Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: A Great Time For DC Gaming Fans
The DC Fandome event has come and gone, and with it, two major game announcements. The first being a new Batman game, called Gotham Knights. Developed by WB Montreal, who created Batman Arkham Origins, as well as the Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor games. Gotham Knights is an action RPG, that can be played both single and online multiplayer. The trailer opened with a news report confirming the explosion of Bruce Wayne's home, as well as a broadcast from the man himself suggesting that he's “dead” (I'll believe it when I see it). This broadcast was sent to four of Bruce's pupils: Jason Todd (Red Hood), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), and Tim Drake (Robin). It shifts to the four of them gearing up, to take on the new threats facing Gotham City.
L to R: Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, Red Hood
We finally see gameplay, giving a glimpse of how each of the four knights are in action after some armored thugs attempt a break in a building. Robin, first up, showed his fancy moves with his famous staff. Emphasizing a green light from both his symbol and weapon, I thought it may have been a Kryptonite staff used to kill Superman. Batgirl was next, jumping into the melee with a flashy yellow bat logo, beating down foes with tonfas. I can't say I've seen Batgirl use them before, but I definitely approve of it! Nightwing enters next, with his iconic blue symbol behind him, doing his best impression of Chun Li's “Spinning Bird Kick” from Street Fighter and finally Red Hood, sporting his iconic dual pistols (which also function as tasers similar to Injustice 2) comes in to deliver the final blow. Will he use rubber bullets, will he deliver ‘lethal’ justice? It's interesting to think the other three knights are ok with him killing people; And while Mr. Freeze is shown brandishing his ice gun; the trailer ends with an ominous tease of the Court of Owls, as the new sinister group in the latest installment of the Batman franchise.
Following the trailer was a narration by Patrick Redding from the development team as gameplay demo’ed Batgirl with Robin (sporting a Red Robin outfit) joining as a partner. As glaciers covered the landscape, a huge ice beam comes from the center as Mr. Freeze and his device, freezes the city. Alfred is supporting Batgirl on a communication line as we see her and Robin take on some basic enemies, and navigate around the city, as well as some motorcycle driving which all four characters seem to have access to. The demo ends with a Mr. Freeze boss fight, which is more of a straightforward fight than the typical Arkham City confrontation.
Gotham Knights Walkthrough from DC
This is a dream game for me and as much as I like Batman, it's refreshing that other characters from his legacy get the spotlight in their own video game. While I love all of the Arkham games, some of my favorite parts were being able to play as Nightwing and Robin. Secondly, this will also be the first time these characters will be usable in an open environment during specific missions and/or challenges. While this game is being compared to Marvel’s Avengers, which is coming out in September, I'm already more excited for Gotham Knights than Capt’n America and his team.
In terms of appearance, this game seems better to look at, with its colorful aesthetics than Avengers; while maintaining the darker tones of the Batman franchise. Even though all the Arkham games look similar, Gotham Knights brings in a welcoming change; giving it a lighter tone since Batman is no longer the main focus. The combat parallels the Arkham titles, which is a great foundation, and to me, it appears less clunky than Avengers as well. Admittedly, I also have a bias favoring the roster of Gotham Knights’ Nightwing and Red Hood than any character in the Avengers line up. Gotham Knights is now one of my most anticipated games of 2021.
The next game reveal at DC Fandome was Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (SS). Developed by Rocksteady, they also developed the Batman Arkham series outside of Arkham Origins.
This trailer was only a cinematic reveal, showing off the cast’s main members of the Suicide Squad: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, as well as King Shark. Set in a destroyed Metropolis, with Brainiac's ship in the background. The four characters chat and mock each other while, taking down targets. Deadshot has a jet pack and Captain Boomerang can teleport to his thrown boomerang (think Noctis from Final Fantasy XV), which are abilities that seem new to them. After they lay waste to some foes, a soldier being held by a flying Superman, which seems controlled by Brainiac, rises from the shadows, and disintegrates the poor soldier with his heat vision. The Suicide Squad reluctantly see who their next target is, with the logo appearing, as soon as Cap’N Boomerang curses, with a release date of 2022…..
L to R: Cap’N Boomerang, Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot
While we unfortunately did not see any gameplay, there was an interview giving details on the game; a third person shooter, and while Gotham Knights was confirmed to be its own universe, the SS game will actually be part of the Arkham universe. Which is surprising because the look and tone of the game is distant from Arkham, seeming more like Sunset Overdrive or Fortnite. The game will feature multiplayer, up to four players. Rocksteady didn't confirm or deny if the four revealed characters would be all the game offered. I hope there’s more.
Both games easily piqued my interest, but the winner for me was Gotham Knights. This may not be fair because that game is further along and revealed more. For me, the main thing that was disappointing for SS was that there are so many different Suicide Squad members, and they only picked four. With three of them (Deadshot, Harley, and Captain Boomerang) being the safe picks out the group, I was really hoping for Katana, Killer Kroc, Killer Frost, and/or Enchantress. Gotham Knight, on the other hand may have had four members as well, but the pool to choose from is smaller and the roster was better. Lastly, while SS has a fun wacky vibe that fits, I think I found Gotham Knight's appearance and tone to be the perfect blend of dark with a side of “comic book super hero”. One thing is for sure, Marvel’s Avengers definitely has competition and DC has the advantage…for now.
