Open world games are very much in vogue right now and the latest trailer for DC's upcoming Gotham Knights action roleplaying game really plays up this aspect.

The 10 minute trailer boils down to their having invested much time, thought and care into their unique design for the oft-visited fictional city.

Those uninterested in this or open world games could safely skip watching but it does successfully sell viewers on the notion that this is a substantial open-world setting for all that it is confined to a single city.

Abbreviated version?

In designing the city they've thought backwards to its founding by wealthy families, including the Waynes, and imagined it and its development throughout history to produce their Gotham of today.

That includes both literal underground elements and also the figurative underground of the game's primary adversary - the Court of Owls.

How big is it?

They don't get into actual measurements and only say that it's the biggest Gotham ever made for a game.

Which is a fairly standard and entirely expected claim for new games which revisit familiar locations.

With both skyscrapers and below ground structures its true size would be tricky to quantify.

Speaking of verticality, this trailer utilises Robin for their tour and he doesn't engage in much combat but does demonstrate his teleportation ability.

Functionally it appears similar to teleportation in the superhero online game Champions Online, with Robin phasing out and achieving temporary flight for a limited time (about 8 seconds) before rematerializing.

Also allowing him to move upwards which the traversal methods of other playable characters might not allow.

Returning briefly to the history aspect, the Batman property in film and television has rebooted so often that we tease it mercilessly as being a bit disposable.

Establishing a single, continuous world much like Marvel's juggernaut MCU seems to be on the cards for DC.

Instilling in players a sense of Gotham being a real city with deep historical roots could be very favourable for their brand.

Gotham Knights releases on PC, Xbox and PlayStation on October 25.

[ Main Image: Gotham Knights trailer. Credit: IGN via YouTube. ]

References

IGN (August 12, 2022). Gotham Knights: Building a Brand New Gotham City (With 400 Years of History) - IGN First. YouTube.

Skrebels, Joe (August 12, 2022). Gotham Knights: Building a Brand New Gotham City (With 400 Years of History). IGN.