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Although the Caped Crusader will be absent from WB Games Montreal's upcoming Gotham Knights, several of his iconic foes from the Batman rogues gallery will be making appearances during the course of the gameplay. Players have already seen the Court of Owls, Mr. Freeze, and Penguin.
Sadly, the developers have confirmed that the Joker will not be featured in Gotham Knights. One can say it is poetic that the Joker is absent as the death of his archnemesis looms large over the game's narrative. But fans may still get to see some clownish shenanigans yet.
A recent gameplay clip seems to indicate the presence of another well-recognized character, Harley Quinn.
Recent Gotham Knights clip featuring Batgirl likely hints at Harley Quinn's presence in-game
The developers recently shared a gameplay clip of Batgirl in action against a handful of thugs on the streets of Gotham. The brief video begins with the superhero gliding down from the rooftops using her cape onto the unsuspecting opponents.
She easily takes out these enemies with a variety of moves and combos, featuring ambush takedowns, elemental strikes, quickfire, a combination of basic and heavy strikes, and grapple pull. While the clip does not feature Harley Quinn in person, viewers should take note of the clothes these thugs are wearing.
They look similar to the ones seen in the Arkham City DLC, Harley Quinn's Revenge, with the painted white face and a red-and-black color esthetic across their outfits. The inclusion of Harley Quinn will perfectly fit Gotham Knight's aim to provide players with a proper Bat experience and its classic villains, especially considering the absence of the Clown Prince of Gotham.
This also makes further sense considering Patrick Redding, the creative director of Gotham Knights, recently said at a San Diego Comic-Con 2022 panel that he could neither deny nor confirm if Harley Quinn was going to appear in-game.
Redding further stated that there are a number of villains present in the game that he was proud of and could not reveal at the time. He mentioned that a big villain reveal could happen in the next few weeks, where players will likely get further information.
Gotham Knights will feature four playable characters from the Bat Family - Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood. Each of them will have its own distinct character arcs with unique lines and cinematics. They will also have their own signature style of fighting while brandishing justice in a Gotham bereft of Batman.
The developers have confirmed that Batman dies within the first 10 minutes of the game and truly stays dead. Although players will have to play the game to confirm the latter, the absence of the Caped Crusader opens up the opportunity to tell the tale of other characters who are usually not headliners.
Fans will be eager to see what WB Games Montreal has in store for them come October 25, when the action RPG finally releases. Gotham Knights will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.
