Warner Bros. Games Montreal Creative Director Patrick Redding revealed why the upcoming Gotham Knights has set out to establish its own continuity.
Per The Direct, Redding discussed several aspects of the game on the official Gotham Knights Discord channel. When asked about the game's story being separate from the continuity established by the previous Batman: Arkham series, Redding explained, "We wanted to be able to interpret and adapt the characters – that's both the heroes and their rogues' gallery – in new ways that would support a new player experience and progression. We wanted to be able to write the history of these characters with an original story without being tied to a particular continuity or feature set."
Gotham Knights will follow various members of the Bat Family as they race to protect their city against Batman's greatest enemies in the wake of the Caped Crusader's untimely demise. Despite Bruce Wayne also having apparently perished at the end of 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight, Gotham Knights is poised to develop its own take on the Gotham mythos. The Batman: Arkham series is set to continue on with 2023's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Regarding Gotham Knights' sprawling open world, Redding explained that players will "Encounter Gothamites from all walks of life, and they will definitely have opinions about you and your vigilante activities. There's vehicle traffic of various types, pedestrians heading in and out of rail stations, city workers on the night shift." Apart from pedestrian traffic, much of Gotham itself has been fully realized. Redding stated, "The weather varies from night to night, while remaining true to the Gotham vibe. Players will be able to enter a variety of buildings, usually because there's some illicit after-hours activity underway. And there is crime everywhere, both petty and major."
Players will be able to explore the game's dynamic open world as one of four playable characters including Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin. With its own branching continuity, Gotham Knights has also introduced some new concepts to its more familiar characters. While Nightwing has adopted a high-tech glider known as the Flying Trapeze, the game has imbued Red Hood with a unique set of supernatural abilities. Drawing on Jason Todd's resurrection at the hands of the League of Shadows, the now iconic antihero will be able to draw upon his own soul energy to gain an unexpected edge over the competition.
Fans can delve into the latest iteration of Gotham City when Gotham Knights releases on Oct. 25.
Source: The Direct