automatically. While even normal enemies are quite tough and annoying, each enemy requires at least 20 hits, including several finishing moves and several waits for them to get up. It's a pretty good aerobic workout, and the game even has about a dozen challenge arenas where people set zillions of records. But if you, for example, set the difficulty to maximum, which speeds up all enemy actions to the max, all the problems with the combat become more obvious; the hand tracking simply can't keep up with the instantaneous repetition of the same actions.
And the coolest combat mechanic somehow appears towards the end of the game - 𝐝𝐨𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 with your entire body. It really requires reaction and feels awesome, but by then it becomes even easier to snatch weapons from mobs, and and eventually.. there are almost no situations where an enemy manages to lock on to a knife attack on you, and the mechanic simply disappears untapped.
But I haven't covered the main thing yet: if you make it through the first hour of the game, you'll finally remember the title. Unexpectedly, the 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧, and it's conceptually brilliant. The thing is, after the prologue level, Bruce Wayne decides to create a fake identity (I don't know what kind of technology this is, but that's it), commit a minor act of administrative hooliganism, and wind up in jail himself.
And the game's structure literally alternates between civilian sections and Batman sections. During the day, we wander through the prison's utility rooms, just talking with key characters, briefly reminiscing about collectibles: you can call found phones, or hang posters and various cosmetic items in your cell (no minigames or something like that), except for overhearing little stories from some prisoners, like the escape planners.
But at night, we climb out the window of our cozy SHU cell on the edge of a cliff, descend into the cave that flows into the prison (oh ye those comic book conventions), where Alfred delivers a portable Bat-computer and a disguise—we replace the fake human skin with the Batsuit, and we're now we can move on "combat" missions within the Arkham expanses. Essentially, like in 𝐀𝐫𝐤𝐡𝐚𝐦 𝐀𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐦, the prison is a mini-Metroidvania filled with numerous secrets that can only be unlocked by acquiring new gadgets. For example, with a new mechanic for removing bars by pulling a grappling hook like a rope, but there it literally takes half a second (Rope tricks were already implemented much more deeply in 𝐒𝐤𝐲𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞'𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡 game).
Well, Batman didn't become my favorite VR-game. Due to the graphical simplicity, I can't immerse myself in the character (which is why I enjoyed playing even the 2016 version more). Technically, it's also not exactly flawless, interface of the game even doubled sometimes due to the "accommodation-convergence" conflict in our eyes.. come on, how did they manage that? I've never encountered this in other games. The combat, while unique and spectacular, was quite tedious in terms of gameplay. he plot is likely only suitable for fans of the character. However, the game has many strong points throughout, making it undoubtedly one of the most significant projects that has given impetus to the industry. However, this alone is far from the peak of VR Experience (HL Alix is not the peak either) by the way... a sequel has already been announced.
𝐌𝐲 𝐎𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐩: https://backloggd.com/u/grihajedy/list/publisher-oculus-studios/