In the wake of DC-related gaming franchises sinceBatman: Arkham Knightin 2015, fans have been left without any AAA DC games to look forward to besides titles related toLEGOand Telltale’s episodicBatmanseries. It only makes sense, then, that the two developers who would eventually produce the next two AAA DC titles are WB Games Montreal and Rocksteady, both of whom were responsible for delivering theBatman: Arkhamseries and its related content.
WB Games Montreal is developingGotham Knights, while Rocksteady is developingSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Upon announcement of both games, fans were understandably alarmed to learn that Batman would not be a playable protagonist in either. Instead, both games feature new slates of playable characters in either single-player or co-op, where all members ofGotham Knights’ Bat Family are playable andall members ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s Task Force Xare playable. Therefore,Gotham Knightsis an appetizer that can prepare fans forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s main course.
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Gotham Knights Is a Nice Bookend for DC in 2022
Gotham KnightsandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewere both originally scheduled to release in 2022. This has obviously changed sinceSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueannounced its delay into 2023, and fans will have to wait even longer now before the launch of Rocksteady’s newest game.
It is undetermined whetherGotham Knightswas deemed truly ready for a 2022 release and therefore did not need a delay itself, or if a delay was an option that onlySuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewas offered. But either way,Gotham Knights’ insistence on releasing this yearensures that fans will still be receiving at least one of these titles in 2022.
Thanks to announcements shared during Summer Game Fest, the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, and other seemingly impromptu showcases this summer, fans are aware that the end of 2022 is already saturated with many highly anticipated games. These games includeHogwarts Legacy,The Last of Us Part 1,The Callisto Protocol,Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and potentially evenGod of War: Ragnarok.
For DC to includeGotham Knightsin this mixture of incredibly popular and brand-new IPs is a favorable way to bookend the year. This way, DC and Warner Bros. can end the year having put out another AAA game with the knowledge that another will be releasing at some point in the new year.
Either game may realistically be pursued as a franchise with future sequels or prequels, especially sinceSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebelongs toBatman: Arkham’s continuity.Gotham Knightsthus paves the way forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, dipping its toe into the water, so to speak, and can bridge the excitement for DC-related games much sooner followingGotham Knights’ release.
The interesting part about this release gap is thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebenefits regardless of howGotham Knightsis perceived. IfGotham Knightsis received positively, fans will be even more excited forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguedue to its potential as another successful DC property; ifGotham Knightsis received negatively, fans will be excited forSuicide Squad Kill the Justice Leaguedue to everything that makes it fundamentally different fromGotham Knights.
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Co-op in Gotham Knights Can Prepare Players for Suicide Squad
One of the most significant featuresGotham Knightsboasts is two-player co-op that will be available for the entirety of the game. Players can choose to experience it wholly in single-player if they wish;Gotham Knightsfans can play as one character the entire time or swamp between whichever characters they want, andplaying in co-op will let fans choose two of the sameGotham Knightscharacterif they desire to both be Batgirl, for instance. This will likely be how a lot of players decide to experienceGotham Knights,but aside from how influential co-op will be inGotham Knights, it will also affect how players perceive the co-op inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
The transitional leap fromtwo-player co-op inGotham Knightsto four-player co-op inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill hopefully be much smoother as a result of the former releasing sooner, affording players time with co-op as a fundamental part of gameplay before it is reprised extensively inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Of course, there are many fans of each game that are likely to only play them in single-player.
For anyone who looks at either of these games and is more inclined to play them due to co-op,Gotham Knightsproves once again how it behaves as a pre-show forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Further, if one or both of these games sees success due to their co-op features, it could be possible that future DC titles capitalize on it and implement co-op, whether they maintain a narrative-driven, single-player focus or not.
Even if fans are excited forGotham Knights, it is undeniable that it repeats mechanics and gameplay found in almost every other modern, AAA superhero game, let alone action-adventure games in general. In spite of being fundamentally different from theBatman: Arkhamfranchise’s combat,Gotham Knights’ combat has earned multiple comparisons to it for how similar it looks.
Gotham Knightsis an action-RPG with action-adventure mechanicsnot unlikeBatman: Arkham, but fans will noticeGotham Knights’ lack of a combo counter and a parry mechanic distinctively differentiate the two. But while these games are comparable to one another and others in relevant genres,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis neither a hack-and-slash nor a rhythmic beat-’em-up.
Instead,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis the latest in a long line of multiplayer, four-player PvE shooters, but as a superhero game it is relatively authentic and refreshing.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueshares more similarities with games likeSunset Overdrivethan it does withGotham Knights, so it will be interesting to see how the reception toGotham Knightsaffects the perception fans presently have ofSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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