In recent weeks, WB Games Montreal has shed new light on its upcoming Batman game without Batman, Gotham Knightsand some details have left fans skeptical of the direction the game is taking with Bruce Wayne’s survivors Bat family. First one 13-minute gameplay video revealed it GK‘s incarnation of Nightwing makes use of a jet-powered glider, while Red Hood has been endowed with wild “soul energy” abilities. By far the most worrying revelation came via a bio for Batgirl, posted on the game’s website that suggested she had overcome her disability through “raw willpower and determination.”
During a Q&A session in Gotham Knights’ official Discord channeladdressed creative director Patrick Redding’s setback over the insensitive Batgirl character biography and provided insight into Nightwing’s gliders and Red Hood’s new powers.
The character biography of Batgirl on Gotham Knights the website discusses Barbara Gordon’s story as both Batgirl and Oracle. The oracle was Gordon’s tech-savvy alter ego, who offered invaluable support to Batman after a confrontation with the Joker, depicted in The Killing Joke, left her paralyzed. The reason WB Games Montreal was criticized for the biography is that it said Gordon was spurred on by his father’s death to “recover from his wounds so she could return to active service as Batgirl.” This got fans calling the game to use the tired cartoon troop of heroes override their handicap through sheer willpower.
Redding revealed in Q&A that in the wake of the criticism they received, the team worked in collaboration with AbleGamersa non-profit organization dedicated to improving accessibility in the video game field, “to learn about different types of spinal cord injuries and the potential for someone to regain mobility.”
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“As with many of our characters and plot elements, the circumstances surrounding Barbara’s injuries differ in some important ways from how it has been portrayed in the comics,” Redding said. “Barbara has been through several surgeries followed by a lot of physiotherapy and pain treatment [in Gotham Knights]. “
Redding went on to say that the team acknowledges the criticism and has replaced the controversial description to read: “With extensive training and rehabilitation, she recovered from her wounds and returned to active service as Batgirl.”
Redding went on to discuss the creative decisions behind Nightwing and Red Hood’s traversal capabilities, primarily Nightwing’s Green Goblin-like glider and Red Hood’s new jumping ability.
During the 13-minute gameplay demo, Nightwing is shown crossing rooftops using a techno glider called the Flying Trapeze. According to EurogamerNightwing’s techno glider is a recurring reference to Batman’s retro Bat glider. Redding said the creative team liked the idea of Grayson using one of Batman’s stealth drones to gain more height to perform his death-defying acrobatics.
“[The Flying Trapeze is] designed to feel a little improvised and dependent on his extreme athleticism, which suits Nightwing’s approach to everything, ”he said. “Flying with it has such a different feel than Batgirl’s cape gliding, and it fits in really well with his larger parkour and jumping movements as well as with grappling.”
The most bizarre revelation in Gotham Knights’ The gameplay trailer was at least for me Red Hood, aka Jason Todd, who jumped through Gotham’s sky in a clearly supernatural way using his new ability, Mystical Leap. Redding said the development team leaned on Red Hood’s origins story – which involves death at the hands of the Joker and subsequent resurrection in Lazarus Pit-when he approaches his new powers and intends them to serve as a manifestation of Todd growing into his own.
“We really liked the idea that when Jason starts to confront the trauma of dying and being brought back, he starts to be able to take advantage of some lost abilities,” Redding said. “In the same way that he has tried to reinvent himself from anti-hero to hero while preserving his strengths, he discovers that he can channel these mysterious talents in ways that he finds familiar: Through his corporeality [and] in how he moves, but also in how he fights and even how he uses his weapons. ”
Redding explained Todd’s new ability as a “just a manifestation of the powers” he received after being resurrected in the tomb of Lazarus. I just hope those powers include repairing my son’s skull so he does not have it bone structure of a Lego.
Gotham Knights is scheduled for release on October 25, now only for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S.