Gotham Knights is the latest game from Warner Bros that adapts the legendary lore from DC comics’ Batman franchise.
But rather than focusing on The Dark Knight, this title puts four of his proteges in the spotlight. Gotham Knights takes place in an original story where the famed Cape Crusader and commissioner Jim Gordan have died, resulting in a huge spike in violent crime.
In an attempt to protect Gotham in their stead, Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin and Red Hood leap into action, becoming the city’s new protectors. They will face off against many famous villains while trying to solve the mystery around Bruce’s death.
Gotham Knights’ narrative doesn't always hit the mark with obvious plot twists that left a lot to be desired. That being said, the game's depiction of the four young heroes is where Gotham Knights really shines.
Each of the characters have been well devised and display polar characteristics that greatly differ from when they are in, and out, of their suits. Whilst each of the four protagonists exhibits their heroic traits when in action, the game also gives players a more intimate insight into their daily lives, showcasing there is more behind the mask.
It is great to see a more vulnerable Jason Todd, who is normally brash in nature, revealing his inner struggle with his resurrection from the Lazarus pit. The supporting cast have also been well crafted with every interaction offering something new to the overall experience.
Gotham Knights is a visually pleasing game that encapsulates the current state of Gotham through its Neo-Noir aesthetic. The open world looks fantastic, oozing chaos at every corner with each of the five boroughs granting a different experience.
Gotham City is a joy to explore with each level of the city being meticulously designed to include so much detail. This level of detail extends to the characters who all sport great costumes from the start, with much more available as the game progresses.
Enemies also have designs that feel fresh, while still being true to their comic counterparts. My only gripe is that each of the boroughs are filled with similar grunts to deal with, which is due to the similar enemy archetypes available within the game.
Gotham Knights may look outstanding, but the game did suffer from performance issues on PS5 that persisted throughout the game. For instance, there were constant frame drops and awkward glitches during cutscenes.
Gotham Knights’ soundtrack has been cleverly crafted to match the mood of the gameplay at all times. There’s a great mix of melancholic tunes that great an ominous atmosphere when exploring, alongside adrenaline-pumping beats during the combat phases, overall they are a great accomplice for the entire adventure.
Gotham Knights is an open-world, action RPG where players will be able to switch between the different members of the Bat Family. There are a few different layers to gameplay that aim for an authentic crime-fighting experience.
Players will have to uncover the secret behind Gotham’s new turmoil, utilising the Knights’ detective abilities, combat prowess, and unique traversing skills.
Gotham Knights will see players having to explore the different areas of the city in order to solve the mystery surrounding the Court of Owls and this new surge in crime through the main story missions.
Gotham is a living city with crime happening in every part of the city so exploring its depths is very important as there are several plot points that can be discovered by being curious.
What I loved about patrolling the city is that, outside of the main story, there are loads of random crimes happening throughout. And what's more interesting is that as these crimes are procedurally generated, you can’t reattempt them.
This adds to the realism of being a hero and having to learn strategies to prevent failing again. However, the overall mission loop felt very repetitive, with the main missions and Knighthood challenges starting off as relatively compelling, but they fail to evolve in complexity as the game progresses.
The Belfry is the home base of the four Knights for players to track progression, upgrade gear and switch between and manage characters after night patrolling. When a night ends, return to the Belfry to use the clues and experience collected to advance and prepare for the next set of challenges.
There will also be cutscenes that will give further insight into each character and show their relationships with each other.
A big feature outside of the main story are the Villain Arcs which act as the game's side missions. They will revolve around different major villains from the Batman franchise, taking place over multiple nights and leading to a big boss battle.
I found these side missions to be hit-and-miss. Some made good use of the franchise's lore to give players a unique experience. But my main issue is that these missions lasted a lot longer than they needed to, which would've been much more palatable if they didn’t follow a repetitive structure.
Gotham Knights also has online co-op, and though it's limited to only two players, the developers have done a great job. The game allows players to explore the city as they see fit, this means teams can split up and complete multiple missions at the same time. Players will be able to retain their loot and gear even if they aren’t hosting the game.
Gotham Knights’ four heroes offer very different play styles during combat and exploration allowing for a varied experience. Nightwing uses his glider to patrol the skies of Gotham and his acrobatic skills to bamboozle enemies with quick attacks, whilst Red Hood will use his strength and brute force to beat enemies into submission.
Combat does feel slightly similar to past Arkham games with a few changes, like the dodge mechanic which now replaces the parry system. The newest inclusion is the Momentum ability system which allows players to mix in new moves into their skill set. This does add an extra level of strategy to the overall combat experience.
There was enough variation to dictate how your character develops as a hero, whether that be focusing on hand-to-hand combat, stealth or tech skills.
That being said, even with all these different layers to the combat system, it can get very repetitive and rarely reaches the heights seen in some of the past Arkham games.
Gotham Knights’ RPG elements come in the form of customisation, which has a lot of depth within it. Alongside unlocking new skills, players will be able to craft new gear that will offer different stat and elemental boosts.
Players will also be able to create a new costume theme, which will alter their look and grant additional stat boosts. There is a wide range of styles that not only look amazing but give very different buffs as well.
Gotham Knights offers a plethora of RPG customisation which grants players the freedom to create their own version of each character, liberating them from their base archetype. Gotham Knights is filled with several gangs and criminal organisations, but I felt that there wasn’t any real variety in the enemies you had to defeat.
Each enemy gang did have various different levels of grunts in their roster but a lot of them felt very similar in terms of their build and attack prowess. This also causes combat to feel mundane as the majority of enemies require similar tactics to take them out.
Enemies will evolve to match the story progression, but this merely meant they became much more spongy and harder to take down without adding their attack patterns.
Gotham Knights Verdict: 3/5
Gotham Knights has all the makings of a great game, with excellent co-op and character development. But the title didn’t feel as compelling as it could’ve been, with repetitive missions and combat that left a lot to be desired.
