Gotham Knights separates itself from the Batman: Arkham titles by focusing on the Bat Family at large, but the developers at Warner Bros. Montreal go back to a narrative flaw of previous Batman outings by potentially misleading the audience. Batman titles are known for their elements of mystery surrounding the narrative as is fitting for the world’s greatest detective. However, the secretive nature of the plot has lent itself to crossing over into a frustrating trend in Batman video games.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Gotham Knights and the Batman: Arkham series]In a Q&A held at San Diego Comic-Con 2022, IGN reported that Creative Director Patrick Redding mentioned that Batman “is really dead” and “remains dead at the end of the game.” The plot of Gotham Knights does begin with Batman’s death as a result from a battle with Ra’s al Ghul as the Bat Family are now tasked with taking over the mantle left behind by their patriarch. The storyline that unfolds within the game, however, sees Bruce Wayne resurrected through the use of the Lazarus Pit as part of the game’s final act before sacrificing himself in a development that also undermines other statements and promotional material surrounding the title.
How Gotham Knights Repeats A Batman: Arkham Mistake
The Court of Owls in Gotham Knights were similarly promoted as the primary antagonist of the title starting from the game’s initial reveal and announcements. Up until the game’s release, the Court of Owls was seen as the main threat against the Bat Family and the city of Gotham without its largest defender in the picture anymore. As the plot unravels, the Court of Owls begins to take a backseat to the complicated (and oft-repeated) history of the League of Shadows and the Bat Family, leading to Talia al Ghul’s resurrection of Bruce Wayne in an effort to have him lead the League’s forces with Talia acting as Gotham Knights‘ true main villain and final encounter. This trend of Batman games to potentially bait-and-switch aspects of the game’s plot upon release has been a frustrating concept since the Batman: Arkham series of games, which were primarily developed by Rocksteady Studios.
Gotham Knights wasn’t the first outing for Warner Bros. Montreal into the world of Batman as Batman: Arkham Origins told the story of a younger Bruce Wayne within the Arkhamverse. While the game’s initial plot and promotion had set Black Mask to be the primary antagonist, the course of the game reveals that it was the Joker pulling the strings, having taken on the persona of the criminal mastermind and reducing Black Mask to a joke within the rogues gallery through the Batman: Arkham series. Perhaps the most egregious narrative falsehood, however, occurred in a title that was handled by the main developers of the Batman: Arkham series.
Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Knight features Batman going head-to-head with the eponymous character who was teased as a completely original character to the franchise. In one of the biggest story reveals in Batman: Arkham, his identity was revealed as Jason Todd in a storyline reminiscent of how he became Red Hood in the comics. In promoting the Arkham Knight as a brand-new character that Batman hadn’t faced before, it flies in the face of what was meant to be the game’s biggest moment not unlike Gotham Knights’ biggest reveals, resulting in the plot not carrying its appropriate impact or weight.
While the Batman: Arkham series takes place in a separate universe from Gotham Knights, it doesn’t change the indication that Batman video games have made an uncomfortable habit of misleading their audience in an effort to obfuscate plot details. It is good to have spoilers remain hidden for the game’s release as audiences discover the title in real time, but potentially misleading the fanbase can inadvertently set expectations toward a certain direction before having them disappointed by the end. By the ending of Gotham Knights, it takes after previous titles in the franchise by doing just that, setting the game up for an ending that could’ve been more satisfying by properly tempering expectations for the game’s story.
Source: IGN