So what exactly does Gotham City Impostors look like? In short, it's a hyperactive multiplayer shooter, coated in a thick layer of Batman Sauce. Players can pick to be on Team Bats or Team Jokerz (no word on other potential teams yet, WBIE tells us) and, from there, customize their characters, loadouts, individual weapons, and even the "card" that enemies will see after you've killed them. Character customization begins with body type, which ranges from nimble to heavy, all the way through "cowl," where players can pick the type of knock-off Batman mask they want their impostor to wear.
To demonstrate weapon customization, we were shown the "Thunder Dragon" rocket launcher ... But a rocket launcher is old hat, right? How about a purple cheetah-print rocket launcher ... that fires fireworks -- or molotov ******tails? Your loadout includes a "ready" weapon, an assault rifle in our case; a "backup" weapon, the aforementioned Thunder Dragon here; a "support" item, which includes pipe bombs, a jack-in-the-box-style bomb, an axe, a boomerang, and more; and a "gadget," which includes a glider, a grapple gun, roller skates, or a smoke bomb. Like most games in this market, you can either customize everything or pick from defaults, including pre-made loadouts.
On display at the event were only two gametypes -- the mandatory Team Deathmatch and the more atypical "Psychological Warfare," a kind of capture-the-flag done Batman-style. The map on display was the funhouse Amusement Mile, an appropriate setting for the madcap action on display. Littered across the level are trampolines, which players can use to make their way to higher ground, giving the map a distinct verticality. Also helping traverse this vertical environment is the glider which, when coupled with heating ducts, let players fly across the level. Similarly, skate ramps allow players with the roller skates gadget to get a speed boost across the map.
Psychological Warfare tasks each team with defending or recovering a battery connected to a brainwashing system. When a team grabs the battery to bring it back to their base, it leaves behind a trail of battery acid, leading the defending team directly to the stolen battery. Once back at the base, it must be defended for 30 seconds before the attacking team can activate its brainwashing machine. Once activated, your team members will hear a motivational speech, while the enemy will be brainwashed and temporarily lose access to its weapons, relying solely on "panic attacks."
From a mechanical standpoint, Gotham City Impostors plays much like other shooters: run is mapped to the left analog stick's clicky button; left trigger pulls up your iron sights; right trigger fires. Killing enemies earns you XP (conveniently posted above enemies every time you land a shot); though, strangely, Monolith isn't talking about what other actions will net players XP. Successfully snagging a battery? No sign of XP in the demo session.
LOLZ
Lily Adler#forthecontent! 📹 (she/her)
