The Gotham Knights Map Is Absolutely Massive
The Bat Family is spreading its wings, as Warner Bros. Montreal prepares to leap across the Gotham City skyline with Gotham Knights. The spiritual successor to Rocksteady's Arkham games looks big, but according to the developer, the Gotham Knights map is absolutely massive.
In the new-gen only Gotham Knights, you suit up as either Nightwing, Red Hood, Robin, or Batgirl. Bruce Wayne is dead, and with the Court of Owls moving for power from the shadows, it's up to this quartet of vigilantes to swoop down and clean up the crime-riddled streets of Gotham City. That's just it though, there are a lot of streets to clean.
How Big Is The Gotham Knights Map?
Click to enlargeMuch like Rocksteady's Arkham Knight was an open-world adventure, WB Montreal is taking the best bits of this world and putting its own spin on the story. Speaking to Game Informer, Game Director Geoff Ellenor was asked how big the Gotham Knights map is compared to Arkham Knight's.
"It's pretty big," explained Ellenor. "I haven’t put one map over the other, but our Gotham is a big place." Although even those behind the scenes don't seem to know exactly how big the Gotham Knights map is, Executive Producer Fleur Marty added, "For sure it's the biggest version of Gotham that has been represented in video games. The most important thing for us is its density and verticality. It has a lot of layers. The Batcycle is the long-range mode of transportation."
From the first gameplay we saw, it definitely looked like Gotham Knights was taking things vertically. Although most can agree Red Hood using magic stepping stones to traverse the sky is a bit lame, rooftop battles look like a thrilling piece of the action as we drop down from above. Remember that the Arkham Knight map was approximately five times bigger than Arkham City and covered the three islands of Bleake Island, Miagani Island, and Founders' Island, it's baffling to try and comprehend how big the Gotham Knights map will be.
Is The Gotham Knights Map Too Big?
Going back to the start of the renaissance for Batman games, 2009's Arkham Asylum was a humble affair that simply had you walking around the confines of the home for the criminally insane. By the time we got to Arkham Knight, we had the Batmobile to zoom around in. There's no Batmobile to ride in Gotham Knights, but the likes of the Batcycle and fast travel should make getting around a little easier.
Much like complaints that Starfield is spreading itself too thin with over 1,000 planets you can visit, it will be interesting to see whether Gotham Knights has made a massive map simply so it can say it has the biggest Gotham, or whether it actually feels natural to the story. With four unique characters to play as, it makes sense we have a bigger arena. The official Gotham Knights site describes it as "an open-world, action RPG set in the most dynamic and interactive Gotham City yet," so let's hope WB Montreal can live up to the hype.