"Not starting from zero by any stretch": Gotham Knights will not have its heroes begin from scratch in the upcoming RPG

Superhero fans are eagerly waiting for Gotham Knights to arrive after years of hype and anticipation. The action RPG from WB Games Montreal will be arriving later this fall in October with four playable characters from the Bat family - Robin, Red Hood, Nightwing, and Batgirl.

Although it falls in the role-playing genre, the developers behind the title have clarified that it will be buckling the genre trend of the hero starting from scratch. Even before diving into what they said regarding the matter, it is clear to see why this choice makes sense in the context of the game.

Speaking to IGN, Game Director Geoff Ellenor stated:

"There is an RPG progression, but they're not starting from zero by any stretch. They're already pretty rocking by the time you take the controller."

Gotham Knights begins with the death of the Caped Crusader, with the game turning to his trusted colleagues to protect Gotham and bring criminals to justice in his absence. It is not set to be an origin story for any of them but rather chronicle their journey as they attempt to pick up the mantle after the Dark Knight's demise.

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All four Gotham Knights have the basic tools in their arsenal to combat injustice in the

Game Director Geoff Ellenor revealed that the Knights are "already awesome" at the start of the storyline. Rather than being meek characters who slowly progress through levels to become heroes, players will be experiencing the essence of the four characters from the very start.

Ellenor explained the decision by pointing out that the four protagonists in Gotham Knights have been effectively trained by Batman himself. He said:

"We didn't want to do a dungeon crawler RPG where we send you into the forest to kill six slugs and return with your stick. These are ultimately very interesting people who have been trained by Batman and by others. They're very intelligent. They're very capable. But they still have this challenge of rising to the level of, ‘what does it take to protect Gotham City now that Batman is gone?’"

Patrick Redding, creative director of Gotham Knights, also chimed in and talked about how they will have a lot of basic tools, but will come into their own as the game progresses:

"They are all effectively graduates of the Batman School of Crime Fighting. So when they start, they are at their most similar, in the sense that they have a lot of these basic tools of combat and stealth, and moving around in the world and using their grapple. And then it's really over the course of the game that they fully diverge into their own flavor of what a Dark Knight of Gotham City should be."

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Absence of the Caped Crusader, some classic villains will be skipped too

Earlier, at a San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2022 panel, the developers mentioned that Batman will be dead within the first 10 minutes of Gotham Knights and will remain so for the entirety of the game. The Clown Prince of Gotham will also give the title a miss, although Harley Quinn is likely to make an appearance.

The choice to kill off Batman at the very beginning of Gotham Knights allows the developers to focus on these other characters from the DC oeuvre who are not usually headliners. The developers have assured fans that they will be getting the option to play four unique character arcs in one game with each character.

The game will also feature classic villains, including the Court of Owls, Penguin, and Mr. Freeze. At SDCC 2022, Redding mentioned that a big villain reveal is going to happen in the next few weeks that will provide players with further information.

Gotham Knights is set to be released on October 25. It will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.