Batman: Arkham Knight is not just ramping up the stakes for Gotham, but also adding a long-awaited spin to gameplay to allow other characters into the mix during campaign. Rocksteady Studios released a new trailer Monday to highlight how Nightwing, Robin, Catwoman, and possibly Azrael fit into the new “Dual Play” mechanic for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC gamers.
In past Batman: Arkham games, players could control other members of the Bat-family only in Challenge mode. Arkham City was the exception with a couple of small missions that featured Catwoman. Fans clamored for more though and Rocksteady appears to have come with a different spin that allows switching between characters on the fly.
Robin. Nightwing. Catwoman. Lucius. Batman calls upon his allies in the latest trailer “All Who Follow You”: https://t.co/5nORbggwBD
— Batman Arkham (@BatmanArkham) April 27, 2015
The description for the new “All Who Follow You” trailer reads: “For the first time ever, watch Batman: Arkham Knight’s exciting new ‘Dual Play’ mechanic in action as you switch seamlessly between The Dark Knight and his allies including Robin, Nightwing, and Catwoman in free-flow combat.”
This new “Dual Play” mechanic is first shown off starting at about 50 seconds into the Batman: Arkham Knight trailer. The video gives it a very WWE wrestling feel as Batman holds down a thug while Robin drops into deliver a finishing blow with his staff. You then see different combinations with Catwoman and Nightwing worked in as well.
Azrael drops in during the trailer to give a foreboding prophecy warning. He is teased as a possible playable character on the game’s official website, but doesn’t have any action scenes here.
So far, Rocksteady Studios and Warner Bros are not providing additional details on how the new Dual Play mechanic will work. There’s no mention on whether the additional characters are available only on select missions or if they can be pre-selected. There is no information on if the characters will follow Batman around on screen or will just pop up when needed.
For example, a press release I received from the Batman: Arkham Knight PR team did not contain any additional details on Dual Play from what was included in the video description. For those wondering, there is no co-op mode for Batman: Arkham Knight . It is completely single-player only.
Batman: Arkham Knight is currently scheduled to release June 29 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The Red Hood and Harley Quinn will also be playable via pre-order DLC for story packs featuring the two characters.
[Images via Batman: Arkham Knight ]
