Taking place in a version of Gotham City where Batman is dead and his sidekicks have taken up his mantle, Gotham Knights looks to be an interesting new rendition of the Batman universe. With the game slated to release later this year, developer WB Montreal has revealed a number of details surrounding the title, including that its core villains will be The Court of Owls and that the game's combat was designed around 2-player co-op.
During an interview with GamesRadar, Gotham Knights' executive producer Fleur Marty revealed another interesting tidbit surrounding the game, telling the publication about how shared experience works within the title. While it seemed initially as though players would focus on their hero of choice, upgrading them as the game progressed, it seems they won't have to worry about certain heroes being under-leveled if they want to switch back and forth between characters.
"Since the story progression is shared between all the characters, it also makes sense that you don't have to level them up from scratch every time you want to switch," Marty claims. According to the producer, it makes more sense narratively that Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood are leveling up at the same time, as any unselected heroes are meant to be dealing with their own vigilante tasks while the player is pursuing story missions. In Marty's words, "they don't stay inactive. So it makes sense that they are also progressing and getting stronger."
The decision definitely removes the frustration found in similar games, as players don't have to waste time grinding out levels if they want to experiment with each character's specific playstyle. In the same vein, it seems heroes will be easily switchable, with Marty revealing that changing from one character to another is as simple as returning to the game's main hub area: the Belfry clocktower. That being said, it's completely possible to stick as one character for the entire campaign, so it's really up to the player whether they want to fully invest in a single hero or utilize a mix of them throughout the story.
Nonetheless, the game will allegedly be available at an as of yet unspecified date later this year. It'll be the first AAA Batman game for WB Montreal since Batman: Arkham Origins back in 2013, with the developer working on several leaked projects that never saw the light of day. Included in these was a sequel to Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Knight, with Bruce Wayne's son Damian taking over the Caped Crusader's mantle as he fought Gorilla Grodd, The Judge, and a female Black Mask. It seems the devs instead traded in the idea to work on Gotham Knights, focusing on a new universe and multiplayer gameplay.
Gotham Knights will be available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X in 2021.
Source: GamesRadar