Warner Bros. Games seems to be in crisis. It’s been hemorrhaging money left and right and shutting down its studios. The most recent batch of WB studio closures hit pretty hard as the publisher dismantled Monolith Studios, the studio behind franchises like F.E.A.R., Condemned, and the Middle-Earth duology, among others.
The studio closures and layoffs are reason enough to be frustrated with WB, but the cancelation of Monolith’s untitled Wonder Woman game has some grim implications for one of WB’s most interesting ideas: the Nemesis system.
With the Nemesis system patented by WB, it seems critical that one of its remaining studios implements it in some way into whatever it’s working on next or risk the system being lost forever. When taking a look at what’s left of WB’s catalog after closing three more studios, it seems clear that Rocksteady is best equipped to give it a shot.
WB Is My Nemesis
The Nemesis system was introduced in Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and served as a way for players to feel a greater sense of connection to the world by allowing enemies to dynamically react to their actions. As the player progressed through the story by defeating orc captains, one randomly generated captain would continue to pursue the player, creating a story unique to each playthrough.
The system was incredible and one of the most innovative, memorable mechanics to come out of the Xbox One/PS4 era of gaming. Unfortunately, Warner Bros. has a patent on the system, meaning that only its first-party studios are allowed to use it. Since its creation for Shadow of Mordor in 2014, the Nemesis system has been featured in 2017’s Middle-Earth: Shadow of War and…that’s it.
Monolith was rumored to have been using the system in some way for its now-canceled Wonder Woman game, but other than the Middle-Earth series, the Nemesis system in all its glory has been left to wither and die.
Back With A Vengeance
Now that Monolith has been shut down, there’s worry among fans that we might never see the Nemesis system ever again. Hopefully, however, one of Warner Bros.’ other studios will be able to make use of the mechanic in Monolith’s stead. I think the clear frontrunner for picking up the mantle is Rocksteady.
Rocksteady has had a tough few years with its most recent game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. The game flopped pretty hard, both critically and commercially, causing many fans to worry about what the studio would be working on next, assuming it’s able to avoid closure.
With the rumor that Rocksteady is going back to its single-player Batman roots for its next game, it seems like the perfect time to make use of the Nemesis system. As a vigilante, we’ve seen plenty of examples of Batman making enemies out of legions of low-level criminals, so a system that plays on the narrative idea that a low-level crook would want to get revenge on Batman after being beaten up or embarrassed in front of their boss makes a lot of sense.
It’s easy to imagine what kind of characters might rise through the ranks after a few encounters with Batman thanks to how memorable the cast of orcs were in Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War. These sorts of new villains don’t need to be anything particularly deep or complicated like many of Batman’s main villains are, but they’d likely prove to be a welcome addition to the typical Rocksteady Batman formula that some fans are starting to grow tired of.
Batman comics are packed to the brim with long-standing rivalries between the hero and his greatest villains. We’ve had decades of films, games, and comics playing the hits with characters like the Joker, Two-Face, Bane, and the Penguin, so it would be nice to add some fresh faces to the mix to antagonize The Bat for a while.
If Rocksteady doesn’t pick up the Nemesis system, there’s still hope that another one of WB’s first-party studios might try making something with it. Hopefully, something is done with it since it feels like the system is at a crossroads: either get used in an upcoming project or potentially face falling into obscurity forever as one of the games industry’s biggest fumbles.
- Released
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October 10, 2017
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence