Gotham Knights Review – Fantastic Knights, Underwhelming Journey

The time has come to finally let you guys know about my Gotham Knights play-through. Being a staunch fan of the Arkham series, I was really excited to get into this title. One thing that players should know is that Gotham Knights is not a continuation of the Arkham series, as it is set in a different universe, even though players might find many similarities between the two. Gotham Knights is a beautifully designed and well-crafted title that helps us experience Gotham in a way we have never before.

The premise of the game is that Batman, the protector of Gotham has passed away and it is now time for his fledglings, Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl and Red Hood, to take over his duties and also work towards completing the last case their mentor was working on. Players should know that I reviewed the title on the PlayStation 5, unfortunately, there was a 30FPS cap for consoles and it didn’t really provide any graphics settings. Gotham Knights has been developed by Warner Bros. Montreal, who are also responsible for the first title in the Arkham series.

The Seedy Underbelly of Gotham

As Batman is dead, the whole city is in chaos. All the criminals are taking advantage of the Dark Knight’s death and they are running amok. Players will find crimes taking place in every nook and corner of the city. The game has a vast and expansive open world, with many iconic locations that players might recall from comic books, movies, games and TV shows.

For the first time around in a Batman title, players will also see civilians in the open, who react when they see you patrolling the streets of Gotham, which was a small but appreciated feature. There are 5 main regions that players will be able to explore in the game, namely; North Gotham, New Gotham, Downtown Gotham, Historic Gotham and Lower Gotham. There are also two islands that players can explore. The first one is the new prison in this universe, Blackgate and the second island is home to one of the most iconic locations in the franchise, Arkham Asylum.

Traversing this vast world needed to be strategically planned; in my opinion, it could have been better. The main form of traversal that players would use to get around Gotham is the grappling gun, which allows our heroes to get on almost any ledge or building they can stand on, and they can’t grapple onto something that their character can’t stand on. The secondary way of traversing the city is through the Batcycle. Unfortunately, there are no afterburners this time around, but it is rapid enough to get you where you need to be. The third and final way of traversing is character exclusive, and it has to be unlocked by gaining Knighthood.

Knighthood has to be achieved by completing various objectives in the open world. For Nightwing, he uses a glider, which is the best out of the three in my opinion as it is the fastest. Robin figures out how to use Justice League’s teleportation system to teleport himself over a short distance. Batgirl is closest to how Batman was and she uses her cowl to glide through the city. Red Hood uses the power of the Lazarus Pit that basically allows him to hop on to mystically created platforms. There are fast travel points spread across the city which makes things much easier for the player.

Visually, Gotham looks better than ever, every aspect of the city has been carefully designed to make it feel as authentic as possible. The environment can barely be destroyed, other than some mailboxes and lampposts, nothing like what the Batmobile could do in the Arkham Series. Another great addition was that the city’s appearance and feel changes according to the enemy you are against. For example, when the players are fighting against Mr. Freeze, they will find that almost the entire city of Gotham has been frozen in ice. Players will love the photo mode feature as it provides an enormous amount of accessibility in terms of lighting, weather, poses, filters and so much more.

Battering Bad Guys, Sneaking Around and Awkward Running

Right off the bat, the first thing that I noticed when I got into the game was that the movement was very clunky and awkward. There were times when I came to a dead stop just by running into an edge of a building or a wall and it took a bit of maneuvering, to get out of any awkward positionings. Another thing the game was lacking was haptic feedback and adaptive trigger functionality.

More haptic feedback through combat and taking full advantage of the DualSense capabilities would’ve vastly added to the immersion. Combat on the other hand felt great. It provided a lot of new ways to fight, but also didn’t steer too far from how the combat has been for Batman games. Investigation is also a new feature. However, there aren’t many instances where players will have to use their deducing skills.

There are two main ways that players could approach a hostile situation. Either go guns blazing or sneak around in the shadows. In terms of hand-to-hand combat, there are two ways the players can fight: Up close and personal and with ranged projectiles. Every character has their own style of fighting enemies and unique finisher animations. For ranged attacks, Nightwing uses Darts, Robin uses a slingshot, Batgirl uses Batarangs and Red Hood uses non-lethal guns.

Players can also use character-specific special abilities that can be unlocked through the skill tree. Nightwing and Batgirl are the brawlers of the team, and they can beat down anyone that crosses their paths. Robin is best used for stealth as his abilities help him excel there, while Red Hood on the other hand excels in ranged combat by spraying enemies with bullets through dual-wielding pistols. Hand-to-hand combat has three different ways through which players could beatdown their opponents, the first was normal striking which does basic damage, then there are timed attacks which need a small learning curve but provide fruitful results and then we finally have the heavy attack which did high damage but couldn’t be repeated successively.

Stealth on the other hand did not feel as good as it could be. It included all the basic features such as marking enemies, silent takedowns and ambush takedowns. But for characters that are known to work through the shadows, I expected a bit more from it. There were some character-specific abilities here too such as Robin being hard to detect and Batgirl being able to bypass all types of security, but that was all there was to it.

