Two major points of criticism followed the Batman: Arkham series throughout its duration, most notably later games that moved out into Gotham itself. One concerned the conveniently empty streets devoid of regular people in a typically bustling Gotham City. The other centered on the fact that Batman’s adventures always took place over the course of a single night. While Gotham Knights isn’t an Arkham entry, it appears as though WB Games Montréal aims to tackle the issues that plagued the franchise head on. For one, the Bat-family’s escapades won’t unfold during one night alone. Better still, players can expect Gotham City to be a living, breathing world, complete with an active citizenry.
Speaking with PlayStation Blog, Creative Director Patrick Redding revealed the story isn’t spread out across one night. Rather, the studio intends to showcase “the mid to long term growth of the hero.” Villain Crimes, for example, will take several nights to complete. These types of encounters, Redding explains, constitute “a series of encounters where the player has to do a certain amount of legwork and detective work to hunt down the villain at the next major confrontation.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the Creative Director touched on what to expect in terms of the city’s population. Players will see everyday citizens roaming around, going to work or traveling to the store. Many will be present in instances of congested traffic, while others utilize the city’s trains. This sounds as though it could be a welcomed far cry from Arkham’s open-worlds, which exclusively featured criminals running wild.
Recently, WB Games Montréal revealed the voice actors behind Gotham Knights’s core group of characters. Geek Therapy’s America Young plays Batgirl, Christopher Sean voices Nightwing, Sloane Morgan Siegel is Robin, Stephen Oyoung lends his voice to Red Hood, and Gildart Jackson assumes the role of Alfred Pennyworth.
Gotham Knights will launch on an unspecified date in 2021 for the PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
[Source: PlayStation Blog]
