CREATING THE SOUNDS OF GOTHAM IN


Elliot Callighan, Jon Ruse and Evan Benner from Unlock Audio explain how they used sounds to make sure people really felt like they were defending Gotham City in VR


T


he release of “Batman: Arkham Shadow” is finally here! Although the game was first announced to the public this past May, the team


at Unlock Audio has secretly and eagerly anticipated this milestone for a couple of years — ever since our sound design collaboration with developer Camouflaj began. Arkham Shadow isn’t the first VR entry in the beloved


“Batman: Arkham” series, yet so much has improved with VR in the past 8 years that the latest generation of tech provides an exciting opportunity for gamers to don Batman’s dark cowl via the Meta Quest 3 and truly “Become the Knight.” Immersion was the


primary goal of our sound design, from


12 | MCV/DEVELOP February/March 2025


enveloping players in the grander sounds of Gotham to infusing a rewarding level of depth and detail in more intimate settings, all while reflecting the signature sounds of the Arkham series throughout the core gameplay.


A CITY IN DYNAMIC CHAOS From your roost upon Gotham’s rooftops, in the role of the Caped Crusader, you’ll begin to notice significant shifts in the vibe of the city through sound cues alone. While Gotham is never truly “calm,” you’ll know when things are at a normal baseline through typical sounds of a gritty urban environment: the hum of idling trucks, the occasional siren in the distance, the backfire of an engine, etc. As your story unfolds and tensions in the seedy


underbelly of the city inevitably grow, so too will the level of chaos or threat you sense around the dark corners and along the alleyways you’ll prowl. After all, what would a visit to Gotham be without an explosive


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