One of the big questions a lot of people have had for the upcoming Batman: Arkham VR from Rocksteady is how much gameplay you'll actually get out of the game. It's a really good question and the developers have finally answered.
According to Press-Start, an Australian gaming outlet, they managed to get word from Rocksteady Studios' brand marketing producer, Dax Ginn, that the game will provide just over an hour's worth of gameplay, with Ginn saying...
"The core narrative is about 60 minutes in duration, however additional content is unlocked that provides about another 90 minutes of gameplay on top of that. So there are plenty of reasons to play through the game multiple times in order to see everything that we have put into it."
That's a diplomatic response, and kudos to Ginn for being honest about the play length. An hour's worth of play-time isn't too out of the blue for a game where you're not really playing as Batman. Rocksteady's goal with the title was to showcase the graphics capabilities of the PlayStation VR and to allow gamers to become Batman for a brief mission.
This also isn't too surprising given that we've heard in the past that some developers would be experimenting with movie-length games, giving players the opportunity to play through short, cinematic-style experiences with some interactive qualities. You could say something like The Last of Us was a full blown, fully realized cinematic take on gaming with the length of an average action-RPG. Batman: Arkham VR isn't trying to achieve what Naughty Dog did, but instead they're going for the smaller, shorter, more compact experience that still has a cinematic feel to it.
From the little that we've seen of the game, they revealed that players will be able to play-test some of Batman's equipment in Batman: Arkham VR, including using things like the Batarang and his sonar visors. I doubt you'll get to drive around in the Batmobile, but his equipment and thematic elements will be centered around the depiction of the Dark Knight that appeared in Batman: Arkham Knight.
I do wonder exactly what kind of replayability you'll get out of the game? Will there be fight-scenes at any point to engage in? Will there be additional mini-games beyond the crime scene examination stuff? Will there be more than one ending?
For now there's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers. I imagine they'll want gamers to be surprised in some way when they finally do get their hands on the game come October 13th, just ten days from now when the game launches for the PlayStation VR.
According to Rocksteady, Batman: Arkham VR will be a timed exclusive for Sony's headset all the way up until March of 2017. After that, I can imagine you might be able to pick up a copy from the Oculus Store or from Steam for the HTC Vive (hopefully). And in light of the news that the game is only 60 minutes long, thankfully it only has a price tag of $19.99 USD. So it's not promising a whole lot and it also isn't going to cost you a lot either.
