Gotham Knights is going to be one of Warner Bros’ latest DC Comics video game adaptations along with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Despite being developed by WB Montreal, the team behind Arkham Origins, Gotham Knights co-op will feature a seamless drop-in-drop-out system in addition to its story taking place in a separate universe than the Batman Arkham series. With that in mind, it doesn’t come as a surprise when WB Montreal decided to revamp the original Arkham series gameplay to better accommodate Gotham Knights‘ co-op system. Executive producer Fleur Marty told Games Radar the following:
We have entirely redesigned the combat system in order for it to work well in co-op. Of course, we’re still a brawler, and some of the mechanics won’t feel totally alien for people who played and enjoyed the Arkham series, but it is in many ways very different.”
First of all, the open-world aspect is still intact in Gotham Knights‘ co-op; you can freely explore the city with Batcycle, there are five boroughs you’ll need to free from iconic villains such as Mr. Freeze and the Court of Owls, as well as investigating the death of Bruce Wayne. However, your missions will start at The Belfry, the new base of operations for the Bat-Family after the Batcave was destroyed the moment ‘Code Black‘ was initiated. Think of it as the crashed Hellicarier from Square Enix’ Marvel’s Avengers. There you’ll be able to switch to a different character, tinker around with their gears and levels, and accepting new challenges or missions. Then simply head back out into Gotham as any one of the characters and continue where you left off without any fear of being under-leveled. Even so, be wary that enemies will scale to your progression level. Marty adds:
Since the story progression is shared between all the characters, it also makes sense that you don’t have to level them up from scratch every time you want to switch. It also stays very coherent in terms of our narrative. Since the other members of the Batman family are always present in some way in the background, while you’re out in the world fighting crime or unravelling the mystery, they don’t stay inactive. So it makes sense that they are also progressing and getting stronger.”
And lastly, talking about the Bat-Family, while you can play around with four playable heroes — Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood — Gotham Knights co-op experience has been designed for two-players only. Why? The game’s creative director Patrick Redding said that he and his team wanted to deliver a “specific superhero fantasy.” And noted that this was also a way of ensuring that the city’s narrow streets won’t feel too cluttered when playing with a friend.
The two-player dynamic fits the fantasy and the Gotham City setting. The ‘duo’ or team-up is such a central feature of the universe that there’s a literal shorthand for it in the comics, animation, film, and TV versions.”
First revealed at the DC FanDome streaming event in August 2020, Gotham Knights is set to be released for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2021. Stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for the latest updates on Batman and other superhero comics and games.
