Batman is dead... Long live the Bat Family – Should you play Gotham Knights?
Gotham Knights by WB Games Montreal is a title that’s been in my periphery for a good bit, as I truly enjoyed both Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City, games upon which Gotham Knights certainly stands on the shoulders. Like those two hit superhero titles, Gotham Knights is an action-RPG set in a dynamically interactive Gotham City. In either solo play or with one other hero, players patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs and drop in to crack criminal skulls wherever you find them...and, oh yeah, maybe find out why the esteemed, vigilante protector of the city (and your lifelong mentor) was killed.
THE STORY
As my headline states, Batman appears to have died in a knock-down, drag-out battle with Ra’s al Ghul. In the wake of his demise, an expansive, new criminal underworld has polluted the streets of Gotham City. It is now up to the Batman Family—Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Red Hood (Jason Todd), and Robin (Tim Drake)—to protect Gotham, bring hope to its citizens, restore order to the police force, and strike fear into the hearts of its criminals once again. From solving mysteries that connect the seedy chapters in the city’s history to defeating what’s left of Batman’s notorious rogue’s gallery, the Bat Family must rise up to fill the vacant cowl of the Dark Knight and save the Gotham streets from utter chaos.
PLATFORMS
Gotham Knights is available on PlayStation 5, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox Series X and S. I played the PlayStation 5 version and it played as smooth as butter. Note that the console versions of the game are locked at 30 FPS, which some people seem to have an issue with; I didn’t mind so much.
TIME PLAYED
I’ve put about eight hours into Gotham Knights so far...but it sure seems like Batgirl and I still have a lot of work to do. I haven’t even touched the other three characters as of yet, and apparently all of their stories play out differently, so this is really like four games in one.
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Scope. Gotham Knights just feels big and imposing, as if this vast city’s every brick is against me and every inhabitant has it out for me. Even as I stood atop one of the many massive skyscrapers, peering down at the urban onrush below (which I did often, because this game is dismally gorgeous), I felt alone. I never stopped sensing that I had a ton of work to do if I wanted to get to the bottom of things, and that this world was most certainly not going to make it easy for me to complete said work.
• Actual detective work. Much like the aforementioned Rocksteady Studios-developed Arkham games, there’s a good amount of focus on the criminally (pun intended) overlooked sleuth side of the Batman’s (and the Bat Family’s...well, except maybe not Red Hood) personas in Gotham Knights. While most of the puzzles aren’t going to fry your brain, there have been enough of them so far that they seem to be an integral part of the experience.
• Chicks love the car. Well, the Batcycle here. There’s something to be said for the visceral thrill I got while I was tearing through the city on the Batcycle, leaping off while approaching a group of villains, then smacking said villains in their villainous faces with a volley of Batarangs mid-leap. That never, ever got old.
WHAT SUCKS
• Lack of a true open-world feel. The majority of the Gotham Knights feels like it’s leading you by the nose to the next task or story point. The best open-world titles don’t do this...or at the very least, they disguise it better. I also ran across too many locked doors and artificial walls for my liking. Again, the best open-world games don’t make you feel like you have limitations.
• Information overload. The absolute deluge of side quests, files, skill trees, and overall content this game hits you with is daunting to say the least. It could trigger ADD in the most zen of minds.
• No Damian Wayne Robin. Even though he can be an annoying little twat at times, I still get a kick out of Damian’s tenacity and deadliness, and he would have been fun to play as in Gotham Knights. Hopefully, he’ll be a DLC character somewhere down the line. Hell, while we are at it, give me the Carrie Kelley version of Robin as well.
SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?
Heck yes—especially if you love Batman and the extended Gotham City mythos that has greatly expanded over the last eight decades or so. I have to admit that it’s been a minute since I’ve played a triple-A game with these kinds of production values. Coupled with this being the first game I’ve played on my new PS5 in 4K, perhaps part of the “wow” factor for me was superficial. Regardless, though, at its core, Gotham Knights is a thoroughly engaging experience that’ll keep you busting out the super hero moves for hours on end. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a major metropolis (no, not that one) to save...
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