Batman: Arkham VR announced for PC, release date set

The game Louise Blaine dubbed "the ultimate in heroic wish fulfilment" on GamesRadar, Batman: Arkham VR is breaking from its PlayStation exclusivity and is heading to PC. Due April 25, the Dark Knight will star on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive devices.

Supporting both Oculus Touch and Vive controllers, Batman: Arkham VR weaves another Arkham-set mystery for the Bat to solve—one which is said to "threaten the lives of his closest allies."

"Bringing Batman to VR was a very rewarding experience for us here at Rocksteady," says Rocksteady's creative director Sefton Hill. "The Dark Knight has always been an incredible character to work with due to his psychological depth, so it’s really exciting to use this immersive medium to delve deeper into his psyche than ever before. We’re thrilled that PC players can finally wear the cowl for themselves and take on the role of the World’s Greatest Detective with the addition of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift versions."

And here's an excerpt from Louise's review:

"It’s completely understandable that there’s no brawling or Batmobile action, but hearing the roar of your favourite vehicle between scenes is a tantalising tease of what a full Batman VR game could be. Cleverly adding a sense of movement without any actual flight, you use the grapnel gun to fire yourself from scene to scene and from each area in the Batcave. It’s just like the Move teleporting but the added sense of bringing a gun from your belt and firing it layers in an extra sense of depth. I did this by firing my grapnel, it doesn’t matter that I’m not whizzing through the air."

"The implementation of Move controls is also quietly, understatedly brilliant. The fact that you can just look down, see the gadgets and take one from your (height adjustable!) belt is incredible. One particularly nasty crime scene requires you to rewind the action using your forensic scanner. Rotating the controller slowly speeds through the action and the result is masterfully immersive. Add in a story conclusion that I won’t spoil, but makes the most of just how terrifying VR can be, and this isn’t just a brilliant experience but a glimpse at just how the long term future of gaming could feel if the industry gets VR right."

Besides the Touch and Vive controllers, Batman: Arkham VR's PC iteration will support PS4 Dual Shock 4 controllers, Xbox One controllers and the Steam controller. It's due April 25, 2017.