Gotham Knights has released its cinematic trailer in the lead-up to its release on October 21st. The game is described as “an open-world, action RPG set in the most dynamic and interactive Gotham City yet. In either solo-play or with one other hero, patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs and drop in on criminal activity wherever you find it.”
Trailer
Playable characters
There are currently four playable characters revealed for the game: Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), and Red Hood (Jason Todd).
According to the Discord Q&A, “Robin is the best stealth-focused hero, Red Hood deals high damage at range and can capitalize on enemy clusters, Batgirl has some health-focused powers and has some cool ‘hack stuff in the environment’ abilities, and Nightwing has the furthest combat mobility and has the most coop support abilities.”
Gotta say, personally not loving the implication that the one (1) girl on the team has ‘health-focused powers.’ Plenty of female characters/players get stereotyped as the ‘healer’ and it’s not a good look if Barbara’s main ability in co-op mode is healing her teammates.
The devs also stated in the Q&A that:
“Every hero’s ability tree adds new moves and improves stats, so rather than having the option to play ‘bare hands mode’ instead of using weapons, the ability design focuses on unlocking new moves. Where you chose to invest in the ability tree early on is about choosing between unlocks that reflect how you want to play. So, for example, I like to use Red Hood’s grab and throw abilities, so I will unlock them early in the tree, whereas a player who wants to shoot a lot might put more energy on unlocking more ranged damage boosts. It’s about how you want to express yourself in combat. There are three ability trees per hero, plus a Knighthood tree you unlock later, and then the momentum abilities are a whole other thing… so where you put your ability points and what challenges you complete to get momentum abilities will really change how you play, especially at the start.”
This allows you to customize your characters according to your preferred playstyle, which will hopefully allow you to play as the same character multiple times while keeping the experience new.
We have no word yet on whether we will get other Gotham City heroes as DLC characters like Kate Kane’s Batwoman, Cassandra Cain’s Orphan/Batgirl/Black Bat, Damian Wayne’s Robin, Stephanie Brown’s Spoiler/Batgirl, and other members of the Batfamily.
Platforms
The game will be available on next-gen consoles (PS5, Xbox series X/S) and for download on PC (unknown if it will be through STEAM or the Microsoft Store). The devs had originally slated for the game to be available on Xbox One and Playstation 4 consoles but had to scrap the idea.
More:
This game was originally rumored to be a sequel to the Batman Arkham series but is now confirmed to place in its own continuity. It still deals with some of the themes of that franchise, such as Batman’s complicated relationship with his proteges and the pressure they felt living up to his name.
The game takes place in a continuity where Jason Todd was murdered and then resurrected by one of Batman’s enemies (presumably Ra’s al Ghul) and Barbara Gordon was crippled and became the Oracle for a time but eventually recovered. We do not know if there were any other Batgirls during her absence (like Cassandra Cain or Stephanie Brown).
The cast features America Young as Batgirl, Christopher Sean as Nightwing, Sloane Morgane Siegel as Robin, Stephen Oyoung as Red Hood, and Gildart Jackson as Alfred.
(featured image: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)
