Warner Bros. Games Releases New Gameplay Demo For Gotham Knights

Warner Bros. Games and DC have released a new gameplay demo video for Gotham Knights, an upcoming co-op open-world RPG starring characters from the DC Comics universe. Presented by game director Geoff Ellenor and starring Nightwing and the Red Hood, the gameplay video shows off what players can expect in terms of combat, stealth, and traversal.

Developed by WB Games Montréal, Gotham Knights takes place in a different continuity to the Batman: Arkham series (which was made with Rocksteady Studios). Billionaire playboy-by-day, vigilante-by-night Bruce Wayne is dead, and with him, Batman and the Batcave have gone up in flames. If the murderers, thieves, and madmen of Gotham City thought they were now safe from the wrath of the caped crusader, they were sorely mistaken. Batman’s protégés Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood answer a posthumous call to action and must work together to stop the secretive Court of Owls from rising up and taking over the crime-ridden Gotham City.

 

Each of the four playable characters will have access to a grappling hook, jetpack-like Fast-Bat fast-travel system, and Batcycle. Additionally, as the newest gameplay video demonstrates, each character will traverse the Gotham skyline in a unique manner. Nightwing’s glider, the Flying Trapeze, aids his nighttime patrols; while Red Hood uses a Mystical Leap to get across rooftops quickly.

Combat in Gotham Knights takes a lot of inspiration from the Batman: Arkham series. Nightwing’s acrobatic fighting style is very reminiscent of the Arkham games’ fluid, crunching combat and the DNA of the genre-defining franchise is present throughout Gotham Knights. Speaking to GamesRadar last year, executive producer Fleur Marty described how WB Games had “entirely redesigned the combat system in order for it to work well in co-op… of course, we’re still a brawler, and some mechanics won’t feel totally alien for people who played and enjoyed the Arkham series, but it is in many ways very different.”

 

Gotham Knights will differentiate itself by having four unique combat styles with unique abilities for each hero and a focus on cooperative gameplay. For example, Red Hood’s ranged, (non-lethal) gun-fu is very different from Nightwing’s athleticism. There will be a stealth system with fast but loud ambush strikes and quieter silent takedowns in the same vein as Arkham’s predator gameplay. Another mechanic transferred into Gotham Knights is the Augmented Reality Vision; a cleaner, simpler version of Batman: Arkham’s detective vision. Finally, there is a glimpse of Belfry clocktower, the Gotham Knights’ base of operations. Here players can choose their missions, craft items, and equip the most suitable suit for the mission ahead.

Gotham Knights has a strong pedigree behind it and a solid foundation to build upon; with diverse character move sets and unique methods of traversal, the promise of what co-op can bring to the DC universe is also very exciting. With the PS4 and XBOX One versions of the game canceled, Gotham Knights will look to utilize the advanced technology available with the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC when it releases on 25th October 2022.

Alex David Johnson,
News Editor, NoobFeed