Straight out of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Warner Bros. has released the latest trailer for Gotham Knights, this time focusing squarely on Batgirl.
Batgirl is one of four playable characters in Gotham Knights, with the other beings Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood. Her trailer opens with a short monologue before jumping into a wealth of gameplay. Here’s the official description of Batgirl,
“Gotham City still has a Bat, and she’s going to make sure everyone knows it. Protecting people runs in her veins and will always be a part of who she is, no matter her identity. The people of Gotham need a symbol to believe in, and there’s no one better than Batgirl to be that symbol.”
It looks like Batgirl’s fighting style heavily relies on using different tools and weapons. Her primary weapon is a tonfa that can transform into a sort of whip; however, the trailer also shows her using a grappling hook, a shockwave attack, and some kind of huge AoE attack with Batarangs.
Gotham Knight’s version of Batgirl was initially hit with some controversy, as the game’s version of Barbara Gordon was originally wheelchair-bound. She apparently recovered after “her father’s death spurred her to train and recover from her wounds.” This trope of a disabled person overcoming their disability was seen by many to be offensive, and horribly misguided. In a May 2022 interview, the dev team said they had partnered with the AbleGamers charity to rework Batgirl’s story. Creative director Patrick Redding said the team “worked with the awesome folks at AbleGamers to learn about different types of spinal injuries and the potential for someone to regain mobility.
The setup for Gotham Knights sees both Batman and Commissioner Gordan dead, putting the task of defending Gotham on Batman’s successors. At SDCC, Warner Bros. confirmed that Batman is actually dead in Gotham Knights, and there won’t be any kind of surprise twist to bring him back to life.
Gotham Knights releases on October 25 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
