November 14, 2024

Gotham Knights release date has been brought forward four days to October 21. WB Games Montréal confirmed the news during the Geoff Keighley-hosted Gamescom Opening Night Live, by releasing a new trailer that shone a spotlight on the infamous rogues gallery, featuring Harley Quinn and Clayface. The open-world RPG set in the Batman universe was originally scheduled for an October 25 release. Gotham Knights will be out on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and PC.

The trailer for Gotham Knights kicks off with Detective Renee Montoya pouring one out for Jim Gordon, who passed away prior to the events of the game. Set in a universe where billionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne died in an explosion, it is up to the remaining members of the Bat-Family to restore order in the streets of Gotham, known for corruption and its high crime rate. We see Montoya following in the footsteps of her boss, as she approaches the Belfry to team up with our four heroes.

As Gotham gets divided into criminal factions, Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing and the Red Hood rise to the occasion. The new Gotham Knights trailer offered glimpses at Harley Quinn, who seems to be locked up in a cell prior to a predictable escape. While the game lets you play with any of the four given characters, it seems like Batgirl is designed as Quinn’s archenemy, as we see dedicated dialogues and combat sequences where she lays waste to armoured thugs with graffiti painted on them.

The gooey villain Clayface aka Basil Karlo also makes an appearance, sending out muddy minions all around Gotham City and creating havoc. It appears that his base of operations is set in the sewers, allowing him to navigate freely around town and attack unsuspecting civilians. Mr. Freeze gets some new footage too in the Gotham Knights Gamescom trailer, with a brief glimpse of him transforming into a six-legged mechanical robot — similar to the AIM machines in Marvel’s Avengers. Minor teases of the serial killer Professor Pyg scattered around, albeit he looks skinny — could be one of his thugs.

The primary antagonist, however, remains the enigmatic Court of Owls, lurking in the shadows and keeping watch over the state of Gotham from their hidden headquarters. Known for dispatching their ninja-like footsoldiers called Talons, these high-profile criminals have absolute control over the aforementioned factions.

You can play Gotham Knights in solo or two-player co-op modes, and introduces RPG-like levelling and a slower combat system that heavily relies on XP progression. The infamous free-flow combat, reminiscent of the Batman: Arkham games has been ditched, and now introduces new powers tailored to each character’s lore.

Gotham Knights launches October 21 across all major platforms — PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and Windows PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It will not release on the last-gen consoles — PS4 and Xbox One.