Gotham Knights' heroes level up while you're not playing them

In case you missed it when Gotham Knights was announced last year: No, it's not set in the same timeline as the Arkham games. Yes, the details of its setup resemble the ending of Arkham Knight, but Gotham Knights will take place in a separate continuity from previous Batman games, while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will carry on in the Arkham games' version of the DC universe.

Now that's out of the way, let's catch up on some new information courtesy of an interview GamesRadar did with Gotham Knights' executive producer Fleur Marty and creative director Patrick Redding. It was previously announced that Gotham Knights would have four playable characters—Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin—who earn new gear and costumes and unlock abilities as you play, fighting crime in an open-world Gotham City with no level-gating. Marty explained that whichever heroes you leave behind while you take on the Court of Owls or Mr. Freeze won't be left behind in terms of progression.

"Since the story progression is shared between all the characters, it also makes sense that you don't have to level them up from scratch every time you want to switch. It also stays very coherent in terms of our narrative," she said. "Since the other members of the Batman family are always present in some way in the background, while you're out in the world fighting crime or unravelling the mystery, they don't stay inactive. So it makes sense that they are also progressing and getting stronger."

Each night you head out to take back one of Gotham's five boroughs from the villains who have thrived in Batman's absence, then spend the day at your base, the Belfry, tweaking your build and choosing which missions to take on next.

While playable solo, there's drop-in/drop-out co-op for two players and Redding said that's what it's been designed around. "The two-player dynamic fits the fantasy and the Gotham City setting. The 'duo' or team-up is such a central feature of the universe that there's a literal shorthand for it in the comics, animation, film, and TV versions," he said. Apparently the city has been designed so that even its tight spaces work for a dynamic duo. "Gotham is a city of alleyways and rooftops," Redding explained, "so the footprint for gameplay needs to be compatible with that."

Gotham Knights is planned to launch sometime in 2021. Here's everything we know about Gotham Knights so far.