WB Games Montreal's open-world superhero simulator Gotham Knights map size is substantially larger than the Arkham games, and this open world will apparently let players visit Arkham Asylum.
Rocksteady Studios' Batman: Arkham franchise created an authentic yet original version of the Dark Knight, his rogues gallery and the city of Gotham. Each entry in the series brought players to a gradually larger open world, allowing Rocksteady to fill each game with more and more content. The series' first entry, Batman: Arkham Asylum, kept the action contained to the titular psychiatric hospital and the surrounding island. This arguably made Arkham Asylum the most atmospheric and detailed entry in Rocksteady's trilogy, with larger maps making the environments less hand-crafted and more generic. Now, with Gotham Knights and the Batman: Arkham series being disconnected, WB Games Montreal will soon take players to a whole new version of Arkham Asylum.
A new Gotham Knights trailer, posted to YouTube by IGN, reveals that players will visit Arkham Asylum during the game. The trailer delves into Gotham City's history, revealing that the Arkham family was one of the original five families who settled in the future gothic metropolis. The Arkhams reportedly settled in North Gotham and built the infamous Arkham Asylum, which WB Games Montreal confirms will appear as an in-game location. Like the rest of its map, the Gotham Knights will version of the asylum will be wholly original and may surprise long-time fans of the Batman mythos.
Gotham Knights Will Take Players To A New Arkham Asylum
Despite being based on the same setting, the Arkham Asylum seen in Gotham Knights will reportedly be quite different from the one explored in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Since the open-world map in Gotham Knights will apparently be massive, it seems unlikely that players will be able to freely explore the interior of the asylum like they could back in Batman: Arkham Asylum. However, it's possible that at least one mission will take players into the psychiatric facility's claustrophobic corridors. The art style that WB Games Montreal uses in Gotham Knights, which emphasizes colorful neon lights, could also make the new game's version of Arkham significantly less creepy than Rocksteady's adaptation of the setting.
The ability to visit Arkham Asylum in Gotham Knights opens the door for some engaging encounters with Gotham City's greatest rogues. WB Games Montreal has said that the open world in Gotham Knights will evolve with the story, so perhaps captured villains can be visited by players within the halls of Arkham. Batman: Arkham Knights featured a similar mechanics in the GD building, and seeing Batman interact with his villains outside of combat was very memorable. As both a historical setting and actual in-game location, Arkham Asylum has the potential to loom large over Gotham Knights and its cast of young heroes.
Source: IGN/YouTube