Following trailers unveiled at SDCC 2022, Warner Bros. Games and WB Games Montreal have now revealed the first 16 minutes of gameplay for Gotham Knights, featuring the tutorial mission zone where players will come to familiarize themselves with the game’s various mechanics. The footage was provided first exclusively through another publication, and you can check it out for yourself below.
The footage begins with the four heroes – Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Robin – discussing the facts surrounding Batman's case. The Dark Knight implies in his messages to the team that this case “could shake Gotham to his very core.” Following up on one of their only leads, a professor named Dr. Langstrom, the players will have the choice to go through the tutorial with one of the four characters.
With Batgirl being chosen by the player, the tutorial then kicks off after a brief cutscene, explaining the basics of movement to the player. It appears that the fundamentals remain somewhat unchanged from the Arkham series, with the free-run option and the grappling hook still being the main ways of getting around quickly. Sans the cape-gliding, of course, as it appears that every Knight will have their own ways of gliding around Gotham.
Batgirl then heads off to the campus, where she witnesses Dr. Langstrom being hauled off into an ambulance, presumably dead. She then investigates his lab, witnessing evidence of a deadly and bloody struggle that ultimately leads her through a secret chamber deep within the walls. A tutorial on the puzzle-solving sections was also shown, and it looks like the developers have taken steps to keep it fresh for Gotham Knights.
After finding a data pad belonging to Dr. Langstrom, Batgirl makes a beeline for the campus grounds, where she encounters the Freaks, a minor gang that has risen to power. The Freaks are your tutorial enemies, teaching you the combat mechanics which have been somewhat revamped for Gotham Knights; there’s now an option between melee and ranged attacks, both classified under light or heavy.
The tutorial ends with Batgirl facing off against the Bulldozer, an oversized Freak whose shield attacks you need to dodge. It’s overall a cool slice of the game show far and is a great refresher before the game’s launch later this year.
Gotham Knights is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on October 25.
