In early May, we saw Red Hood and Nightwing take center stage in a blowout new product Gotham Knights Game trailer from DC and WB Games Montreal. This video is our first look at the game in years and does address some of our doubts about the game – but is it impressive? Should You Care About Batman Games Without Batman? This is still up for debate.
One of the most concerning parts of the footage we saw was how choppy it looked. In addition to the new footage, we’ve also learned that Gotham Knights will only release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC — ditching its release on previous-gen consoles, PS4 and Xbox One.
While that’s nice (it’s always nice to have games that aren’t constrained by older hardware), we expect the footage shown to be very impressive and gorgeous…not riddled with texture issues and slowdowns, and looking a bit The place is blurry. Let’s boil it down to this being an unfinished version of the game. At least for now.
At least the game itself looks pretty good, though. Game director Geoff Ellenor tells us about the gameplay, as the resurrected Red Hood and the acrobatic Nightwing carry out their crime-fighting operations on Gotham’s troubled streets. Let’s break down some of the most interesting parts of the footage provided:
fighting
Between Nightwing and Red Hood, we get a good idea of how Gotham Knights feels. Combat in Nightwing is all about momentum, and popping up among enemies and using speed to control crowds is part of the game, right here.
Red Hood uses a non-lethal gun (well, of course) to fire pepper blasts at enemies, and can place (presumably non-lethal) grenades and explosives on enemies that can be detonated on a whim to deal more damage to a mob.
Both vigilantes can team up to take down enemies, looking a lot like staying close to the mob, while teaming up to target more immediate threats will be a key part of the game, here.
Given the visible damage numbers in the game (which you can turn off if you want) and more RPG elements, it feels more similar to how Marvel’s Avengers is played than previous Arkham games. Is that a good thing? In my eyes, no. However, you can only evaluate so much without really mastering the title.
traverse
To get around the city, Nightwing uses a flying trapeze — basically a type of glider — that mimics the way Batman flies in past Arkham games to get from point A to point B as easily as possible.
Meanwhile, the Red Hood bounces in the air by means of a special mysterious jump, which he was apparently granted when he was resurrected from the dead. Ok. Really, this doesn’t fit the bat family, but I guess everyone needs a way to fix things.
All four heroes can ride down the street on their motorcycles, which can seem incredibly slow and heavy — which isn’t usually what you’d want on a two-wheeler. Maybe once you actually use it, it feels better in your hand. The jury is out on that, though – and the animation that ensues is a little off.
You can also use the Fast Bat Mech Glider to fast travel around the city because the imitation is dead.
make
Fate has a lot to answer. The UI in the menu looks like something between Destiny and Diablo, with layered colors for exotic and rare items, and looks like it could be heavily pulled from Season of Capture or something resource.
Next up are the criteria for classes like this: stats for atomization, tags for crafting, tags for modding, the ability to dismantle any suits you craft, and nodes for upgrades and chips.
We had hoped the game’s customization would be more in line with Injustice 2 — where you can add modular pieces to armor — but it seems to be mostly wholesale outfits, and it looks like you can trade in different resistances and perks.
Will there be as much love for source material as Marvel’s Spider-Man on PS4? We will wait and see.
Gotham Knights is currently expected to release on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC on October 25, 2022, following its initial release window of 2021.