Six years after release, Batman: Arkham Knight players are still encountering - and sharing - secrets and easter eggs hidden in the game. One player continued the trend recently, sharing an interesting tidbit about the way Batman and Robin interact with each other mechanically in Batman: Arkham Knight.
The partnership between Batman and Robin dates back to the earliest days of the Batman franchise, and though the title of Robin has been held by several different individuals in both the comics and the games, the relationship between them remains largely similar. Robin is Batman's sidekick, learning from him and often providing tech support. As such, having him present can be crucial to an Arkham game making the player feel like Batman. Batman: Arkham Knight uses this to great effect by having Robin's AI take cues from Batman when the player is controlling the senior hero.
In Batman: Arkham Knight, crouching can be used to sneak around quietly and minimize the chances of being spotted by enemies, However, during some parts of the game, the player is tasked with managing both Batman and Robin, where Redditor kingmidasrx captured a video of something interesting. To represent Robin learning from his mentor - and, presumably, to make controlling both characters a bit easier - whenever Batman crouches, Robin will follow suit. This isn't the first time players have noticed a little detail in the Arkham games, but it's one that helps establish the bond between two major characters.
when you crouch using batman, robin follows.. but when you crouch as robin, batman doesn't. this goes to show that despite being trained by batman, he is still following his master's instincts but batman just knows better. im probably looking into it but its a neat detail. (sorry for potato quality) from BatmanArkham
Interestingly, when the player takes control of Robin and crouches, Batman will not mimic him. This may be because Batman is the more experienced of the two, and thus more likely to know when crouching is required and when it isn't. It could also be to reinforce Batman's authority over Robin, which plays into the story of Batman: Arkham Knight. Whatever the case, it is notable that Nightwing - who was the first Robin before going off to be a solo hero - does not appear to have the same habits as Robin. This could be because Nightwing does not have a chance to interact with Batman outside of combat, cutscenes, or specific tasks, thus limiting the game's ability to show how he and Batman interact.
As of writing, many players have replied stating that they also encountered this easter egg and found it interesting. One user shared their belief that, if Nightwing were able to interact with Batman in the same way as Robin, Batman would crouch when Nightwing crouched because he views Nightwing as more reliable. Another stated they hope Nightwing doesn't crouch when Batman does, which would show that he is his own hero now and doesn't have to follow Batman in everything. Batman: Arkham Knight is a game filled with memorable choices, but the subtle choices made by the developers can be equally important.
The Batman: Arkham series is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.