Summary
What Rocksteady and WB Games Montreal achieved with the Arkhamverse continuity will always hold one of the most prevalent and substantial Batman interpretations in any media. It’s not hyperbolic to say that theArkhamgames are unmatched in their attention to detail in world-building and the canon they crafted is revered even today as an almost untouchable franchise in gaming. There likely won’t ever be an open-world superhero game that isn’t at least mildly compared totheArkhamfranchisenow, and that’s a wonderful standard superhero games should certainly strive to exceed if they want to be as special and remarkable themselves.
Gotham Knightsfailed to live up to these standards, but it was arguably a commendable effort being the first open-world DC game sinceArkham Knightaside from LEGO titles and going with an ensemble co-op game outside the Arkhamverse was a big risk when it needed to quickly establish its own universe. Even Rocksteady is being criticized for not havingSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebe more like its previousArkhamgames, and neitherSuicide SquadnorGotham Knightshas been able to step out of Batman’s shadow. That’s why, even though a standalone, single-player Robin game could be fascinating, it would definitely never flee from that bat-shaped shadow, either.
UntilDick Grayson’s Robinleads the Teen Titans or graduates to Nightwing and heads off to Bludhaven, each conventional Robin is essentially only a sidekick to Bruce Wayne’s brooding detective. The dynamic duo is popular for a reason and makes for fun interactions between them in any iteration, but Robin is typically only a product of those Batman stories and that would make it incredibly difficult to craft a standalone Robin game that doesn’t plaster a Batman throughout it.
Batman will always be more popular than Robin and especially now with Kevin Conroy’s passing it will always be exciting to see which actors play Batman next in games, even if Batman himself is only an NPC who players see out in Gotham City or nesting in the Batcave.
Still, a solo Robin game like this shouldn’t be undercut for the sake of Batman since Robin is underutilized as his own playable protagonist and it’s about time he led a single-player game. It would be fascinating toplay as Jason Todd and be killed by Jokerhalfway through the game, for example, only to be brought back to life and become a gun-toting Red Hood, but even then players would wonder where Batman is the whole time.
No Matter Which Robin, They are All Intrinsically Linked to the Caped Crusader
The fact is that any Robin imaginable must be connected to Batman in some way, and that relationship would always be where the attention is centered. Likewise,Gotham Knightsmore or less butcheredthe premise of Batman being deceasedin a story meant to accentuate the Bat Family since he was still highly prominent in the story and was brought back in the third act to be a servant pawn of Talia al Ghul for a boss fight.
Therefore, it’s unlikely that any non-Arkhamverse story attempts that same idea. The only way a Robin game might have allowed for the full attention of its Boy Wonder is if it’sset in the present day afterSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Here, Robin could be left to defend Gotham City on his own with Batman out of the picture as a member of the Justice League, and that’s if Task Force X doesn’t really end up killing Batman and the rest of the Justice League anyway.
Gotham Knights
WHERE TO PLAY
Batman is dead. A new expansive, criminal underworld has swept the streets of Gotham City. It is now up to the Batman Family - Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin - to protect Gotham, bring hope to its citizens, discipline to its cops, and fear to its criminals.From solving mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in the city’s history to defeating notorious villains in epic confrontations.Gotham Knights is an open-world, action RPG set in the most dynamic and interactive Gotham City yet. Patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs in solo or in co-op and drop in on criminal activity wherever you find it.Your legacy begins now. Step into the Knight.
