Batman: Arkham Shadowwouldn’t be a superhero video game without its antagonists. It certainly wouldn’t be aBatman: Arkhamgame without itscomplicated, psychologically twisted Gotham City criminals, either. It’s been clear since its announcement teaser that Ratcatcher will finally be explored in a mainlineArkhamgame, but Camouflaj’s new trailer released at Summer Game Fest shows that more antagonists are awaiting the Caped Crusader.
However, because this entry predatesArkham Asylum, it also places certain villains in a vulnerable position, especially main antagonist Ratcatcher, who has been affected by the events fromOrigins. Camouflaj Founder and Studio Head Ryan Payton told Game Rant in a recent interview that Ratcatcher was one of the characters that the studio knew it wanted to explore forBatman: Arkham Shadowand that fans will see how his lore leads to the creation of a new major antagonist in the Arkhamverse.
Batman: Arkham Shadow’s Rat King, Scarecrow, Harley Quinn, and More
Ratcatcher, who is quickly shown as Otis Flannegan in the trailer, is shown a “bit crestfallen” because he had previously put his faith and belief intoBatman: Arkham Origins' Black Mask, who he’s been working for behind the scenes for a long time, or so he thought. Fans are left with a message at the end of Camouflaj’s latest trailer: “When the bat falls, the rats rise.” While this is still on par with Ratcatcher’s theme, Payton told Game Rant that this actually teases the Rat King, a new antagonist that was created just forShadow.
Payton said that the character design is “very cryptic” and that there is a connection between him and Ratcatcher. Camouflaj will continue to drop teasers of the Rat King as it steadily reaches the launch of thenewArkhamgame, which is currently in development:
“We have Ratcatcher, but you first see him as Otis Flannegan. We’re bringing so much of theArkhamlore and the deeper DC history of these characters along with them intoArkham Shadow, but with the Rat King it was an opportunity for us to more or less start with a blank slate and do something that really served the story and really surprised players without them having to worry too much about, “I don’t know what, hypothetically, the Rat King did in DC and Detective Comics #3604 [laugh].” It was really just an opportunity to do something fresh and new.”
Aside from the introduction of the Rat King andexploration of Ratcatcher, players will also find origin-like takes on Harley Quinn and Scarecrow, who both appeared in the latest trailer, but Payton added that there are more characters to appear inShadow. There will also be more locations that players can explore as Batman in VR, which Payton expects will “overwhelm” fans.
Arkham Shadow Gameplay Will Run Closer To Arkham Asylum
Marvel’s Iron Man VR’s gameplay ran between 8–10 hoursand Payton said thatArkham Shadowwill be longer than that and, instead, be more comparable to the run time ofArkham Asylum, which was roughly 12 hours for the main story.Arkham VR, released in 2016 by Rocksteady, had a run time of roughly two-and-a-half hours. Moreover, Camouflaj expects this will be most fans' introduction to VR:
“We knew that we thought [we could] really kind of flesh out an experience that was an authentic new entry to the franchise and took all of the core elements that everybody loves from theArkhamfranchise—whether it’s the exploration or the combat or the investigations—to bring all those elements built rebuilt from the ground up for VR, that could be a really special experience that would put players into the mind and body of Batman in a way that they haven’t ever experienced before.”
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“What’s really important to us [is] how people imagine a fully realizedArkhamgame would work in VR is actually what we’re delivering.”
Batman: Arkham Shadow
Become Batman in this official new entry into the Arkham franchise.It’s the Fourth of July, and Gotham City is under attack by a new threat: the mysterious Rat King and his cultish devotees. As widespread rioting engulfs the city, Batman races to prevent this so-called “Day of Wrath” before it all goes wrong.Experience the World of Batman Like Never Before:Immerse yourself in all the grit of Gotham City with the power of VR, and take down its most notorious criminals.Hard-Hitting Arkham CombatRealized exclusively for VR—choose from fan favorite gadgets and bold fighting styles reimagined from the beloved Arkham franchise.Friends, Foes and Other Familiar Faces:Meet Dr.’s Quinzel and Crane before they became Harley Quinn and Scarecrow, as well as other iconic characters including Harvey Dent, Jim Gordon, and Ratcatcher.
