DC Fandome has officially kicked off, and needless to say, the comic book publisher and Warner subsidiary had a fair number of launches and announcements. On the video games side, one major announcement was the revelation of a new title in the Arkham series: Gotham Knights.
It’s the first title in the series for a while, with the last game, Arkham Knight, having launched back in 2015. Unlike the last three titles, however, Gotham Knights’ focus is not on the Dark Knight himself, but rather, his extended family.
From what we’ve gathered from the reveal trailer, the premise and story of Gotham Knights seem to take place sometime after the end of Arkham Knight; Bruce Wayne has been declared dead, as has Commissioner Gordon, the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) runs rife with corruption, and Mister Freeze has returned to Gotham for an undisclosed reason.
Wayne’s alleged “demise” triggers a protocol known as “Code Black” that, if you think about it, is a sort of inheritance he’s left to only four people he can trust: Bat Girl (aka Barbara Gordon), Nightwing (aka Dick Grayson), Robin (aka Tim Drake), and surprisingly, Red Hood (aka Jason Todd).
One other surprise is that Gotham Knights isn’t being developed by Rocksteady Studios, and is instead being worked on by Warner Bros. (WB) Games Montreal; the same team responsible for the prequel, Arkham Origins.
On another note, DC also released a short gameplay trailer, and there are some details we are able to draw from it. At first glance, we can see that the studio has revamped the levelling and damage system; the character’s levels are clearly displayed, as are the enemies and their health bars. Further, the amount of damage inflicted on them is also represented by numbers that pop up with each hit.
Combat mechanics clearly look familiar but seems to lack the same biff-and-pows that seem to ooze from Batman’s fighting style. Moreover, the use of advanced technology is clearly a step up from the Dark Knight’s own gadgets, as evidenced by Robin’s use of the Justice League’s teleportation technology. More importantly, the game is also the first title in the series to introduce a two-player coop, allowing two players to work together in-game.
As for who it is the Gotham Knights are up against, besides Mr. Freeze, the end of the announcement trailer showing off men wearing masks with a distinct beak-like hook at the end. Suggesting that the heroes could be going up an assassin group and secret society known as the Court of Owls.
Gotham Knights is expected to be available sometime in 2021, with no specific date given. While also not mentioned, it’s likely that the game will be made available on both the next-gen PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Xbox Series X consoles, as well as the PC.
(Source: DC via YouTube)
