Gotham Knights' recent gameplay demo revealed several new abilities for Red Hood, but some of the vigilante's new powers are more unexpected than others. Since WB Montreal previously worked on the Batman: Arkham games, players can likely improve but not alter their available abilities. The Gotham Knights gameplay demo for Nightwing and Red Hood confirmed that each character featured unique and powerful attacks to defeat their enemies, but it's unknown how the gear displayed later may influence his loadout.
Gotham Knights takes place after Batman's death, with a villainous organization known as the Court of Owls vying for control of Gotham City. Nightwing, Red Hood, Batgirl, and Robin step up to defend the Dark Knight's legacy and territory. Players can choose one of the four Knights and complete the campaign in single-player or co-op and defeat various villainous factions across an open world. As players progress through the main story, their world changes accordingly, with enemies becoming stronger and new threats becoming available.
Similar to the comics, Gotham Knights' Red Hood utilizes firearms as his primary weapon. However, Red Hood recently adopted non-lethal weapons to maintain a healthier relationship with the Batfamily. These weapons use ammunition that pierces through opponents' armor, staggering more powerful enemies and knocking out weaker grunts. Gotham Knights' gameplay demo also showed Red Hood utilizing close-ranged attacks, giving the character a versatile range and attack pattern for mob and boss battles. Red Hood appears to use elemental ammunition at several points in the gameplay demo, with bullets emanating an orange or green tinge. These types of ammunition could tie into the character customization menu shown in the Belfry later in the gameplay trailer.
Red Hood Uses Lazarus Pit Magic In Gotham Knights
Unlike in the Batman: Arkham games, Gotham Knights' Red Hood has mystical powers from his resurrection in the Lazarus Pit. While Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin appeared to utilize technology for traversal, Red Hood summons soul magic to boost himself up, similar to double-jumping in other games. It's unknown how this soul magic could influence other aspects of Red Hood's character or whether this ability could appear in Red Hood's attack combos. However, it's a strange addition to Red Hood's arsenal and a massive change to other video game depictions of the character.
Gotham Knights' Red Hood also has the ability to throw bombs toward his enemies and detonate them after a certain amount of time. Since most of Gotham Knights' playable characters feature crowd control mechanics, similar to Batman's arsenal in Batman: Arkham, it's unsurprising Red Hood comes equipped with this too. The character regularly utilizes grenades and other explosive projectiles, though his shift to non-lethal methods could introduce new gadgets. Additionally, Batman's skill trees in Batman: Arkham could influence Red Hood's arsenal and unlock new tools or weapons.
While reactions to Gotham Knights' gameplay demo have been mixed, Nightwing and Red Hood are the two most anticipated playable characters. Both trained under Batman as his first two Robins, though the latter unfortunately died and was resurrected. Players also witnessed the first glimpses of Gotham Knights' Belfry base, character customization, Gotham's complete map, and more during the gameplay demo. WB Montreal will likely reveal more trailers and gameplay demos as time passes, but it's also possible the work shown represents the final builds.