DC FanDome gave us the first inside look at the new Batman title Gotham Knights, where the focus is now on the Bat-Family. The cinematic trailer set the scene by showcasing that the Bat is dead, Bruce Wayne is gone, and it is up to Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and the Red Hood to pick up the pieces. While the cinematic trailer is exciting, we then got a gameplay trailer with early pre-alpha footage that established the overall feel of the game. Now that we’ve seen it, it looks like another live service game. Just what we asked for. Hooray.
Passing Of The Torch
Fans eagerly awaiting a new Batman game might have had the rug pulled out from under them because the Bat is dead. The cinematic shows Bruce Wayne posthumously issuing an emergency call to action for the Bat-Family. It seems that this new entry is not related to the Arkham series, as Arkham Knight ended with Batman possibly staging his death, only to protect Gotham in new ways, so we are assuming this Batman is six feet under for real.
Killing off Batman is not a bad move; if anything, it feels fresh to move the spotlight away from a character we have explored ad nauseam. What is weird is having the Court of Owls appear as the shadowy threat without Batman. For those unfamiliar with the comics, the Court of Owls ruled Gotham from the shadows, with very few being aware of their existence.
The Court’s story is central to the Wayne family as Bruce’s great grandfather, Alan Wayne, tried to warn Gotham of the Court of Owls, and eventually, Bruce incurs their wrath. The Court of Owls becomes a threat that pushes the Dark Knight to his limits, and he needs the help of the Bat-Family. Killing Batman from the start feels weird. However, straying away from the source material is not the worst thing. Many comic book adaptations have succeeded by doing just that. The true concern is how this Bat-Family approach affects Gotham Knights’ gameplay.
More Games As A Service. Hooray.
The gameplay trailer showcased elements of co-op and RPG elements, which are also not necessarily bad things. Still, the aforementioned elements are a concern when paired with other features found scattered across the gameplay. During the gameplay showcase, we see enemies with numbers on top of their heads, indicating level of toughness and a focus on meeting mathematical requirements to win combat.
Health bars already feel weird considering that the Arkham series, which the combat of Gotham Knights still seems to be using, did not have any health bars. You knew an enemy was defeated when they were on the floor crying, it felt good, and it was immersive. The inclusion of health bars and enemy levels triggers flashbacks to The Division and possibly having zones locked off until players are high enough rank or have better equipment.
Speaking of equipment, Robin is shown to have a helmet that seems to stray away from his traditional design. We must preface that this is speculation, but this could indicate customizable equipment that boosts character stats. Why, you may ask? Well, in the gameplay showcase, we might have seen in-game currency or crafting material.
Above we have a screenshot from the gameplay walkthrough, where Barbara Gordon knocks around some goons to gain XP, along with some weird material that is shown below the player’s XP bar. This is frustrating as it implies that Gotham Knights is shaping up to be a grind fest. Whether this game is aggressive in microtransactions is yet to be seen. Still, the addition of leveling up characters, crafting, bullet sponge enemies, and multiple currencies brings it closer to the trend of games being padded out with cynical mechanics that aim to empty your wallet.
Do We Need More Of These Games?
What is bothersome about seeing, potentially, yet another live service game is knowing that the game will rake in profits and encourage publishers to keep pumping them out. The upcoming Avengers game has the same feel and look of Gotham Knights, with bright colors, customizable equipment, multiple currencies, and a large open world. What is concerning about Gotham Knights is it feels like the bulk of the game will be players exploring Gotham in sections, repeating the same side quests to grind away for crafting materials, returning to base to build new equipment, taking down bosses and repeating for hours on end. This type of game design is uninspired at best and cynical at worst. It continues to commodify the player, and the focus becomes trapping players in a simple gameplay loop. It also ignores the whole Court of Owls story fans have been craving for years.
Could we be wrong, and the game shapes up to be something far more in-depth than we are being led to believe? Of course, all of the footage is pre-alpha, with possibly many ideas still being worked on, and certain placeholders are shown that may not be in the final game. However, if this was the big first impression for Gotham Knights, it is unfortunately underwhelming. The joy of playing these live service games is fleeting. To be fair, some people enjoy the grind. However, the grinding aspect of a big budget AAA game like this often feels like an artificial way to extend gameplay. It’s designed to keep players hooked by giving them small serotonin boosts with shiny equipment painted with some arbitrary rarity color.
The games as a service model is, unfortunately, here to stay as it continues to be profitable for publishers. Gotham Knights as a product is impressive because of its marketability, as it uses iconic figures in nerd culture, and is leaning on the fact many fans have been itching for a Batman game since Arkham Knight. However, based on the gameplay, Gotham Knights currently looks like a cash grab. Hopefully, we are wrong, and future gameplay paints a different picture.
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