That said, Gotham Knights is not entirely different from Batman: Arkham games, at least in terms of its aesthetics and atmosphere. Because of how alarming such differences may be anyhow, players who still have Batman: Arkham’s muscle memory ingrained in them may want to select Batgirl as their Gotham Knights main, if for no other reason than to create a more manageable transition between the combat and traversal of each game.
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Fans Who Miss Batman: Arkham Should Be Excited for Gotham Knights’ Batgirl
Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl comes equipped with a baton, perhaps a reference to her Police Commissioner father, Jim Gordon. But what truly makes Batgirl and her Bat Family companions unique apart from one another, besides their armaments and gadgets, is their unique means of traversal.
Thanks to the official Gotham Knights gameplay walkthrough for Nightwing and Red Hood, the Flying Trapeze glider and Mystical Leap ability were displayed respectively for each former Robin. Meanwhile, the current Robin, Tim Drake, uses Justice League satellite teleportation technology to transport himself short distances.
Rather, Batgirl’s own unique traversal, cape-gliding, will surely delight Arkhamverse fans. Batgirl’s cape-gliding may not be identical to that of Batman’s in Batman: Arkham games, but it is still aesthetically similar enough to hopefully appease anyone who is disappointed that they will not be playing as Batman in Gotham Knights. This could make Batgirl a wonderful starting character for fans who have spent the last two decades playing as Batman with cape-gliding traversal and want to be eased into the idea of playing as other characters with their own traversal. Of course, Arkhamverse fans are no strangers to Robin, Nightwing, or Red Hood, as all have been playable in some capacity between Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight.
That said, Gotham Knights’ iterations of each character will be much different from their Arkhamverse appearances, including Batgirl, and this may be a positive rather than a negative when it comes to gameplay. However, there is another important part of Barbara’s character that cannot be disregarded, and may even be the most influential part of her motivations in returning to active duty as Batgirl. For example, Barbara may have been unable to save her father due to being previously confined to a wheelchair.
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Batgirl’s Past as Oracle Establishes Her as Batman’s Right Hand
Having three Robins as previously mentioned suggests that Batman’s history in Gotham is storied. It may seem as though Tim’s Robin is the closest sidekick to Batman around the time that Gotham Knights’ story begins, but that is likely untrue due to Batgirl’s own storied history. Knowing that Barbara had once taken on the role of Oracle presents some meaningful implications to the narrative, the most paramount of which being that she had suffered a debilitating spinal injury. Gotham Knights has purposefully kept quiet about the particulars of this event, likely in an effort not to reveal whether the Joker has any significance to its continuity. Still, it can be assumed that this event from Batman: The Killing Joke took place.
WB Games Montreal has since made an effort to correct the controversial summary it gave to Batgirl’s backstory, which was criticized for its alleged ableism. Gotham Knights’ authentic canon makes it anyone’s estimate how long Barbara was Batgirl before she became Oracle, or if she had been Batgirl longer than Dick Grayson or Jason Todd upheld the Robin mantle. But her time spent with Batman in active duty, as well as closely monitoring him from the Batcomputer, means she has probably discerned many of his strategies and can employ them on her own.
In gameplay, this may be developed further than simply having a cape to glide with. Batgirl is also shown hurling batarangs, a projectile exclusive to her in Gotham Knights. Each character has their own melee and ranged weapons, and Batgirl’s ranged weapon comes directly from the Caped Crusader himself. Robin could have easily been the character to receive batarangs as his own ranged weapon, but Batgirl was chosen instead.
Batgirl may also be Gotham Knights’ most unique playable character due to the fact that she is the only female, and her aesthetic purposely resembles Batman’s with a long-eared cowl and a cape. These echoes of her former mentor, guardian, and companion should have a narrative focus as well, and it will be interesting to see how Batgirl in particular is affected by Bruce Wayne’s death.
Other Bat Family Characters in Gotham Knights May Be More Unique as a Result
The allure, then, of playing as any of Gotham Knights’ male characters may be how unique they all are with their own traversal staples and armament preferences. Players have been inundated with cape-gliding for more than two decades now for Batman’s traversal in the Arkhamverse, and a new take on navigation throughout Gotham Knights’ open-world Gotham City could be the rejuvenating breath of fresh air that fans need.
Otherwise, all characters have access to Batcycles, which could make racing shoulder-to-shoulder around city streets with another costumed hero fun in co-op. Even if Batgirl’s cape-gliding is comparable to Batman’s, it is part of her own authentic arsenal and will stand to make her unique apart from Nightwing, Robin, and Red Hood as she appears in Gotham Knights.
Gadgets have also yet to be fully delved into, but Gotham Knights’ original gameplay walkthrough and trailers demonstrate that each character will have gadgets of their own. Indeed, Gotham Knights is trading in Batman’s explosive gel for AoE attacks that stun or damage multiple targets. With any luck, the way these characters move about and thwart crime will put an end to further comparisons between the Arkhamverse and Gotham Knights. In the meantime, these contrasts are inevitable and will hopefully motivate WB Games Montreal to create a wholly authentic experience for fans.
Gotham Knights is scheduled to release on October 25 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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