Summary
Gotham Knightshad the impossible task of satisfying DC fans as the first Batman-related game to follow Rocksteady’sArkham Knightand after nearly a decade of waiting fans definitely and understandably had high standards.Gotham Knightswasalso the only game to have followedWB Games Montreal’sArkham Origins—in terms of it being released a decade later, but with no connection between the two games—and that meant the studio could’ve had anything up its sleeve since itsBatmanprequel was the only piece of work fans had as a base of reference.
Gotham Knightswasn’t wholly underwhelming, though it is arguable that it disappointed in the areas it needed to excel in. Its two-player co-op aimed to be a feature that would propel it, and instead fans wondered whyGotham Knightsonly had two-player co-op when it starred four members of the Bat Family:Red Hood, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin. Four-player co-op was added later, but the damage had already been done with a lackluster narrative and side quests. Regardless, Rocksteady should still be given its own chance to develop a Bat Family game, whether it has co-op or not.
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Rocksteady Could Succeed Where WB Games Montreal Failed
Rocksteady would have a much more agreeable time making a Bat Family game than WB Games Montreal would even if that’s unfair due to how few games WB Games Montreal has actually put out. The decisions for which studio could get to make which game would be fascinating to learn properly because of howWB Games Montreal originally began the tease for aSuicide SquadgameinArkham Origins’ post-credits sequence.
If it’s to be inferred that WB Games Montreal was meant to developKill the Justice Leagueinstead of Rocksteady before Rocksteady picked it up, then maybe each studio hadGotham KnightsandSuicide Squadthrown in their laps after unforeseen circumstances. Rocksteady supposedly had aBatman Beyondgame in the works at some point, too, and there may be even more alleged games between the two that fans will never hear more about.
Either way,Gotham Knightsseparated itself from theArkhamgames’ canon. That shouldn’t have been a nail in its coffin necessarily, but Rocksteady would probably have an easier time selling such a game to fans if it was indeed part of the Arkhamverse continuity.
Arkham Knight’s Dual Play Mechanic Would Be Right at Home in a Gotham Knights Game
Rocksteady’s Dual Play combat systemis already in place as a way to make tag-team gameplay fun while enjoying solo play. InArkham Knight, Rocksteady implemented this feature to allow players to seamlessly swap between Batman and one of his Bat Family companions in predetermined sequences.
This included another effective play on the combo meter, which would let players swap characters cinematically with an instant tag-team takedown between them as an active finisher when the combo counter reached a particular multiplier. It was great to see Batman finally fighting alongside his allies in-game and being able to partake in that action as both participants was a huge joy that hasn’t been brought back since, and likely won’t be brought back forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguedue to its emphasis on four-player multiplayer.
Instead, the clearest way to bring it back would be in Rocksteady’s own Bat Family-led game, whether it was single-player only or had co-op functionality, too. Especially if fans are perturbed now by the whole premise of multiplayer, Rocksteady could gracefully transition back to its roots with gameplay stripped identically fromArkham Knightand fans likely wouldn’t have anything negative to say about it due to how much they long for such a game again.
Rocksteady’s take onGotham Knightswould be far more interesting as a prequel game where a handful of Bat Family characters are around, but Dual Play would be indiscriminate of the narrative set dressing as long as there were multiple characters to fulfill NPCs aiding the player in combat, and indeed swapping between three or four characters in the middle of combat could be an exceedingly fun way to amplify theArkham Knightexperience logically.
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Rocksteady Already Has the Blueprint for a Single-Player Take on the Bat Family
Now, any Batman-related game that isn’t part of the Arkhamverse coming out in the future will always be compared toArkhamgames, and besides fans not seeming enthused at all aboutKill the Justice Leaguebecause of its live-service nature, a return to what made Rocksteady an influential developer would almost assuredly bring back with it its entire previously loyal fanbase.
It would be interesting to see Rocksteady attempt to craft its own game around the Bat Family and with members already established throughout its tetralogy already it would be neat to see where that might land in the timeline or who is wearing which mask. Rocksteady would likely be forgiven for not makinganother Batman-led game following Kevin Conroy’s passing, so long as it didn’t parade Batman around in front of the player likeGotham Knightsdid.Gotham Knightswas far from perfect and its shortcomings aren’t all a result of comparison, meaning that aGotham Knights-like game from Rocksteady would still need to stand on its own merit.
That said, the Bat Family is poised to be in a much more interesting position subsequent toArkham Knightand regardless of whether players truly do get to kill Batman inKill the Justice League,Rocksteady always has the opportunity to retread where WB Games Montreal has faltered. Plus, such a choice might be fortuitous ifKill the Justice Leagueisn’t received as well as Rocksteady’s previous games.
Gotham Knightsis out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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