Comic books and comic book-based media isn't slowing down any time soon, and video games are one of the avenues where tights and capes will be more prominent. August 2020 had DC hold their own personal and virtual Comic-Con in the form of DC FanDome, to much fan delight with so much to celebrate and anticipate.
Rocksteady, of Batman: Arkham fame, revealed their next game to be Arkhamverse-set, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Meanwhile, Arkham Origins developers WB Games Montréal unveiled Gotham Knights. It's definitely not what fans expected, but it certainly presents some exciting possibilities. It could be a great move post-Arkham or it might have been better to wait a bit longer.
Right Move: More Batfamily
Gotham Knights seemed to come out of left field for some fans since the star of this corner of the DC multiverse, Batman, has been killed off. Whether the game's story does a surprise reveal that he somehow survived is fan speculation, but it's certainly a bold move if nothing else. While it would've been nice to get another "Batman" Batman game, this presents one clear bright side: the Batfamily.
They were present in the Arkham series but didn't feature nearly as prominently. The chance to give Nightwing, Robin, Red Hood, and Batgirl a stage for them to purely shine could prove to be a welcome change of pace.
Too Early: Could've Been A Spinoff To A 'Batman' Game
At least from a marketing standpoint, perhaps it may have worked better if WB Montréal eased into Gotham Knights by opening with a proper Batman game first. Fans would have gotten another Batman game who've been craving the beloved Dark Knight's next video game outing since Arkham Knight closed the (main) series, and then Gotham Knights may have been set up easier.
From a narrative standpoint, it could've provided some drumroll to Batman's apparent fate--and Commissioner Gordon's--making the Gotham Knights' call to arms more emotionally impactful. Particularly so since Dick, Tim, Jason, and Barbara could've gotten introductions as supporting roles in one more Batman-centered game as build-up.
Right Move: A Fresh Timeline
There was some initial confusion during and for a while after the reveal at FanDome, but WB Montréal's game is confirmed to not take place in Rocksteady's Arkhamverse. The Arkham games have been fleshed out quite a bit in terms of lore, so starting over seems like a good call for the developers to have fresh air to breathe and space to stretch their creative legs.
While starting with a dead Bruce Wayne is a shock, it could set the tone for a potential series of games that has WB Montréal's unique stamp on a corner of the DC mythos that's firmly their own. Rocksteady's trilogy set a high standard for Batman and superhero gaming in general, but it's understandable to not want to live in that shadow forever.
Too Early: The Court Should Be Reserved For Batman
Another narrative reason why this could be seen as coming too early is the main supervillains of the game. The Court of Owls was famously created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo for their hit New 52 run of Batman and were a rare example of a modern supervillain(s) being introduced for a legendary superhero, with several decades of lore built already, still managing to be fan-favorites.
It flipped the idea of Batman being the eye in the sky and ear to the ground who knows everything about Gotham and threw in figures that were more mythical and feared than the Dark Knight himself. For these reasons, it's a missed opportunity to finally adapt the Court to a game, but take out the protagonist that makes these rogues so personal.
Right Move: Genre Change
Along with separating from the last acclaimed game series and starting fresh canonically, the opportunity to use a new genre--with Batfamily characters--is another liberty. Rocksteady is also doing this with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, though aside from Harley Quinn, they're avoiding using too many high-profile Batman-associated characters compared to Gotham Knights.
The latter is set to be an action-RPG, which could be an exciting twist on superhero gaming, as that's typically not explored. An open-world, Gotham-set RPG sounds interesting on paper, and the promise of story focus--not live-service--and co-op play adds more intrigue.
Too Early: The Cancelled Damian Wayne Batman Game
Apparently, the Arkham Origins developers were allegedly not finished with working in that world originally. In late 2019, concept art of a supposed Damian Wayne-starring Batman game that was canceled surfaced. Connecting the dots, it seems possible that the game would've been set years after Arkham Knight, with the son of Bruce and Talia al Ghul taking up his father's mantle.
Considering Talia was a major love interest of Bruce's in Arkham City and was murdered by the Joker, this seemed like a fantastic way to have Batman again through a different POV. Perhaps it could've been set in a Gotham post-Bruce that saw the criminals and rogues gradually regain the vice-grip on the city before he originally became Batman--all sounding like inspiration from Grant Morrison's work.
Right Move: Tim Drake Batman Setup
As for those disappointed at a Batman-less Batman game, a way for fans to get that while still having Gotham Knights proceed as planned is if the current Robin gets set up to take up the legacy mantle of his adoptive father. Dick Grayson served for a stint, but Tim Drake hasn't gotten the love he deserves in the comics.
He had a distinctive suit after becoming Red Robin pre-New 52, which was an homage to the Batsuit and Robin suit, and now he's largely sidelined and given what is essentially a generic Robin suit, despite being another superhero identity. He's been talked up by both Ra's al Ghul and Batman as Bruce's most likely successor, citing his incredible detective prowess at such a young age. Having Knights set that up down the line is a "best of both worlds" situation.
Too Early: Batman With The Nemesis System
WB's Middle-earth games were best known mechanically for the "Nemesis System." It was understandably received well, as it was innovative to throw this feature into the open-world action-adventure genre. Especially since some open-world games suffer from bloat and open-world wastelands that were bigger just for the sake of it--Arkham Origins suffered from the latter.
Factions of enemies/rogues that attack the player and respond to protagonist progression as well as competing factions for power is something that would've been mouthwatering for Batman. Add the shadow puppet-masters that are the Court of Owls, and the missed target looks even more glaring.
Right Move: Batman Prelude DLC
DLC is something WB could experiment with since that's the most common post-launch practice for a game's longevity. Fans can have their cake and eat it too if the base game focuses entirely on the Batfamily as intended but adds a substantive story-based expansion that shows Batman's fate as a prelude.
It doesn't need to just be fan service, as Batman-focused DLC could give gamers a new perspective to potentially reveal some hints at what a potential sequel might do. Show players something only Bruce was able to catch that may be relevant later.
Too Early: Big Cast
While getting to play as the four main cast members of Batman's supporting family, it could be biting off more than it can chew from a gameplay perspective. The payoff could be great if this works out well, but the balance will be a major key to pulling this off as the player shouldn't be overwhelmed with the characters to manage and feel like missing out by prioritizing one over the other.
Plot-wise, it raises questions as to how much time each character will get for development. It would be a shame if the plot doesn't give enough time for each, and may have been better to start off with two focal characters.