It’s been a long wait for those of us looking to see more of WB Games Montreal’s latest entry into the Batman Arkham franchise. But finally we have some actual, new gameplay to look at with a 13-minute video that showcases Red Hood and Nightwing’s playstyles, along with some of the storytelling to flesh out the world.
First up in the video there’s a glimpse of Nightwing’s acrobatic fighting style and his ability to glide around the game world with a snazzy looking glider. Using his electrified batons, Nightwing can throw down some serious whupping and he also has elemental attacks in his arsenal such as cryo and electrical specials.
On the other end of the spectrum we have Red Hood with his dual wielding fighting style. Red Hood packs non-lethal ammo in his pistols though and thanks to his Lazarus Pit resurrection, has some mystical abilities, most notable from this video been the air jumps he’s capable of.
If you want, you can play the game in co-op mode. It seems that each player can head off in their own direction, at least from what’s presented here, but if you do decide to stick together you can engage in some fun co-op finishers. Clearly the combat is still based around the Arkham series of games fighting style, which makes sense as if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. As well, that will let players jump into the game and its playstyle easier. Stealth makes a wonderful return as well, being one of the Arkham games’ best playstyles. Add to that, world traversal is much the same as well, beyond Nightwings glider, there’s the ever wonderful grappling hook ability to zip around rooftops faster and, for those wanting to stick low to the ground, a Batcycle that you can tear the streets up in.
When you’re not ripping up the open world, players can head on over to the games Belfry hub. From here you can choose which missions to take on and upgrade your equipment with some crafting. Nicely, different items change the way your character looks. In keeping with most games these days, upping your equipment power level seems to be where it’s at, along with mod slots to make you more effective in fights.
Now the bad news. Sadly for PS4 and Xbox One owners, the game has been cancelled. So if you’re not on a PC or have a PS5 or Xbox Series machine, you’re going to be missing out.
Gotham Knights is still clearly in the development phase. With the game set to release for October 25th 2021, there’s still a lot of work to be done between now and then but it’s looking very promising indeed.
