It has been a right proper rollercoaster week for soon to launch open world action roleplaying game Gotham Knights, with a range of remarkable 11th hour reveals from developer Warner Bros.

Some of which have gamers practically rioting.

First the required and then recommended PC specifications were unveiled and both are unexpectedly demanding.

We awoke one morning to find the internet ablaze with videos decrying that judging by recent hardware surveys, many gamers would be unable to play it.

Including us.

For several hours we seriously thought we'd have to request a refund for our pre-order.

But those specs are for 60 FPS (frames per second) and with 30 being perfectly fine by our standards, we're willing to bet our machine will also be fine.

On the topic of FPS, it was revealed that console players would be locked to 30 FPS, where the option for 60 with lower graphical settings is the norm.

While we're fine with 30 FPS many gamers aren't.

They're also not happy about the timing and manner (via Discord) in which details like this were communicated.

Gotham Knights developers have defended the limitation claiming that their untethered co-op gameplay is too demanding to allow 60 FPS on consoles.

A developer from Rocksteady, who developed the Batman Arkham Games which are kind of the predecessors to Gotham Knights, laid blame at the feet of Microsoft, describing the Xbox S as a "potato" hamstringing other games.

Not only that tweet but his whole Twitter account have since gone poof.

Mmm.

We also wonder if there might be an element of attempting to control the graphical quality of game streaming, which is becoming an increasingly important component of the industry.

Pretty games probably sell better and many people watch streaming on large monitors or even television screens.

By locking consoles to 30 FPS with higher graphical fidelity, they absolutely control potential video quality.

And only advertising high calibre 60 FPS PC system specs, the developers could argue that anyone playing on and streaming from a lesser machine, is misrepresenting their product.

On a more positive and also less surprising note given our prediction of 4 player co-op, Warner Bros. announced a separate Heroic Assault game mode which will join Gotham Knights in a free update on November 29.

Details are few:

Heroic Assault is an upcoming gameplay mode that is separate from the main story campaign. The standalone mode supports up to four players in online co-op and provides a dedicated arena-like environment with specific objectives to complete and enemies to defeat on each floor (30 floors total).

Could be fun but we still have doubts about this game and monetization, and this could be where the proverbial penny drops.

Hopefully we're wrong.

Entirely without controversy, the developers dropped a What is Gotham Knights trailer, which showcases Batgirl's hacking ability - it's not useless - and a few more of Robin's abilities.

This video makes it sound like momentum abilities unlock as a function of character level, which is different from what they told us in August.

That they are unlocked by completing challenges spread around the city.

Relatively minor change which probably few would notice or care about.

We hope to enjoy Gotham Knights, when it launches on PC, Xbox X|S and PlayStation 5 on October 21.

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

References

Gotham Knights. FAQ - Heroic Assault. (viewed October 20, 2022)

Gotham Knights [@GothamKnights] (October 15, 2022). Gotham has thrown down a new gauntlet. Twitter.

Gotham Knights. PC Specs. (viewed October 20, 2022)

Gotham Knights (October 19, 2022). What is Gotham Knights? YouTube.

Palumbo, Alessio (October 17, 2022). Rocksteady Dev Calls Xbox Series S a ‘Potato’ While Defending Gotham Knights at 30 FPS. WCCF Tech.

Wario64 [@Warrio64] (October 15, 2022). WB Games Montreal has confirmed that Gotham Knights on consoles will run at 30 FPS with no performance/quality mode option. Twitter.