Gotham Knights' announcement was a surprise to many. Not only would a new universe be supplanting the Batman Arkham series, but Batman himself would be replaced by four of his proteges. These protagonists, which include Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Red Robin, will stand as Gotham Knights' most radical change, as players will be able to swap between them with ease. But that's just the start of what WB Montreal Studios has planned.
In a new feature published on the PlayStation Blog, several features are confirmed for Gotham Knights. The biggest of which has to do with Gotham Knights' four playable characters. It's already known that each of the four characters will be unique when it comes to playstyle. They'll have similar but different combat styles, as well as abilities that will allow them to approach situations in entirely different ways. But now it's confirmed that the difference between them extends even to Gotham Knights' progression systems.
Each individual Gotham Knights playable character will have their very own XP progression, it's now confirmed. Through this XP progression, players will be able to level up characters through their unique ability trees. So not only will Nightwing have a different combat style than Batgirl, but they'll each be able to augment their abilities through separate ability trees, too. Also unique to each character will be specific craftable gear.
The idea behind the design, according to Gotham Knights creative director Patrick Redding, is a focus on the "mid to long term growth of the hero." Whereas Batman Arkham games focused on a single story told over a short span of time, Gotham Knights is building an open world that's constantly under threat. The open world of Gotham Knights is fostering the growth of these heroes, not just setting them along a single path of story.
In Gotham Knights, players will be able to swap between the heroes as they see fit. They'll also have the option not to swap at all. It's also confirmed that players can go through Gotham Knights entirely as a single character. No swapping required.
One thing that isn't entirely clear is how gaining experience points works in Gotham Knights. The description makes it sound like each character has their own experience and levels. If Nightwing gains 10,000 XP, Batgirl will still have zero. But the description is ambiguous enough that this may not be the case. There may be a shared level or some kind of catchup system. Clearly, WB Montreal Studio still has a lot left to share about Gotham Knights.
Gotham Knights releases 2021 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.