Warner Bros. Games Montreal Creative Director Patrick Redding opened up about Gotham Knights' corrupt and criminally infested open world.
As covered by The Direct, Redding discussed the effect of "both petty and major" crime on the upcoming game's open-world setting on Gotham Knights' official Discord channel. Redding said, "Everything mentioned in that question is present in our Gotham City to some degree. Each district in Gotham has a distinct mix of citizens." The developer continued, "Since the player will only hit the streets at night, some neighborhoods have more of a civilian nightlife, others are more industrial and bleak."
Redding explained that players will "Encounter Gothamites from all walks of life, and they will definitely have opinions about you and your vigilante activities." Apart from everyday citizens, players can expect to encounter other aspects of Gotham's bustling albeit downtrodden ambiance. As Redding stated, "There's vehicle traffic of various types, pedestrians heading in and out of rail stations, city workers on the night shift. 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."
When asked about how dynamic players' encounters with crime in Gotham would ultimately be, Redding clarified that "It depends on the crime. Some of the random opportunistic crimes will still linger unless the player moves to intervene. Most of the bigger, more pre-meditated crimes have a failure condition if the player retreats after engaging."
Announced during 2020's DC FanDome event, Gotham Knights will see players take control of various members of the Bat Family, including Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood. Together, the team is tasked with saving Gotham City from Batman's most menacing foes in the wake of the Caped Crusader's untimely demise. Each playable character offers gamers a unique set of skills and abilities to put to use defending Gotham. While Nightwing has been outfitted with his own high-tech glider known as the Flying Trapeze, the game has leaned into Red Hood's backstory to provide the antihero with new, supernatural powers to tap into.
Despite Bruce Wayne having perished at the end of 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight, Gotham Knights establishes its own continuity outside the previous series. Regarding this decision, Redding said, "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." The Batman: Arkham series will continue next with 2023's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Players can explore the mean streets of Gotham for themselves when Gotham Knights goes on sale on Oct. 25.
Source: The Direct