Tragedy hits hardest to those closest to it, which is partly why the studio chose this quartet — Barbara Gordon, former Robins **** Grayson and Jason Todd, and one of the latest wearers of the mantle, Tim Drake — to focus on. “The original core of the Bat family” carry the shared weight of lives lived under the tutelage of Bruce Wayne and heroics shaped by the shadow of his alter-ego.
The other reason? Despite that connection, their methods and fighting styles are noticeably distinct from each other, making for a potent mix of gameplay styles whether adventuring solo or in two player co-op.
Red Hood is a brutal brawler with a focus on gunplay. Nightwing’s acrobatics lead to a more exaggerated style of fighting, while the current Robin favours stealth and is a dab hand at using status effects to disrupt enemies. And Batgirl? “She combines a laser-focused, targeted and efficient melee fighter approach with a lot of resilience and the ability to weaponize her environment using hacking,” says Redding.
Pick a hero and head out on your nighttime patrol, returning to the Belfrey, the Knights’ base of operations, at any time to tag in a different crimefighter. You’re never forced to play a specific character; you can play through the entire game with one hero if you so wish. But each vigilante will have a unique ability tree and craftable gear, with XP gains earned through open world activities.
The idea, Redding explains, is that the core gameplay loop intertwines with one of the narrative approaches. “It’s not one story set over one night, but really about the mid to long term growth of the hero. The game affords players a huge amount of growth and a huge amount of goal setting in an open world environment that they need to protect, that they need to go back to again and again.
“It’s that idea of how this new guard of younger heroes – that are not Bruce Wayne, are not Batman — approach the problem of equipping and training themselves up, preparing and adapting for that next major threat, that next major menace that they’re going to need to combat?”
On the subject of equipment, I ask about a certain visual treatment given to each hero visible in the reveal trailer. The neon-like colouring to their weapons: aesthetic only or is there more to it?
“It’s funny you brought that up,” Redding muses, “Because it’s a very important platform for us to deliver game information.” He points to the gameplay walkthrough as an example. “Some of those visual effects tell you what damage type you have equipped on your weapons.
“So it’s a way for the player to receive signs of feedback… that lets them know what protection they have, what they’re going to use against their enemies, both in terms of ranged and melee attacks.”
Contrary to Bruce’s pre-recorded message, the Belfrey’s tech isn’t as outdated as you might fear. “It’s literally a piece of dialogue in the game,” laughs Redding when I ask him how the heroes will cope. “Alfred says to Barbara: ‘only you and Bruce would ever say any of this is outdated’. They make fun of the fact these guys are used to being at the bleeding edge of everything.”