The team at Warner Bros. Games Montreal says Batman is "really dead" in Gotham Knights and will stay dead by the end of the game. In addition, the devs revealed fans shouldn't expect the Joker to make an appearance in the upcoming action-RPG.
At the studio's panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 (via IGN), creative director Patrick Redding shed some light on what additional characters or iconic villains from the DC universe might get an appearance in Gotham Knights. If you were expecting the Joker to arrive and mess things up for the heroes, this is not the case here, as Redding confirmed the character isn't in the game. However, the creative director would not confirm whether the same applies to Harley Quinn, meaning that at least the Joker's sidekick might have an appearance of some sort.
Once again, Redding told fans that Batman is "really dead" in Gotham Knights, and will remain dead by the end of the game. Bruce Wayne's death at the beginning is what sets the plot in motion, shifting the focus to other Knights instead. Still, there are some heavy doubts about the legendary superhero being actually dead for the rest of the game, but it seems we have to wait until October to know for sure.
Finally, the creative director revealed there is "exactly one" Riddler question mark in all of Gotham Knights, whether it's for better or worse. The upcoming project seemingly leans towards a more action-oriented formula, so the players won't spend too much time solving different puzzles.
Gotham Knights developers have just dropped a new gameplay trailer you can check above, dedicated to Barbara Gordon's Batgirl and her combat abilities. The character's depiction in the game earlier received a lot of backlash due to the "Super Crip" disability trope, to which Redding answered that the team listens to the criticism and feedback and has "worked with the awesome folks at AbleGamers to learn about different types of spinal injuries and the potential for someone to regain mobility."