Roger Graig Smith's voice is incredible! He doesn't sound like Batman at all when as Matches. It even only goes subtle when he's self narrating. He's always been my second favorite Batman voice actor, and he has perfected the role since.
This game has only been cementing him as Kevin Conroy's best successor in the role for me. Like him, he's able to embody each persona distinctly within an overall singular performance. Not just Batman & Matches, but also Bruce Wayne too are all parts of him as the Leslie scene wonderfully shows.
Maybe a hot take, yet I think Roger Craig Smith's Malone is better than Conroy's. Obviously, Kevin Conroy will remain the undisputed apex of Batman, but his Matches Malone was generally just a slightly deeper and dopey voice - which was fine for the rare times he went undercover as some dumb muscle, but this Malone seems more like a real person.
these game devs really understand the soul of the arkham games wasnt just the excellent combat. but the environemnetla stroytelling.s eriously, every inch of every location in this game seems crafted with care and references and just makes you feel like youre batman. yes unirocally. the story also seems interesting af.
Agreed. The environmental storytelling, the lore & the world-building that made the Arkham games - particularly Asylum & City for me, feel so lived-in & immersive as a version of Gotham imo. I went from expecting another Arkham VR at announcement to getting a proper Arkham game in a new gaming medium.
18:41 It’s a cool little detail that Branden ended up going to TYGER after presumably losing his job after Origins. Also love that you can meet some of the case file suspects from Origins as well. Dig the Blackgate reference with Bronze Tiger too, 1:07:00
I suspected the characters around the block & yard were Origins characters but I couldn't quite pin them down besides LeBlanc & Bird. Now reading the comments do I realize they were case file suspects, I've just forgotten their names as it's been a while since I played Origins. I adore Camouflaj's attention to continuity, it feels like the proper sequel to it that I've wanted.
@rafaelmoisesbezerradasilva7271 I'm praising details the developer didn't *need* to put in. I *wish* I was being paid to praise video games. That would really help pay the bills.
@@FallenOne669 Well, I appreciate your politeness. Unfortunately, Shadow is another flop. It is not going to even reach the number of sales of Elden Ring DLC. I heard Rockstead is working on another solo Batman game. Maybe this game can continue Arkhan series.
this game unirocally feels like a part of the arkham quadrilogy. like this is undeniably an arkham quality game. hats off to the develoeprs for getting me interested in this
Agreed. It's the Arkham game I wished we'd get for years in practically every way; storytelling, gameplay, incorporation of lore, just in VR instead of consoles. I hope it paves the way for more Arkham Origins sequels.
@@themadtitan7603For real, Origins is severly underrated, they even go as far as flat out ignoring it, when it’s much better than Knight in many, many ways.
Boy, this is just turning into a love letter to Origins, isn't it? That game is finally getting the respect it deserves! Now only if we could get an official remaster...
I love the insight this game gives on what ways Arkham Batman differs from his main comics counterpart in terms of his origins,I love his voice as well.
Same. I love the history bit of Bruce & Harvey having grown up together in a troubled youth home & being specifically both raised by Leslie, rather than just Bruce. I kind of wish that detail would a regular part of Batman canon now, which I always appreciate when adaptations make me feel that. And it just makes their interactions in future games significantly more tragic knowing all this, especially Batman's last conversation with Harvey in Knight. And I can only imagine how Leslie felt about Harvey's turn to Two-Face.
In the last video I noticed Wesker (Ventriloquist) and Boone, this version of Shrike was a childhood friend of Dick Grayson, who is probably the "Unidentified hyper nimble roommate". Shame he dies before he gets to be Nightwing's rival, but we weren't getting a Nightwing game in this universe anyway. The inclusion of Matches Malone and Leslie Thompkins is REALLY selling me on these writers though.
@@ternative in the comics she was friends with Bruce’s father and acts like a mother figure to Bruce after his parents die. she doesn’t appear in adaptations a lot (the only time I can think of her doing so is in Gotham but she’s almost completely different except from her being a doctor) so it’s nice to see her in Arkham lore
@@endingboyhansel Also BTAS. I love that she's finally introduced into the Arkhamverse because she provides nice humanization to Bruce as another parental figure in his life besides Alfred. Also she was referenced in Arkham City.
Also at 31:03 There’s John DeMarco That corrupt swat officer in the hit and run case. Really cool seeing these minor characters return if only briefly.
bruce dropping the “batman voice” for leslie at 49:13 was surprisingly sweet! plus all of the childhood flashbacks have been really moving so far. im glad this game is letting bruce be more vulnerable it’s one thing j felt the og quadrilogy was missing also im eating up all of the origins callbacks and references, finally putting respect on that game!
46:00 to 51:30 is some of my favorite characterisation of Batman in this continuity. The Animated Series was where I was introduced to Leslie Thompkins, and her dynamic with Bruce here is very touching.
100% agreed. I adore this moment & the other scenes with Leslie & Harvey. Especially as I feel Arkham Batman doesn't tend to get much moments of characterization like this as the games are often very plot-driven and fast paced. It builds off Origins being the Arkham game with the most human & vulnerable moments provided for Bruce/Batman. And is shaping up to deliver an emotional arc for Bruce like the devs talked about, another thing lacking from half the games imo.
I thought "Falcohn" was just the Americanized pronunciation versus the Italian "Falco-nee". Although you got a point about the Reevesverse because even the Falcone family members say it like the former.
They remember the most wanted missions from AO. Heck, they remembered AO blackgate, the fight with Bronze Tiger, the coliseum from penguin, the frickin crates were you got upgrades around the prison, damn!
Everything I spotted while watching this part (so far): 5:52 ‘Berks’ is referring to Chucky berks from Arkham Origins, the Dixon docks shooter who killed a reporter 9:35 ‘Carter’ is a reference to one of the origins crime scene investigations involving Andrew Carter; he was a venom enhanced henchman for bane who killed a man by throwing an air conditioner at him Edit, so is ‘Hanes’ at 10:28, this is the first non story crime scene investigation you do involving Robert Hanes, a well known con artist who killed a man by throwing him off a roof to ‘protect his interests’ 18:45 Brandon is back 31:40 Ferris Boyle 34:40 Bird (missing his accent), probably the worst boss fight in Arkham Origins 38:20 Ricky ‘Looselips’ LeBlanc 46:44 the Grey Ghost
I love the attention to continuity & particularly Origins', that they talked about in the Q&As being on full display. Also I noticed Bird is missing his accent too for some reason.
@@themadtitan7603According to the wiki, this game takes place in the year 2014 alongside Arkham Origins blackgate. Stuff like this is why I think the world building in these games fell apart, because Arkham Asylum being set in 2022 makes very little sense to me.
This game is fucking awesome. I can't believe we got a new Arkham game and they just put it in VR. Seriously tempting but I will hold out for it to be on other VR platforms.
Poor Leslie Thompkins. Can't imagine how she feels about both her boys Harvey and Bruce ending up working outside the law. Love how she told Bruce to kill BOTH voices. Total mom power.
I can only imagine how she felt about Harvey's turn into Two-Face. It makes the other games mre tragic for me. And I loved Leslie telling Bruce to quit the voices too. It's such a human moment for Arkham Batman & great display of acting for RCG.
Yeah maybe if she had been a member of the arkhamverse justice league maybe she would have tried to use her magic or better yet contacted other dc magical heroes like shazam,john Constantine and dr fate to try and find away to free the mind controlled justice league from brainiac instead of killing because since brainiac is a creature of science and zatanna and the other dc magical heroes have magic because magic and science don't mix well together perhaps magic would have been the solution to freeing the league from brainiac control because when wonder woman used her lasso of truth on the flash it almost brought him out of brainiac brainwashing but the lasso of truth wasn't enough so if zatanna,dr fate and John Constantine used their magics maybe it would have freed the justice league without killing them
@@ieuanrichards8840bro Not to look down on you or sum but this is the same exact issue with EVERYTHING comics related. The writers involve characters only if they have an interest in the story. How many times in movies, comics or animation did some characters faced world ending threats alone while the other heroes were just sitting on their asses
"So how do you keep a secret from the World's Greatest Detective? Well, do you know? It’s easy. You stick it right in front of him! Right under his long, pointy nose and wait."
@@adamH.1 His thoughts also being in-character is the strange part for me but it's very Bruce to do so. As he usually almost completely disappears when he inhabits an aspect of his personality.
Joe is Joe Chill, I’m betting on it. Also the connection between Harvey and Bruce as kids… I’m hoping we see Harvey become Two-Face because that seems to be setting that up
Now that you mention it, him avoiding parts of his parts & saying he's not like "the others" here, I think it's more than likely. I hope it's a side mystery that can be solved at the end with Batman having some reaction at the end. They said there's no side missions in this game but it would've been to have one regarding Chill that ends with direct confrontation between him & Batman.
Okay so I wasn’t the only person who thought that. Side note, the kid that Bats threw through a wall before going berserk in part one might have been Dick Grayson.
Yeah, I feel the story is shaping up to be on the level of some of the Arkham games if not above some of them thanks to the greater amount of character moments here.
