Gotham Knights — out this week on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X — sees the corrupt city in a period of decline, in the immediate aftermath of Bruce Wayne/ Batman’s death. Trusted with an assortment of outdated tech at the Belfry, it is now up to his highly-trained sidekicks, the Bat-Family, to restore order around town. While WB Games Montréal was responsible for 2013’s Batman: Arkham Origins, this new game is set in a completely different timeline. Drawing inspiration from DC Comics’ “The New 52” storyline, the upcoming open-world RPG would be the first time Gotham’s version of Illuminati, the Court of Owls, is featured in a video game.
WB Games Montréal seems to have big plans with Gotham Knights, even expanding its game modes with a new Heroic Assault, which launches for free on November 29. While its campaign only supports two-player co-op, this new standalone mode lets four players into an arena, of sorts, as they team up to complete specific objectives and defeat enemies on each floor of a building — 30 floors in total. The FAQ page is low on details, but confirmed that the studio has no plans to bring four-player co-op to the main story.
DC Comics also aims to explore the lore, by releasing a six-issue tie-in prequel comic, on October 25. Titled “Batman: Gotham Knights – Gilded City,” the limited series centres around the Dark Knight’s final case before succumbing to death, as he investigates the source of a mysterious virus, transforming citizens into rage-obsessed maniacs. Each issue of the run will feature a special cover, illustrated by Greg Capullo — best known for his work on The Court of Owls storyline and the horrifying “Death of the Family.” But that’s not all. Anyone who purchases the comics will be able to redeem codes found within to unlock in-game skins. Issue #1 comes with a BOSO22 Batcycle Skin, while collecting all six books grants an extra secret item.
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Gotham Knights release date and time
Gotham Knights launches this Friday, October 21 at 12am midnight, local time, across PS5 and Xbox Series S/X. PC version drops later at 10:30pm IST in India/ 10am PT in the US.
Originally planned for a March 2021 release, the game was delayed on grounds of unfinished development, as the team wanted to deliver the “best possible experience for players.” As part of the pushback, the studio also cancelled development on the PS4 and Xbox One versions.
“When considering the scale and scope of Gotham Knights we had to prioritize and focus our efforts to deliver the game at a satisfying level of quality for current gen,” Fleur Marty, Executive Producer, said in a Discord AMA session. “We totally understand that this is upsetting to players who don’t own a current-gen console yet, and believe me we really didn’t make this decision lightly, but, in the end, we wanted to focus on delivering a game we are truly proud of.”
Gotham Knights PC system requirements
Mere days prior to the launch, WB Games Montréal finally revealed the recommended system requirements to run Gotham Knights, and they’re surprisingly demanding. Running the game at full-HD 1080p at 60fps requires at least an Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics card, with a high-powered CPU to go along. This comes about a week after the studio confirmed that its console counterpart would be locked to 30fps.
Here are the system requirements for Gotham Knights, with the common requirements being Windows 10 64-bit, DirectX 12, and at least 45GB of free storage space.
Gotham Knights minimum PC requirements
- Graphics (GPU): Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 590
- Resolution: 1,920×1,080 at 60fps, at Lowest Settings
Gotham Knights recommended PC requirements
- Processor (CPU): Intel Core i7-10700K or AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- Graphics (GPU): GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT
- Resolution: 1,920×1,080 at 60fps, at High Settings
Gotham Knights price, editions
WB Games Montréal has listed two main editions for Gotham Knights: Standard and Deluxe. The latter comes with a Visionary Pack that includes a range of in-game bonuses such as the “Knightwatch by Jim Lee” Transmog skin, suits inspired by the Batman Beyond universe, Salvage to build new gear, an exclusive emote, and 3 suit Colorways — Ultra Zur-En-Arrh, Chroma Frost, and Tribute Asylum.
Pre-orders on any platform grant a 233 Kustom Batcycle Skin.
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Gotham Knights PC price in India
Pre-orders are now live across all platforms, with the standard edition on Steam and Epic Games Store costing Rs. 2,999. The Deluxe Edition is listed at Rs. 3,999, and features the aforementioned bonuses.
