Can you keep playing after knightfall in Arkham Knight? An in-depth look

Hey friend! Terry here, bringing you my tech expert perspective on what happens when you activate the Knightfall protocol in Arkham Knight. Specifically, can you still keep playing after that ending? Let‘s dive in.

A quick intro to Knightfall

For those unfamiliar, the Knightfall protocol was Batman‘s final backup plan to fake his own death if his identity was compromised. It involved detonating explosives under Wayne Manor to make it seem like both Bruce Wayne and Batman perished together.

Activating Knightfall triggers a cutscene where Wayne Manor blows up, then shows Batman, Robin and Alfred escaping unharmed through a secret tunnel. To the outside world though, Batman is presumed dead.

Free roaming in Gotham after Knightfall

Now to the big question – what can you still do after activating that ending? Well the good news is you absolutely can still free roam around Gotham City to your heart‘s content.

Here‘s a quick overview of what stays the same:

• All riddles, trophies, AR challenges and side missions remain available. You keep full access to any unfinished content.
• You can freely switch between Batman, Catwoman and other playable chars. Except DLC-only ones like Batgirl until unlocked.
• The open world map is unchanged. Aside from Wayne Manor and Batcave being inaccessible now.
• Crime fighting and patrolling plays out as normal. Criminals will still populate the streets at night for you to take down.

So in summary, you have the complete same free roam capabilities even after watching the Knightfall ending scene. It‘s as if the main story finale never happened!

Completing side content after the protocol

Another common question is if side missions and other optional content can still be finished after activating Knightfall. The answer is a resounding yes.

In fact, the game forces you to keep playing and finish side quests to see the full ending:

• If you trigger it before 100% completion, you only see a partial ending cutscene.
• After this, you‘re put back into the open world to finish remaining missions.
• Only by completing all side quests can you activate Knightfall again to view the full ending.

So the game essentially requires you to complete all optional content before rolling the credits fully.

How DLC content is affected

As for downloadable content, the good news is that all DLC packs remain playable as normal after Knightfall. This includes extra missions, most wanted criminals and playable characters included with DLC.

The only restriction is you can‘t play as DLC-only characters like Batgirl or Red Hood until reaching their unlock point in the main story. But otherwise, feel free to finish any DLC content to your heart‘s content.

What happens in the full Knightfall ending?

For those who complete all side missions and see the full ending, here‘s a quick rundown of what goes down:

• Batman is presumed dead after the manor explosion, seen as sacrificing himself to save Gotham.
• Bruce Wayne and Alfred are revealed to have survived and escaped abroad into hiding.
• Gotham erects a memorial statue for Batman outside City Hall to honor his sacrifice.
• With Batman gone, Gotham seems to have found a new way to deter criminals using Scarecrow‘s toxin.

So in this ending, Batman has successfully faked his own death and given up the mantle for good. But the city remains protected in his absence by other means.

Can you play indefinitely after the finale?

And for the final big question – is there a point where the game forces you to stop playing or cuts you off after the story ends?

The answer is no, even after fully concluding Knightfall, you can keep playing indefinitely! There is no forced ending to further progress.

You could spend dozens more hours even after the credits:

• Exploring the open world to find any collectibles you missed
• Completing all AR challenges and ramping up high scores
• Finishing every remaining side mission available
• Finding all Riddler trophies if you haven‘t already

So in summary, while Knightfall concludes Batman‘s main story, you have unlimited time to keep patrolling Gotham and achieving 100% completion to your heart‘s content, friend.

The bottom line

To recap for anyone skimming:

• You can definitely keep free roaming Gotham after activating Knightfall

• All side missions, collectibles and DLC remain playable afterward

• The game makes you finish side content to see the full ending

• After Knightfall, Batman is presumed dead but the city lives on

• There‘s no forced ending – you can play as long as you want!

Hopefully this guide gave you a detailed overview of what you can (and can‘t) do after Knightfall in Arkham Knight. Let me know if you have any other questions! This is Terry signing off.