Gotham Knights is set to place a level of focus on The Bat Family that has never been seen in a game before, bringing the characters out of cameo and DLC roles and directly into the forefront of the game. With Gotham Knights having optional co-op gameplay, the game is looking to shake up the formula for Batman games following the conclusion of Rocksteady’s excellent Arkham series. However, one specific member The Bat Family is going to be hard for WB Montreal to keep balanced.
While the Gotham Knights characters Batgirl, Robin, and Nightwing all play similarly to their mentor Batman, Red Hood stands as a direct contrast to their fighting styles. Seeing killing as the right way to deal with Gotham’s crime, Jason Todd’s move set and fighting style has always relied heavily on the use of guns. From his iconic dual wield pistols to rifles and launchers, comics, animated movies, and previous video game appearances have all seen Red Hood wielding guns. While his fighting style may include the martial arts and acrobatics utilized by the rest of The Bat Family, guns are just as important, giving WB Montreal the challenge of making Red Hood fun to use without being overpowered.
With WB Montreal also having to juggle the conflicting morals of Jason Todd and the rest of the Bat Family, one possibility could see Red Hood using rubber bullets like the ones equipped on Batman: Arkham Knight’s batmobile. A solid explanation for why the other Gotham Knights would accept Red Hood’s help despite being against killing, the move could also serve as a method of balancing the weapons. However, this could easily lead to the guns feeling weak, with the balancing act going too far in one direction.
Part of what made the combat in the Arkham series so fun was just how dangerous Batman was. Displaying his speed as well as his power with every hit, the game’s showed just how dangerous The Dark Knight really is. On top of this, the gadgets of the Arkham games always felt useful, with the electrical charge gun providing reliable assistance in every battle. As such, making Red Hood’s primary tool weak would be a bad idea, as guns and killing are a crucial part of the character and what makes him different from Batman’s other allies. If enemies begin to feel like bullet sponges ripped straight from Ubisoft’s The Division series, it is hard to imagine the guns (and Red Hood) being fun to use.
At the same time, WB Montreal needs to avoid the possibility of Red Hood being too strong. If Red Hood’s guns offer a massive advantage in boss fights and clashes with regular enemies, he could become the only character people want to use. While players can use two of the same heroes in Gotham Knights, seeing two Red Hoods in every single lobby is surely not something WB Montreal wants. Leading to missed content and most of the game’s cast being left unplayed, an overpowered Red Hood would be just as frustrating as one that is essentially firing off nerf darts.
Clearly, WB Montreal is in a tough spot with Red Hood. Keeping his guns strong is a must, as making him a purely close-range fighter strips him of his unique gameplay style and personality. At the same time, having a deadly ranged fighter when the rest of the Bat Family is fighting Gotham Knights’ villains hand-to-hand seems like something that is guaranteed to cause trouble. There is a possible solution to the problem, however, and it would see the DC game taking notes from Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Just like Insomniac’s Spider-Man series took inspiration from the best Batman games in terms of its combat, Gotham Knights can return the favor by learning from the Venom system seen in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The excellent game sees Miles recharging his most powerful abilities by dodging attacks and bringing down foes, a mechanic that can be used just as effectively to refill Red Hood’s guns. Looting ammo off of beaten down foes, Red Hood could fire off deadly shots, with the mechanic stopped from being overpowered due to the limited ammo the weapons are given.
Rather than lowering the power of Red Hood’s weaponry, his guns can be just as powerful as they logically should. An ammo looting mechanic could see Red Hood being extra satisfying to play while also keeping him from becoming an overpowered character. Adding an extra layer to Red Hood’s combat that requires him to use both his hand-to-hand fighting as well as his guns, the approach should keep players engaged the entire time they are playing as Jason Todd. If this mechanic or something similar is implemented when Gotham Knights releases, players could be genuinely excited to use Red Hood’s signature weapons.
Gotham Knights launches 2021 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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