WB Games Montreal’s last project dealing with the DC Universe was Batman: Arkham Origins, which came out in 2013 and for the most part received positive reviews.
The storyline was a prequel to events in Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. It features a younger Batman that is still learning the ways of vigilante justice. The sprawling streets of Gotham City were great and so were the characters, including Deadshot, Anarky, Copperhead, and Firefly.
It has been seven years since this pivotal game in the Arkham series came out and now, WB Games Montreal has its sights set on Gotham Knights, an action RPG that features an amazing assortment of characters like Robin, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Night Wing.
Unlike the developer’s previous Arkham game, Gotham Knights won’t be continuing the Arkham storyline. Rather, it seems set in its own universe where Batman is dead. That’s right. This game won’t feature the Dark Night as a playable character.
It’s an interesting choice, but one that sort of makes sense. Batman has done a lot of the heavy-lifting in the Arkham series and if he continually was featured, there’s the possibility of fatigue.
Now with Gotham Knights featuring Batman’s most skilled comrades, gamers get the chance to experience new storylines and different fighting mechanics. WB Games Montreal also isn’t forced into continuing in the same direction as the Arkham games. They can take this unique property down whichever path they want, which seems to revolve around the Court of Owls.
If you’re not familiar, they’re some of Gotham’s wealthiest families and have been working behind the scenes to gain power and control. Now that Batman is presumably dead, it makes sense that this group would come out from the shadows and try to take over Gotham.
In addition to the Court of Owls, Mr. Freeze was also featured in a gameplay demo. The group has to free a portion of Gotham City from its icy chambers. Visually, Mr. Freeze looks unique and should be a fun party to play foil to.
It also looks like Gotham Knights will be a live service game, which has gotten some in the gaming community a little worried. Similar games have a pretty grindy progression system and usually there are pay-to-play mechanics.
Hopefully that’s not the case for Gotham Knights because it looks just as fun as the Arkham games, featuring similar combat and open-world environments around Gotham City.