Gotham Knights price on PS5, Xbox Series S/X
Gotham Knights Standard Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series S/X is priced at Rs. 4,399/ $69.99, while the Deluxe edition goes up for Rs. 5,999/ $89.99.
On Amazon India, the physical disc versions for both current-gen consoles are listed at Rs. 4,299 — 100 bucks cheaper. Currently, there is no word on any plans to release Gotham Knights on Xbox Game Pass.
US-based storefronts also have a Collector’s Edition up for sale, costing $299.99 (about Rs. 24,900). The package includes a New Guard Statue, a Jim Lee-signed certificate of authenticity, an augmented reality Talon Key, and a City of Bridges collectible map.
Gotham Knights Collector’s Edition
Photo Credit: WB Games Montréal
Gotham Knights gameplay
Gameplay footage for Gotham Knights leaked online after a fan acquired a PS5 copy, days prior to release. Reddit user u/almarhuby went on a reveal spree, posting non-stop about his experience playing the hotly-anticipated title, alongside raw footage, and highlighting the 30fps cap, much to the letdown of current-gen console owners.
Just last week, executive producer Fleur “Flaoua” Marty confirmed on the game’s Discord channel that Gotham Knights won’t have a performance mode toggle. “Due to the types of features we have in our game, like providing a fully untethered co-op experience in our highly detailed open-world, it’s not as straightforward as lowering the resolution and getting a higher FPS.” This development came just a week before launch, enraging some fans who pre-ordered the game.
Gotham Knights Map Size: The ‘Biggest Version’ of Batman’s City in a Game Ever
Unlike the Batman: Arkham games, Gotham Knights introduces an RPG-like levelling system, that relies on heavy XP progression. Players can pick between Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and the Red Hood, and embark on a quest to investigate Batman’s death, in addition to solving multiple crimes in the volatile city of Gotham. Divided into five distinct boroughs, the town serves as the playing field for your choice of character, as you go solo or team up with a friend in co-op to take down the factions, controlled by high-ranking supervillains from Batman’s rogues gallery.
Gotham Knights is a game centred around building your character — be it through gear, skins, or the elemental skills unleashed onto foes. Based on the previews, combat appears to be a lot slower, with a possible emphasis on grinding, a far cry from the Batman: Arkham games.
Abilities play a key role in combat, and are easy to distinguish from each character. Batgirl, for instance, is the closest to her mentor, sporting a stealth-based approach to conflict, whilst being kitted with batarangs, bat-claws, and glide attacks. Nightwing brings his gymnast skills to play, dropping enemies from long distances.
Robin has a holographic distraction that he can throw down to take some heat off him, while the ruthless Red Hood imposes his own unique sense of “justice” by straight-up shooting enemies. The developers never confirmed whether those are rubber bullets, or if the tortured Jason Todd continues with his “kill all criminals” rule. Either way, exciting stuff. On that path of vengeance, players will upgrade their characters, purchase skills, and discover better ways to function as a team — a key ingredient for co-op sessions.
In a sense, the world of Gotham Knights is fashioned similar to Batman: Arkham Origins, where both the cops and criminals serve as hostile entities. Speaking to IGN, game director Geoff Ellenor touched upon the world aspect: “The police don’t like you, the citizens don’t like you, and there’s chaos in the city. And as a hero or the heroes that you’re playing are wounded, they’re missing Batman, they don’t totally get along with each other. And over time, the tone evolves because you identify major threats to the city. You find out to a certain extent what’s going on beneath the surface in Gotham, and you gradually build the confidence of the citizens.”
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Red Hood seems to have a hybrid playstyle, focused on ranged attacks and hand-to-hand combat
Photo Credit: WB Games Montréal
Unlike 90 percent of open-world games that feature a shifting day and night cycle, Gotham Knights is only set over “consecutive” nights. During the day, our vigilantes are holed up inside the Belfry’s tower of operations, charting the next case, connecting clues, uncovering minor character stories, and customising their appearance. This essentially serves as the central hub and would be the only time you see daylight. The second you leave the tower, the sun goes down, and you’re back to cruising around the city and hunting down criminals. The world’s your oyster.
Gotham Knights review embargo
At the time of publishing, no reviews were available. According to an unconfirmed game forum message board, the first reviews for Gotham Knights will be available sometime Thursday.