Gotham Knights - What We Know So Far

Batman: Arkham Knight brought the Arkham franchise full circle. What started with a simple game about stopping the Joker from acquiring an army of Bane-ified soldiers concluded in a sprawling epic in which Batman faced his past mistakes and innermost fears. However, Arkham Knight ended with Batman initiating the Knightfall Protocol and apparently dying in a huge explosion that destroyed Wayne Manor.

The seemingly definitive ending of Arkham Knight raised the question of where the series would go next. How would the Arkham franchise continue? Would it continue? Audiences pondered for years, but the 2020 DC FanDome event provided the answer. Shortly after opening the festivities with a Wonder Woman 1984 panel, DC unveiled Gotham Knights. Developed by WB Games Montréal, the action RPG does not tie into the Arkham games, but contains many of the elements that fans loved about the series. The creators provided more than enough information to give gamers a taste of things to come. Here's what we know about Gotham Knights so far.

As with many development studios working through the uncertain year of 2020, the team behind Gotham Knights has a good idea of when they want to release the game, but they can't pin it down to one specific release window. The devs were proud to announce the title will launch in 2021, but it's too early to get more specific than that.

While the previous game in the Arkham franchise, Batman: Arkham Knight, released on June 23, 2015, that title was developed by Rocksteady Studios. Gotham Knights, meanwhile, is being created by Warner Bros. Montreal, the team behind 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins. Therefore, it is difficult to pin down how long Gotham Knights has been in the works. Regardless, Warner Bros. Montreal's labors will come to a close sometime in 2021, even though we don't know if the game will launch early in the year or just in time for the holidays.

The DC FanDome event dropped two trailers for Gotham Knights. The cinematic World Premiere trailer gives players a taste of the story and characters. Batman is dead, and the Bat Family has to pick up where he left off. Each playable character brings a different set of skills to the table, and they must put those abilities to the test to defeat Gotham's criminal underbelly, as well as the Court of Owls.

The other Gotham Knights trailer, the Gameplay Walkthrough, is a little more in-depth. This video demonstrates key differences and similarities between characters. The trailer also provides a tour of the average co-op play session. Not only does the gameplay video show how Batgirl differs from Robin, but it also demonstrates how they will banter throughout missions, implying that different combinations of characters will result in different conversations. The Gameplay Walkthrough culminates in a punch-happy boss battle with Mr. Freeze, a stark departure from Arkham City's puzzle-based Mr. Freeze fight.

There's a reason why this game isn't called Batman: Gotham Knights: Batman is not the focus. His death is the catalyst for the title's story, and aside from pre-recorded messages, don't expect the Dark Knight to show his face or cowl.

So, who will take on the leading role? It's all in the title. Gotham Knights, plural. The Bat Family takes center stage, including Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin. They will be assisted by Alfred and bump into supporting characters like Renee Montoya.

As for villains, players will wade through hordes of faceless thugs, as well as famous rogues' gallery characters such as Mr. Freeze. And Gotham Knights' big bad? All signs point to the fan-favorite organization, the Court of Owls, which will employ its top enforcers, The Talons.

Of course, this is only a small sampling of the characters players will see in Gotham Knights. Expect more villains and allies to be revealed in future game updates.

Judging by the Gotham Knights gameplay walkthrough, the game will feel similar to the Arkham games, but with some key distinctions. For instance, Gotham Knights will feature the combat, stealth, and gadget hallmarks of the previous titles, as well as several vehicle sections. However, unlike the Arkham games, players will be able to tackle the title alone or with a friend. Plus, there's also a leveling system. As players get stronger and unlock more skills, enemies will keep pace to provide a constant challenge.

Since Gotham Knights will feature four playable characters instead of the usual lone Dark Knight, the developers made sure to program each member of the Bat Family to feel distinct from each other, as well as from their mentor. Batgirl, for example, will play almost identically to Batman, but she will sport her own unique gadgets, such as stun disks that swarm and electrocute enemies. Meanwhile, Robin will be able to teleport short distances thanks to some clever Justice League satellite hacking, and Red Hood can gun down enemies at a distance with his, um, guns. And, each character can tag-team thugs into next week with devastating, dual-player takedowns.

In a way, Gotham Knights will play like a version of Arkham Knight that strips down some features and expands others to create a beat-em-up experience players can enjoy either alone or with a fellow vigilante.