Batman Arkham Shadow shows nothing is ever good enough for ‘fans’

After nearly a decade in the shadows, a brand new Batman Arkham game was finally announced last week. Fans were salivating at the idea of ​​being able to play Batman again after so many years – especially after the disappointment of Suicide Squad – but this next version changed one major thing: it was a VR-only game.

What happened is one of the most juvenile things I’ve seen in the gaming industry in recent times – something that’s saying a lot, given the behavior that can be found among fanboys and forum warriors scrolling through social media. At the time of writing these lines, the teaser for Batman: Arkham Shadow has over 1.6 million views, 31,000 likes and 110,000 do not like.

The comments are filled with the idea that a VR Batman game is the worst idea ever and that WB will blame the fans if it doesn’t sell well. The problem with that logic is that Warner Brothers isn’t footing the bill this time. This is a first-party Oculus Studios game, fully funded by Meta and developed by the people behind the superb Iron Man VR, one of the best Meta Quest games you can play today.

For some reason, a subset of gamers believe that the existence of VR games means that non-VR games will cease to exist if VR continues to develop as it has. We’ve seen this kind of nonsense before back in the Wii days, where “hardcore gamers” on forums regularly complained about “waggle games” and how they poisoned traditional games.

They were wrong then and they are wrong now. There’s plenty of room for every niche and interest in the massive video game market, and that’s just one of many reasons why VR isn’t replacing flat games. It’s just a new way to play.

Real fans wanted

Batman: Arkham Shadow is one of the most important upcoming Meta Quest 3 exclusive games and it shows the continued interest in creating AAA-level experiences for VR headsets. But the criticism from “fans” of the Arkham series has been completely tone-deaf and uneducated.

The existence of Arkham Shadow has no bearing on Rocksteady’s development of a new non-VR Arkham game. Rocksteady is the developer of the original Batman Arkham games, all of which were published (and paid for) by WB. Likewise, other upcoming Meta Quest games like Metro Awakening and Alien: Rogue Incursion are all developed by VR-only developers and funded by VR publishers.

In other words, VR development is a silo that operates autonomously. This isn’t hindered or affected by non-VR game development, and it doesn’t somehow take away a new entry in a series from fans who simply want more of the same on a new system .

These games literally wouldn’t exist at all without headsets like the Meta Quest 3. There has never been a time where any of the aforementioned games were developed as a non-VR game and were in a way or another transformed into a VR. -only somewhere along the lines.

All of this makes me wonder if these so-called “fans” are actually fans. As a Star Wars fan, I jumped at the idea of ​​being able to wield a lightsaber. myself instead of just watching a generic character on a TV, do it. In fact, I have the chance to be Tony Stark in Iron Man VR and flying in the suit was downright incredible and a literal dream come true in every way.

So, wouldn’t true fans jump at the chance to finally be able to say “I am Batman” while wearing the costume and defeating villains on the streets of Gotham themselves? I would certainly think so.

Praying for fanboy sanity is never a winning battle, but it would be nice to see a little more thought behind the words and actions of trigger-happy players. Directing your anger toward a project you don’t like is pointless and only leads to more anger, not positive change.

The Helldivers 2 incident last weekend is a perfect example of how players should and shouldn’t react to an issue. When Sony required a PSN account to be used on a game that people had been playing for months, it literally made it impossible for some people to continue playing the game, because PSN is. unavailable in 121 countries.

Some outspoken gamers directed their anger at the game‘s developers when the real problem was the game‘s publisher, Sony Interactive Entertainment. Sony got the message when the game received a negative review and fell into obscurity on Steam this weekend, but the harsh and often inappropriate language used in online forums and social media aimed at developers is downright unacceptable and must change.

Is AAA hybrid a better solution?

One of the most interesting criticisms I’ve seen online is that Rocksteady and Oculus Studios should have worked together to develop a hybrid version of this game that supports both flat-screen consoles and PCs and provides a VR mode for those who want to experience it. in this way.

It’s a method we’ve seen a few times recently, including with the PS5 versions of Resident Evil 4 HD, Resident Evil 8, and last year’s Gran Turismo 7, all of which feature the full game playable in VR on a PSVR 2 or on PS5. a TV in non-VR mode. Sony’s release of the PSVR 2 was based on the idea that more of these AAA hybrid games would contribute to the development of virtual reality while also offering something for non-VR gamers.

If I can support any type of compromise, this would definitely be it.

However, not all games can be developed with a hybrid model. I spoke to Andrew Eiche, CEO of Owlchemy Labs, about the situation. Owlchemy is the developer behind Job Simulator, one of VR’s biggest hits, and he agrees that the AAA hybrid could work with a few caveats.

“To me, the ‘hybrid’ approach seems to deviate in several ways,” Eiche told me in an email. “One is a rushed port of existing content inserted into the headset. This allows the studio to say it was delivered in VR and sometimes allows it to feature prominently on a platform chart that doesn’t of difference between VR-only titles and VR-supported ones It probably gives them a revenue boost for the initial launch These games are like a hot dog in a hamburger bun. it’s just not right.

Something like Beat Saber makes no sense without VR controllers acting like lightsabers. Likewise, while you can add a VR mode to any game imaginable, as the Flat2VR team proves, it doesn’t always equate to a better game.

This type of tactic can work wonderfully, especially when trying to breathe new life into classic games. The VR port of Jedi Knight II is a perfect example of this, and it makes playing this classic PC shooter even more fun than the original version because it lets you become the character. This is an experience we may never have been able to have without the efforts of Team Beef.

But there are times when I just want to sit on a couch and twiddle my thumbs in front of the TV. Whether it’s been a particularly rough day or I’m feeling sick and don’t want to move much, there will always be a place for non-VR games.

Wouldn’t it be cool, then, to be able to play a game exactly the way you want, no matter how you’re feeling that day? I might enjoy playing most of a game in VR mode, but I might sometimes decide to sit on the couch and play it on a flat screen if I’m feeling tired or lazy.

Either way, AAA games can be an important way to attract dedicated gamers willing to spend big money on top-tier titles.

Eiche agrees and notes that “there definitely needs to be a place for AAA games in VR!” Let me be clear about what I’m saying: there needs to be room for titles with big budgets and ambitious scope in VR. To be a mainstream success, the industry must be able to support a variety of titles. The current console industry is capable of doing this and is arguably smaller than VR aspires to be.

So maybe the AAA hybrid will be the best way forward for big games like Assassin’s Creed Nexus – a game that failed to meet the sales expectations of a major publisher used to raking in hundreds of millions of dollars for big outings.

It’s important to note, however, that VR games require tailor-made mechanics to work properly in some cases. “It is mutually beneficial for VR and AAA games to adopt VR, but VR cannot be seen as a simple porting job,” Eiche said. “It should be treated as a separate medium and experiences should be developed to encompass what makes virtual reality so special!” »

Having a dedicated VR team within the broader development team for an upcoming AAA title could be a way for large publishers to increase game sales without investing in VR-only development. This year’s crop of AAA VR-only titles will certainly be a barometer of potential success, and if they don’t sell as well as hoped, hybrid VR development is the next best route.

After all, some players seem allergic to trying something new or different. This could be the way to make as many players as possible happy while doing something new and different. And financially support healthier development cycles.