WB Games Montréal has made Gotham City before, but not like this. The newest iteration of the iconic setting has received a makeover in Gotham Knights, and the studio explained these changed and described its deeper history that was designed to inform the game’s central story.
The team spoke about Gotham City in a recent IGN video. In Gotham Knights‘ Gotham City, five families left Europe in the 1650s: the Waynes, Cobblepots, Elliots, Arkhams, and Kanes. Each family carved out a borough and/or provided the city with a certain resource. The Kanes built ships and weapons, while the Cobblepots had their steel mills. The Elliots put out their tendrils in the media and the Arkhams built their own asylum. The Waynes established their wealth by advancing the city “into a new technological age.”
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These families all have popular Batman characters attached to them. The Kanes are from Batman’s mom’s side of the family and tie into Batwoman’s family, as well. Penguin hails from the Cobblepots. The villain Hush is from the Elliots. Amadeus Arkham is most known for founding Arkham Asylum. And the Waynes are, obviously, Batman’s father’s side of the family.
It may just seem like backstory, but it was designed in order to give more context to the game’s main villainous group: the Court of Owls. This mysterious cabal is deeply rooted in Gotham’s history, so in order to show how deep that bond is, WB Games Montréal wanted to show how far it goes back.
“One of the things we love about the Court of Owls, aside from the fact that it is a new, fresh addition to the Batman canon, is that they represent a threat that is so embedded and so intrinsic to Gotham City that even Batman doesn’t know about it,” said Creative Director Patrick Redding. “And the notion of a threat that is so intimately tied to a city that he considers to be his city that he knows like the back of his hand that he’s been patrolling for literally decades at this point, that’s a very intimidating and scary idea. With that in mind, what we knew is that we needed to give you a sense of Gotham’s history in order to be able to show all the ways in which the Court is embedded in that; that feeling that Gotham is kind of an adversary and that the Court of Owls is the embodiment of that and the personification of that.”
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These boroughs will also have different gameplay associated with them, like the openness of Robinson Park might limit stealth opportunities and the slums will be more focused on parkour. However, the secrecy of the Court of Owls also influenced the layout, too. There will be hidden hideouts under the city that let players beat down thugs in the same places the Owls were decades or perhaps centuries prior. Many areas will have secret exits that make sense from a lore and gameplay standpoint, as they will likely be a streamlined way to put players back in the open world at the end of a mission and fit with the idea that the Court of Owls would also have covert exits hidden around.
Underground tunnels and hideouts like this give WB Games Montréal more ways to show a cross section of the city and its old history. The team members in the video said these areas were full of mysteries and those will stay a secret until players stumble upon them when the game releases on October 25.