Players could also approach combat through the Batcycle by using their ranged attacks, but that wouldn’t get them anywhere in such a situation. Another great addition that we see in many games was that the enemy levels are scaled up according to the player’s level, so it would be impossible for the player to overpower their enemies. My favourite character to take on combat was Batgirl because she has been described perfectly to be ‘Tough as Nails’, in the game. The game also has many boss fights, each villain has a separate quest line, all of them leading to a final boss fight, which takes a bit of effort, to be honest.

Heroes, Villains and the Support

The character development, design and growth of every character were undoubtedly the highlight of the game. Players get to play with each of the four characters and as they switch between them, they get to understand the various aspects of each character’s persona and their overall thought process. Keep in mind that players can only switch between characters by heading to the headquarters, and it can’t be done when roaming in the open world.

Villains on the other hand were well thought out too, with each boss having their unique identity and way of dealing with situations. The support wasn’t forgotten either as the Batfamily had the likes of Alfred Pennyworth, Lucius Fox and more, helping them through their journey. Alfred is a key part of the team, and he serves the same purpose as he did for Batman by providing technical support and aid. He also helps keep the team grounded and focused on their goals as well, while chiming in with many nostalgic references to Batman, and so do all the other characters.

Nightwing has a high sense of morality and is somewhat a boy scout. He and all the others are still grieving over Bruce’s death and are trying to get over the harsh reality of taking over his duties. He is trying to be a leader for the group but ends up falling short most times, as he needs to learn how to ask for help from his teammates. Robin is still a teenager, very sprightly and provides solutions for tight situations. He is trying to work on getting out of Bruce and everyone’s shadow and make his mark on Gotham.

Batgirl is the brains of the team and is always composed, no matter what situation she is dealing with. Her father, Jim Gordon is no more, and with her mentor also gone she has to take hold of the ropes. Red Hood is hotheaded and doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty, he is still recovering from past trauma or being resurrected by the Lazarus Pit. There are character-specific story elements, where players see all four of them interact with each other and understand their relationship. These story elements also allow players to experience the growth and development of the characters into full-fledged Knights.

Villains have been strategically designed too as well. There are four main villains that players will come across in Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Penguin. There are some other villains that players will battle it out with, but I won’t spoil that for you. Harley Quinn is downright crazy, but at the same time a genius too, as she doesn’t care about collateral damage. Mr. Freeze has only one goal in mind, and that is to make everyone feel the way he did and make the entire city of Gotham icy cold.

Clayface has a love for theatrics, as he is trying to shoot a documentary of his life and will go to any lengths to complete it. Penguin is trying to live a quiet life, but his past keeps coming back to haunt him. He is in charge of a night club now, the same as what we saw in the Robert Pattinson Batman movie. The other villains are what we could say are the main antagonists of the game, both of them are discovered through twists in the story. There are villain factions too, and each of them have their special traits and weapons. Here are the factions you will come across in the game: The Mob, The Freaks, League of Shadows, Court of Owls, Talons and Regulators.

The Journey, Suits, and More

The main campaign of the game starts off strong with the characters investigating a case that could impact the core of Gotham City. Progression is good, but it feels that it loses its way at times. Some situations feel abrupt and not properly planned. Most of the game involves fighting your way through to the point where you need to reach.

There are a few puzzles that are interesting and will keep you occupied for some time. There are some decent twists in the story, but nothing to write home about. Some missions are excellent and provide a breath of fresh air to the player. For example, the Ballroom mission and the Labyrinth mission, you’ll know when you come to it. The ending is underwhelming, as I expected more, but that wasn’t the case. There is a surprise cameo towards the end, but that was the only highlight of the conclusion.

Suits are something that every player will appreciate in the game, as there is a plethora of them, and each has its unique traits. The main elements in the game are poison, ice, fire and electricity, and the suits and weapons are built around them to provide resistance from elemental damage and while also inflicting it as well. Suits can be acquired either by levelling up or crafting them. Materials for crafting can be procured easily, and it can be done by simply taking down bad guys and opening chests. Completing bonus objectives will fetch you more material and XP. Suits also determine the battle power of the players, as they need to be upgraded with mods in order to take down the more taxing enemies.

There are many easter eggs in the game, along with some vital information. There is a feature where players can check mail, with each character receiving a different version. Players will see condolence messages from the likes of Clark Kent, Bart Allen, Diana Price and more. Even though the Batman is dead, players also get to understand the back story through one of the side missions. Batman also gets one last dance with them through the training center in the HQ, where he teaches them various moves and skills.

Conclusion

Players will surely have a lot of fun playing through Gotham Knights, but it will hard to discount all of its shortcomings. Going through the characters and understanding their individual journeys is a fulfilling experience, but the overall campaign does not live up to the expectations. Gotham Knights does not hold a candle to previous Batman games, and tries to stand out individually but inevitably falls victim to comparisons due the high benchmark set for these titles.