The Arkham series has seen its fair share of ups and downs across its four games, but the one constant across the series that is held in high esteem, is its boss stages.
From Clayface to ManBat, Scarecrow and The Joker, it made you ‘feel’ like you were Batman thanks to these events, scattered across the games. But there’s one in particular that’s very fondly remembered.
Mr Freeze in Arkham City is known to be more of an event than a boss stage; it requires the player to use their wits and to think outside the box of how to defeat him.
With these aspects, and especially as the next game is about to be announced, here’s why these innovative aspects of Mr Freeze should be further explored in the rumoured ‘Court of Owls’ game.
Very Ice to See You Again
Boss stages are the epitome of many games; its what some work towards, its what some grind towards. They transcend across many genres in games, and they represent everything you’ve been working towards, whether if its a final boss, or an end-of-level boss that you’ve just not been able to figure out how to defeat as yet.
With Mr Freeze, it turned the ‘hero vs boss’ aspect on its head, as the methods to defeat him would change every-time, reading you to use the arsenal of what Batman had at the time against Mr Freeze.
Other bosses in the subsequent games had their moments, like Clayface and DeathStroke, but Mr Freeze had a style that could be stunning if it was applied to a next-gen game such as this rumoured new-entry, seemingly called ‘Gotham Knights: Court of Owls’.
Rumoured for a release on PS5, Series X and PC, it seems to be looking to eclipse the scope and scale of what ‘Arkham Knight’ brought back in 2015, with the story, arsenal, and characters of what the Batman lore brings over its near-eighty-year history.
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Let’s Break the Ice for the Owls
But for some context; the ‘Court of Owls’ are a secret society in the depths of Gotham City; a crime group who kidnap children from the circus-world and trains them, brainwashes them into assassins known as ‘The Talons’. Think of the characters like DeathStroke and Nightwing, but multiplied by 100 in their scope and skills as assassins, and you may have a game full of depth to avoid the Talons everywhere you go.
When you take into account the ‘Court of Owls’ in a game, the methods used against Mr Freeze could work well here. Imagine using the sewers of Gotham City, or even buildings you can freely enter through their rooftops and secret passageways, as a means to distract certain Talons or even defeat them.
It’s rumoured that the game will enable the player to switch between other characters other than Batman, such as Batgirl, Robin and even Nightwing. Further than that, multiplayer co-op is also rumoured to feature, so you could play alongside a friend as the caped crusader, alongside Batgirl, to find and take down the Talons in your duo-ways.
If you take this into account with Mr Freeze, the many ways you could play ‘Gotham Knights’ could transform how you used to play the previous ‘Arkham’ entries. Combine that with co-op and you could have a game that you may be pre-ordering as soon as its announced later today at 4PM.
With that, I’d like to leave you with a poem that’s been known to haunt many of those who try to sleep at night, from the Court of Owls themselves.
Beware the Court of Owls, that watches all the time,Ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime.They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed.Speak not a whispered word about them, or they'll send the Talon for your head.
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