Gotham Knights, Suicide Squad even the odds after Batman’s demise
With Batman apparently dead and Superman going rogue, both Gotham and Metropolis have descended into chaos, and it will be up to you to save the day
DC has dropped the first trailer for Gotham Knights, confirming the upcoming co-op title to be the next entry in the critically acclaimed Arkham series.
The future looks pretty grim in the announcement trailer. The apparent death of Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, has left Gotham in chaos. Commissioner James Gordon – Batman's most trusted ally in his war against crime – has also passed away.
The Gotham City Police Department has grown corrupt under the new administration, ushering in an era of rampant crime and lawlessness in the city. To make matters worse, Court of Owls – a secret criminal society as old as Gotham itself – is pulling strings from the shadows.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Fully aware that this day would come sooner or later, Batman had put in place a dead man's switch. The switch activates Code Black, sending encrypted messages to four of his crime fighting prodigies – Red Hood, Nightwing, Batgirl and Robin.
As for the gameplay details, Gotham Knights is an upcoming co-op action role-playing game featuring four playable characters in an open world Gotham City.
Each character has their unique playstyle and abilities – such as Robin being able to teleport across the city using tech from the Justice League satellite.
Despite having a two-player co-op setting, the game can be played solo. A second player can drop in and out of a session via online multiplayer without affecting the other one. In a true RPG fashion, the player can level up and gradually unlock new skills, abilities and gear.
Along with traditional transportation methods such as the grappling hook, the newest addition is the Batcycle, which can be used to explore the city of Gotham.
The Gotham Knights developer WB Games Montréal previously developed Batman: Arkham Origins. However, Gotham Knights is an original story not connected to the Arkham games' storyline, despite featuring many of the same characters from the series.
The game is slated for release in 2021 for Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
As if Batman's apparent demise is not bad enough, the infamous Suicide Squad has been tasked by Director Amanda Waller to hunt down the Justice League. Rocksteady recently revealed the details about its latest project – Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League – at the DC FanDome.
It is an upcoming action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. The game features a four-player cooperative multiplayer mode, but can be played solo with computer controller players.
When not in the multiplayer mode, players can switch characters anytime.
Suicide Squad follows the titular antihero team's attempts to defeat Brainiac, and hunt down the mind-controlled Justice League in the process. Developers have confirmed that the game is set in the same continuity as the Batman: Arkham series.
Following Brainiac's attack on Metropolis, the US government deploys the task force Suicide Squad, comprised of Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot and King Shark, to bring the situation under control.
The team also gets a directive to investigate and kill the "Alpha Target", later revealed to be a brainwashed Superman. As Superman casually kills a security force member, it becomes clear that the Justice League has gone off the deep end.
Many fans believe that the Suicide Squad will possibly be a "Games as a Service" title similar to Destiny or the Avengers game, which is yet to be released. But we do not know for sure and there is no indication of it as yet.
Besides, Rocksteady has promised the game to be a third-person cooperative shooter.
Each of the characters has the skills to operate as different classes. Deadshot could be a long range takedown specialist, while Harley could act as an all-around brawler.
King Shark could provide support as a tank class carrying heavy weapons, while Captain Boomerang can be the jack of all trades. The game is slated for release in 2022 on Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
