Batman: Arkham, video game series of Rocksteady and Warner Bros., will welcome its first virtual reality (VR) installment sometime in October when the PlayStation VR also makes its grand debut.
The game in question, Batman: Arkham VR, is a PlayStation 4 exclusive title and requires a PlayStation VR headset to work. Both gaming devices cost $400, and the game stands at $20 for a total of $800. So it’s quite an investment if players want to become Batman. They almost have to be billionaire Bruce Wayne as well.
The VR system will be released on October 13 and will feature 50 launch titles including standouts Farpoint, Star Wars Battlefront X-Wing VR Mission, Resident Evil BioHazard, Final Fantasy XV VR Experience and the Batman game mentioned above.
VR allows players to Be the Batman
Last June, Bill Green, principal designer of Rocksteady Studios, introduced the VR game via a post on the PlayStation blog. He said it was a new story within the Arkham universe that will continue their goal: to make players genuinely feel like they are the Batman.
Although they had claimed that Batman: Arkham Knight, released in 2015, was their last-ever Batman game, Green stated the Be the Batman experience provided by the PlayStation VR changed their minds.
Virtual reality will give players the chance to visit iconic locations like Wayne Manor and the Batcave, and even put the Batsuit on, with a unique sense of presence. He added that the switch from screens to headsets made them focus on Batman’s detective skills and to tell the story entirely in first-person.
Arkham: from AR to VR
Fans at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) saw the first trailer of the VR Dark Knight. It featured shots from Batman’s suit and Mark Hamill’s The Joker voice, suggesting the killer clown could be the main villain once again.
Meanwhile, San Diego Comic-Con attendees were the first people in the world wear the cowl and play as if they were the Dark Knight. And they were left fascinated judging by the second trailer, which featured people’s reaction to testing it as well as some pics of the game.
The upcoming title, winner of the first ever E3 Game Critics Award for Best VR Game, will be the first fully VR installment, but it didn’t pioneer the employment of computer-generated reality in the series.
Batman: Arkham City, released in 2011, included game modes with augmented reality (AR) such as Detective Vision to explore crime scenes and the Advanced AR Training Challenge.
Batman: Arkham VR’s official synopsis say it will make players “think like Batman and utilize his legendary gadgets to unravel a plot that threatens the lives of his closest allies.” Rumor has it that the games last only one hour, so is very short but accordingly cheap with a 20$ price tag. Sony announced the game would launch in October.
Source: Collider