Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood suit up and defend Gotham City inGotham Knights, an action-RPG that allows for two-player co-op. Each playable protagonist has their own attacks, gadgets, and traversal, creating dynamic playstyles in co-op and single-player alike.Gotham Knightsis its own IP, but it is intriguing to see how it compares to theBatman: Arkhamgames that came before it, such as how much combat will be iterated upon and changed inGotham Knights.
Freeflow combat is integral and definitive ofthe Arkhamverse’sBatmangames, and while it is surprising that WB Games Montreal will not be reprising it fromBatman: Arkham Originsthere are many reasons why not doing so is of benefit toGotham Knights. Most plainly,Gotham Knightsneeds new mechanics to facilitate its RPG characteristics, butGotham Knightslacking Freeflow is also important as to avoid one hysterical and seemingly unintentional animation featured in the Arkhamverse.
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Ground Takedowns in Batman: Arkham Games Often Result in a Crotch Punch
Ground takedowns are incredibly important inBatman: Arkhamgames as they effectively dispatch an enemy that will otherwise get back onto their feet. Enemies are toppled over rather quickly, but choosing when to perform a ground takedown is also a meticulous effort since the animation can be interrupted by the incoming attack of a nearby enemy. This ground takedown animation differs betweenBatman: Arkham City,Batman: Arkham Origins, andBatman: Arkham Knight, but it is the same betweenBatman: Arkham AsylumandBatman: Arkham City. In the original game and its sequel, Batman flips into the air and lands on the downed thug, proceeding to land a strike down on them.
However, depending on which direction Batman is facing when he lands, he may either land a punch on the thug’s face, rear-end, or crotch. This makes for someunintentionally hilarious moments in theBatman: Arkhamseries, where Batman will end an encounter with a deafening punch to a thug’s groin.
Of course, there are other ways to dispatch enemies, such as using combo beat-downs or special gadget takedowns, but ground takedowns are simple and effective, albiet sometimes comical in their execution. The animations were perhaps changed forBatman: Arkham OriginsandBatman: Arkham Knightto mitigate this happening again, though the latter game features an acrobatic downward strike that can sometimes hit the thug’s stomach or pelvic region anyway.
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The Lack of Freeflow in Gotham Knights May Be to Its Benefit
Based on all thegameplay that has been showcased forGotham Knightsso far, it is fair to say that it will lack ground takedowns in their entirety. This is likely a design choice meant to keep enemies on their feet for as long as possible in order to have them susceptible to other attacks, such as grabs and environmental takedowns.
Players are able to use the environment to their advantage much more than inBatman: Arkhamgames as they are able to run along the sides of trucks or perform a takedown near an environmental geometry, likely when enough meter has been generated. The only mechanic as ubiquitous as ground takedowns inBatman: Arkhamgames is the parry counter, which is also not a mechanic available to players inGotham Knights.
Instead, players will have a perfect dodge and a follow-up perfect counter that they can perform. It may already be a balm to some fans thatGotham Knightsis exemplifying combat differently from the Arkhamverse, lending to the fact that they are separate IPs.
Some fans may be excited aboutthe RPG featuresGotham Knightsbrings to its open-world, and it will be interesting to see how impactful suit choices and gadget upgrades are in tandem with basic combat for each of its playable protagonists. Because it is an open-world game with a lot of features, it is unlikely thatGotham Knightswill be completely invulnerable to some janky animations or strange bugs, but at least it may not have to worry about having frequent crotch punches in its combat repertoire.
Gotham Knightsis scheduled to release on October 25 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
