Some of Gotham Knights’ lead developers have shared a deeper look at the game’s open-world.
One defining factor appears to be the extensive dive into Gotham City’s history, with it being split into five different boroughs and each being shaped by “the worldview of the families that historically controlled them.”
“The five boroughs, you know, it started with the families. The families moved in there, they built imposing structures within those districts, so then we build around that to where the identity of those districts is based off that family”, explains lead level design director, Kristofor McMahan, in an IGN First preview for Gotham Knights.
McMahan continues to explain that “if you visit a city in real life, it’s hard to tell some of that history”, and goes on to describe some of the areas as being “stuck in time”, and touches on how some areas will be under halted construction and overgrown, giving players a perspective on how other parts of the city have evolved over time.
When discussing The Cauldron location, art director Daniel Kvasznicza talks about how the different boroughs also facilitate different types of player interaction. Redding explains that it has a “different way for the player to navigate over it” compared to the financial area and south side that it’s wedged between, with it being more parkour focussed. “So, the player has the choice to pick the best tool and the best navigation verb to be as efficient as possible”, with different neighbourhoods providing “different experiences”.
This variety seems to extend to combat of Gotham Knights as well, with the open Robinson Park being harder to stealth around than the confined Elliot Center museum exhibit.
Despite being the largest depiction of Gotham City in a game, game director Geoff Ellenor stresses that “what I think is really unique to Gotham Knights is the density of it.” He elaborates: “There’s such a depth of nooks and crannies to explore inside our city”.
Gotham Knights is set to release October 25 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
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