What Role Does Gotham Knights Play in The Arkham Series?

While the soon-to-be-released Gotham Knights has Batman fans buzzing, a lot of that buzz is coming from gamers who can’t quite tell if the action-adventure game is directly related to Rocksteady’s legendaryArkhamfranchise.

Simply put, Gotham Knights is not officially part of the Arkham game series. For that matter, it doesn’t even take place in the same universe as the Arkham games. It’s a standalone adventure that takes place in the greaterBatmanuniverse (just like the Arkham games did), but it tells a new story complete with new characters and new takes on old characters.

If you’re coming into Gotham Knightsexpecting a follow-up to the Arkham games, you’re probably going to have a bad time. So far as this title’s story and lore are concerned, those games do not exist.

As you can see, there really isn’t any ambiguity to the matter of whether or not Gotham Knights is directly related to the Arkham games. So why is there so much confusion over that matter? Well, it comes down to a few things.

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First off, Gotham Knightsreallylookslike an Arkham game in many respects. To be more specific, it features a few gameplay and visual design concepts that are strikingly similar to concepts seen in Rocksteady’sArkhamgames. While a quick look at a few briefArkham Knightgameplay videos may have you thinking “Arkham,” a deeper dive reveals the truth of the matter.

What Role Does Gotham Knights Play in The Arkham Series?

Gotham Knights are more of a modern open-world game complete with collectibles, crafting, side missions, and multiplayer options. Indeed, a lot of Gotham Knight‘s unique (compared to Arkham, that is) gameplay elements are a big part of the reason why it is proving to be divisive.

Second, Gotham Knights were produced by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; the same studio that produced the Arkham games. In fact, WB indirectly contributed to the Gotham Knights/Arkhamcontroversy when they decided to reveal Gotham KnightsandSuicide Squad:

Kill the Justice League at the same time. The latter game is not only being developed by Rocksteady but actually takes place in the “Arkhamverse.” In other words, the confusion surrounding Gotham Knights has been there since day one.

Finally, there are aspects of Gotham Knights‘ story that do feel like they could occur in the Arkhamverse. Without getting into specifics, there are also elements of the Gotham Knightsstory that are in direct contradiction to the events in the Arkhamverse.

The former elements of the game’s story have been bumping up against the latter and creating a lot of necessary anger regarding Gotham Knights“betraying” the mythology of the Arkham games.

What Role Does Gotham Knights Play in The Arkham Series?

Again, that’s why it’s best to wipe the Arkham games from your mind from a lore perspective when you’re playing Gotham Knights. While it will sadly be impossible to completely forget about Arkham’s you play through the often unevenGotham Knightscampaign, treating the game like a directArkhamfollow-up is the quickest path to disappointment and confusion.