It has been a wild time on this planet of DC video games ever since Gotham Knights, the long-rumored Batman game from WB Games Montreal, was officially revealed at DC FanDome. The game focuses on the extended Bat-related family of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood within the wake of Batman’s loss of life and subsequent chaos in Gotham. And it could seem that, whereas it would function a number of antagonists, The Court of Owls will serve as the game’s primary villain. Following the reveal, ComicBook.com had an opportunity to talk with artistic director Patrick Redding about all issues Gotham Knights — together with why the crew went with The Court of Owls within the first place.
ComicBook.com: We see within the footage that The Court of Owls is the primary antagonist. And we even see teased how far they’ve infiltrated with the owl on the prime of the badge and issues like that, so there are little clues. When you of us had been crafting this game and determined to go that route, was it extra about what excited you about them as a company and what they create or attempting to perhaps keep away from doing one other Joker story or doing a few of these issues that we have seen?
Patrick Redding: Right. No, it actually was what was magical and particular about The Court of Owls as a brand new factor within the Batman lore. It simply was such a superb match as a result of one, we’re kicking issues off with a really stunning occasion after which asking the query, “What occurs to Gotham City as a consequence of that?” Right? And you can begin to think about all the plain issues, however for us, at the very least in our interpretation of story, that turns into the inciting incident. You haven’t got this firewall, this buffer between the worst excesses of the town and its populous anymore. So a company like The Court of Owls that is been sitting within the shadows for a number of hundred years all of the sudden has their opening, proper? There’s that side of it.
The different a part of it’s the game is basically pushed by the brand new guard, proper? It’s pushed by these younger heroes who aren’t Batman and do not essentially philosophically do issues the identical approach he would. And they characterize the youth and collaboration and fixing sure sorts of issues with a sure sort of fervor and a sure sort of youthful vitality. Well, there is not any higher antithesis to that, truthfully, than The Court of Owls, which represents corrupt, previous, entrenched energy and wealth, it is simply twisted and has distorted and turned Gotham City into this grotesque model of an East Coast American metropolis, proper? So I believe it was a very logical, very natural alternative as an adversary for that group of heroes.
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Here’s the complete official description for the upcoming video game:
“Gotham Knights is a brand-new open world, third-person motion RPG that includes the Batman Family as gamers step into the roles of Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood and Robin, a brand new guard of skilled DC Super Heroes who should stand up because the protectors of Gotham City within the wake of Batman’s loss of life. An expansive, prison underworld has swept via the streets of Gotham, and it’s now as much as these new heroes to guard the town, carry hope to its residents, self-discipline to its cops and worry to its criminals. Players should save Gotham from descent into chaos and reinvent themselves into their very own model of the Dark Knight.”
Gotham Knights is about to launch in 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC. You can try all of our previous coverage of the recently announced title right here.
What do you consider what we’ve seen of Gotham Knights thus far? Are you excited in regards to the inclusion of The Court of Owls? Let us know within the feedback, or hit me up instantly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to speak all issues gaming!