1:04:40, that incomplete phrase is part of the prophecy that Azrael told Batman in Arkham City. The "order dedicated to vengeance" Cyrus refers to is the group of Azrael's masters, the Order of St. Dumas.
This is such a great game where the devs actually planned and took the time to actually explore the story of the games including the fact that the made references to Arkham Origins Blackgate with Deadshot’s target poster, Joker Teeth, Penguin Cages, and Black Masks destroyable masks. I never thought they would include all the criminals from the case files in Origins. They absolutely cooked this up on a 5 star plate greatest thing we’re gotten since Arkham Knight They HAVE to remaster Arkham Origins at this point
As they said, they did study the continuity of the Arkham games & it seems particularly Origins got the most display here which is great as it makes it a proper sequel to that game. Also I'd love a flat screen Origins sequel picking up from this alongside that remaster.
@@themadtitan7603could be but Catwoman seemed to have become more active in year 3 of this universe so perhaps that during this version of Long Halloween she slashed Carmine when she figures out why she was abandoned as a child.
@@kwayneboy1524 That makes sense. I suppose in this universe she might've started out in Year 2 instead & became more active in Year 3 with the Blackgate takeover. So based on that I think she might've attacked Falcone shortly before/after Origins.
Thank you for your dedication to bringing us quality Batman Arkham content for over a decade. Playing not as Batman but as Matches Malone, Roger Craig Smith has distinctive timbre and intensity for each of them. I like it.
1:29 IT LOOKS LIKE GORO MAJIMA FROM YAKUZA GAMES 31:53 COLD COLD HEART REFERENCE 1:03:09 AND GOTHAM WILL BURN AND YOU WILL BURN TOO. ARKHAM CITY REFERENCE
Seems like they took it easy with the combat as it no longer has the free flow combat landing each hit on each enemy. That would probably cause some VR players to feel nauseous. Combat is still very good though.
arkham franchise releases so far arkham asylum: 2009 arkham city: 2011 arkham origins: 2013 arkham knight: 2015 arkham vr: 2016 arkham shadow: 2024 big gap between vr and shadow, but it's nice arkham is back after so long
I was thinking that too. Even in Origins she gave the impression that she wasn't just the mild-manned doctor she comes across. But here she actually seems like serious, empathetic psychiatrist who truly cares for her patients. It's surreal that this Harleen goes onto poison Dr. Burke & his daughter & overall become the Harley Quinn we saw from the Arkham games & SS:KTJL.
At 1:04:17, Cyrus Pinkney was saying a line that coincides with the sacred Order of Saint Dumas. Only longtime fans of the Arkham series will know what it means.
So one drawback for me is it's taking quite a while for Batman to get any info on the Rat King. After the first mission which had a good pace, this one is a lot slower.
When I saw the shop tutorial appear when talking to Joe, I got really scared thinking that the rest of this game would just be you as Malone in BlackGate, but of course Batman has a secret batcave in the catacombs of BlackGate. They def took a lot of inspiration from Asylum for this game and I love it
This game is phenomenal! The story, the combat, the references, the voice acting, it’s all great; it’s the sequel to origins that I never knew I needed!
All of Arkham asylum was just in Arkham, that was their muse. This is really making the most of the quest 3s hardware. These kinds of games are what the quest 3 was made for. But at the end of the day they are still limited to a mobile chip set. I'm just amazed they were able to make a fully fleshed out Arkham game that runs on quest 3 style hardware. Developers are learning to make the most out of hardware limitations with optimization and it's only just the beginning.
It would be interesting if he decided to not only do Batman Related Content, but also perhaps he could do a Walkthrough of Insomniac's Spider-Man Series. I doubt he would do it, but it would at least be interesting to see how he would play theses Games since both Batman Arkham Series and Insomniac's Spider-Man Series share similarities when it comes with Gameplay.
@@austentoland1193 arkham city (second major arkham game) was fantastic masterpiece. marvels psidemran 2 on the other hand, was just a great video game. idk what im saying i love both.
@@aryan7767 There is a RU-vidr who makes both DC and Marvel Content, and sometimes Anime too. He goes by the name, "NeedleMouse Productions" He did made a Video on how Batman Arkham and Insomniac's Spider-Man are similar to each other.
Thank you for the episode 2 ! I was worried, because i already seen other video, speaking about the whole story. By the way, keep going and thank you to show us all easter egg too
![Batman: Arkham Shadow - Chapter 2 [VR Walkthrough - 4K 60fps]](/img/logo.svg){kind=logo}
