Warner Bros. announces co-op next-gen brawler Gotham Knights

 

There’s a lot of fantastic news coming out of DC Fandom, and Warner Bros. Games came out of the gate with something unexpected and awesome.   Warner Bros. Games Montréal gave us an extended glimpse of their 2021-slated single player or cooperative beat-em-up, Gotham Knights.  Rather than retreading familiar territory of the caped crusader, we’ll be donning the cape of some of the associates to the”worlds greatest detective”, namely Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin.  These four must rise up in the absence of Bruce Wayne to keep Gotham City safe.  Here’s a little bit about what we know so far:

Introducing an original story set in DC’s Batman Universe, Gotham Knights offers a dynamic and interactive Gotham City where an exploding criminal element has swept through the streets. With the Belfry as their base of operations, this new era of heroes will solve mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in the city’s history and must defeat notorious villains in epic confrontations. Players must save Gotham from a descent into chaos and reinvent themselves into their own version of the Dark Knight.

David Haddad, President of Warner Bros. Games was clearly excited to talk about this next step in storied franchise.

“With Gotham Knights, the team at Warner Bros. Games Montréal is bringing the Batman Family of characters to life in a unique way to delight both fans and new players, as we embark on a new era of interactive storytelling, our development team has been diligently working to create a new, in-depth experience within DC’s Batman Universe.”

Patrick Redding, Creative Director of  Warner Bros. Games Montréal had this to add:

“The team is thrilled to announce Gotham Knights and share our work in bringing a different story of the DC Super Heroes to the forefront, we’re looking forward to fans playing and enjoying a lot of action as this new guard of strong DC Super Heroes in Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, while solving an original mystery set against a living, breathing Gotham City.”

We also got a bit of info on how the game’s setting and skill progressions will work, as well as a quick peek behind the cape of the four heroes:

In Gotham Knights, players can explore the open-world action of Gotham and patrol the dark streets of the city’s five distinct boroughs using a variety of traversal abilities and heroic combat moves, as well as the iconic Batcycle. As Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin progress, their distinctive gameplay skills will evolve, along with a growing arsenal of weaponry and gear. Revealed in the Gameplay Walkthrough video, Gotham Knights features rich storylines for players to investigate, including face-offs against some of the most infamous DC Super-Villains, such as Mr. Freeze, who is set on engulfing Gotham City in ice.

The playable characters in Gotham Knights include:

• Batgirl, also known as Barbara Gordon, is a determined fighter and a skilled hacker. As the daughter of deceased Gotham commissioner, Jim Gordon, she had helped Batman as Oracle in the past. Now, after years of recovery and preparation, she is ready to step into her new role, wielding her melee tonfa, and harnessing her training in kickboxing, capoeira and jiu-jitsu.
• Nightwing is Dick Grayson, the first Robin, who was Batman’s protégé before becoming a hero in his own right. He’s a natural leader and the eldest and wisest member of the Batman Family. Nightwing’s mastery in acrobatics is complemented by his expertise use of his signature dual Escrima Sticks, making him proficient at taking out enemies.
• Red Hood, formerly known as Jason Todd, is an intense and volatile anti-hero, which stems from his death and forced resurrection by one of Batman’s most dangerous foes. Red Hood has trouble keeping his temper in check but will not hesitate to step into the line of fire when a friend is threatened. His training has given him peak human strength and proficiency in multiple combat techniques with all manner of weapons – both traditional and high-tech.
• Robin is Tim Drake, the young prodigy and genius of the team, who is a master of deductive reasoning. As a true believer in Batman’s mission, he is motivated by the conviction that Gotham City needs protecting and hopes to be the type of hero Batman personified. An expert fighter armed with his collapsible quarterstaff and skilled in a variety of stealth techniques, Robin also possesses a background in combined psychological warfare and behavioral sciences.

Look no further than the amazing 4K video above to see a whopping seven minutes of gameplay reveal, as well as the awesome introductory cinematic.  I don’t know about you, but I’m HYPED for the next entry in this expanded DC universe.

Gotham Knights is playable either solo or as a two-player, online cooperative experience and will be available in 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4,  Xbox Series X, Xbox One X and PC at some point in 2021.  Stay tuned here at Gaming Trend to see what’s next from DC FanDome!