We got the announcement yesterday that developer Rocksteady was returning to the franchise they started with Batman: Arkham Asylum and bringing us a “final chapter” later this year in Batman: Arkham Knight. While the initial announcement revealed some things about the new title, the latest issue of GameInformer revealed many more details including the size of the map, the uses of the Batmobile, and what the title ‘Arkham Knight’ refers to.
Taking place just one year after the events of “Arkham City,” the plot of the game will see a Gotham that has come under siege from many of Batman’s famous villains including Two-Face, Penguin, Harley Quinn, and Scarecrow, but also a new face. “Arkham Knight” is not just the title of the game, but also a brand new villain that has been added to the mix. Rocksteady has reportedly been working with DC’s Geoff Johns to create the new character, but they’re remaining tight lipped about him for now.
“We hadn’t in the previous games introduced someone new to the universe,” game director Sefton Hill said. “We wanted to introduce someone who could really challenge Batman to go head to head with him in lots of different ways. We’re not talking about those ways just yet but this guy is definitely a formidable foe for Batman.”
The Gotham we see in “Arkham Knight” will be even bigger than the previous versions, taking place on three different islands throughout the city which the developer says is five times larger than “Arkham City.”
“As we’ve said before with Arkham City, it’s not about scale as much as detail,” Hill said, “We want to make sure the world is rich and full of interesting things to do. We’re not trying to create the biggest open-world game ever. We are trying to create a really rich, vibrant, dense open world.”
The Batmobile is the biggest addition to the gameplay of “Arkham Knight,” and Rocksteady wasn’t shy about their ambitions for it.
“We wanted to make the best car in any game ever,” Hill said. “That was our mission statement right from the start.”
With the push of a button, fans will be able to summon the Batmobile to their location in order to speed off into the night. Not only will the Batmobile provide convenient transportation, but it will also serve as the basis for many of the Riddler’s challenges in the new title.
No sequel to “Arkham Asylum” and “Arkham City” is complete without the man himself, and GameInformer has confirmed that Kevin Conroy will indeed return to voice the Batman in the upcoming final chapter.
Batman: Arkham Knight will debut on Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC this October.
