Batman: Arkham Knight’s developers took questions during a recent livestream. We are running down the highlights, starting with one vital piece of information.
The game will definitely have no coop, as Rocksteady is invested in making this a narrative about a solo Batman.
Here are some fast facts from that Q&A:
Rocksteady has yet to make any announcements regarding alternate costumes.
Arkham Knight was not a premeditated creation with DC, but a Rocksteady initiative. Rocksteady expects DC/WB to use the character if he proves popular, but they don’t know of any plans.
Regarding the PlayStation 4 version’s resolution and framerate, they explained that they are six months away from release, so that spec hasn’t been decided yet. They are aiming for parity, which may not be something fans will look forward to, but they promise it will be good.
Spoilers follow in the next two paragraphs.
Joker being killed off in the game was a decision meant to help bring other villains in. In particular, Scarecrow gets a chance to pick up a prominent role, and they of course had a chance to bring in the Arkham Knight.
In fact, his passing changes Gotham’s setup, because he was so dominant within it. While he was alive, Joker played the villains against each other. Now that he’s gone, Scarecrow is able to unite them against Batman. You can think of Batman: Arkham Knight is the apex of the escalation between Batman and enemies, that’s started since the first game.
After Gotham is forcibly abandoned by order of the police, only the criminals and Arkham Knight’s militia are left, and this defines the Arkham (5 times the size of the last game, and 20 times as big as the first) that you get ot play in now. The militia set to work actively setting up traps throughout city, and emergent riots instigated by random groups of criminals will occur dynamically.
Finally, in keeping with prior games, Batman: Arkham Knight happens in the course of one Halloween evening. It’s one really bad night for Bruce, but it doesn’t last longer than that.
Batman: Arkham Knight will be released on June 2, 2015, for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Watch the source interviews below, courtesy of Solaris.
