Gotham Knights co-op means it has 'entirely redesigned' combat from Arkham

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"The 'duo' or team-up is such a central feature of the universe"

Gotham Knights
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Interactive)

Gotham Knights is stepping out from the shadow of the Arkham series with a totally revised, co-op friendly approach to brawling.

The upcoming project from WB Games Montreal, the developers of Batman: Arkham Origins, takes place in its own fictional universe that's separate from the Arkham series (which original Arkham developer Rocksteady is continuing with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League). In a new interview for our latest Big in 2021 spotlight, the developers of Gotham Knights told us about how and why they're stepping away from Arkham's often-imitated combat system.

"We have entirely redesigned the combat system in order for it to work well in co-op, because that part of the experience is really exciting for us," executive producer Fleur Marty told us. "Of course, we're still a brawler, and some of the mechanics won't feel totally alien for people who played and enjoyed the Arkham series, but it is in many ways very different. Designing a combat system from scratch has its challenges indeed, but it’s been a very stimulating one and we're very proud of the result!"

"The two-player dynamic fits the fantasy and the Gotham City setting," creative director Patrick Redding told us. "The 'duo' or team-up is such a central feature of the universe that there’s a literal shorthand for it in the comics, in animation, in the film and TV versions. And Gotham is a city of alleyways and rooftops, so the footprint for gameplay needs to be compatible with that."

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.