Unfortunately, we see Batman die in this game, in fact quite quickly. Gotham Knights begins with a rather interesting choreographed fight between Batman and Ra’s al Ghul. The final score? 1-0 for Ra’s, to the point that the Dark Knight is crushed to the end. Therefore, his bat family, consisting of Batgirl, Red Hood, Robin and Nightwing, must take over the cape and hood.
Because death isn’t exactly a point of arrival in comics (Lazarus Pit, anyone?), And we’ve already seen Gotham without Batman (in the Batwoman, Gotham and Birds of Prey series and the Batman Unburied podcast, for example), it’s not this is the worst starting point for a game ever. But you know that moment in the 1989 Batman movie where the Batwing soars above the cloud cover, against the backdrop of a full moon, and then dives with a pike down? That’s roughly how my verdict on these Gotham Knights went.
I’ve been waiting for a new game from Warner Bros. Injustice 3 can’t come soon enough, I’m really curious about the title of Monolith’s Wonder Woman, a new Shadow from Middle-earth or whatever there will be and I’m curious to know how much Hogwarts Legacy will be a mockery. But what I can’t wait to see is a worthy Batman: Arkham Knight sequel; a fantastic conclusion to a very strong trilogy of increasingly open world action adventures, starring the Caped Crusader.
Well, I basically didn’t expect Gotham Knights to be the game that would even match Arkham Knight. Not only because this title is deliberately lacking in Batman, but above all because it was developed by WB Games Montréal, the studio founded in 2010 behind the spin-off Batman: Arkham Origins. Well, in itself it was a great game, but on virtually all fronts a setback compared to Arkham City, which came out two years earlier. Why is he from Rocksteady, and is he really the Batman versus WB Montréals … er, Alfred Pennyworth?
However, Gotham Knights could have been a great snack while we wait for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the upcoming game from Goldenboy Rocksteady. But sadly, WB Montréal pulled a bit of an anthem … I mean, it seems to have fixed the multiplayer / co-op aspect of Gotham Knights, forcing it to make a lot of concessions. They seem to have taken the Arkham series as a project, as it’s a similar open world-style action adventure, but they’ve had to tone down almost every strong element to make it playable with others.
Much of this is immediately noticeable: the frame rate is not only 30 fps, but also unstable, the animations are very woody and the level design of the indoor locations (which are located behind the loading screens) is … illogical. Blackgate, Gotham PD and the Iceberg Lounge, for example, are incredibly linear interiors that have clearly been designed by world-class designers, certainly not architects and interior designers. For example, Star Labs server rooms are two huge ballrooms not connected by a door or corridor. Very impractical if you are a sysadmin, but useful for destroying two groups of bad guys.
As I keep playing, there are more and more design choices that make me cringe. The four protagonists look like people who auditioned for the new season of Jersey Shore. They look a little cooler in superhero costumes, but not much, and the mediocre crafting and customization system doesn’t change much. Among the new styles you can unlock are some nice looks, including Talon, Titan, and Neon Noir gear, but you can’t customize them.
And then there is the vocal work, my pet irritates as regular visitors know. They must have opted for a, um, “comical”, exaggerated tone, especially in regards to enemies and NPCs, but it doesn’t show at all. It seems more like the actors don’t take their characters seriously, with overly forced screams. Sometimes I wondered if a hitman who was slapped was supposed to poop, cum, or a combination of the two. The main cast is a little better, but Batgirl and Batman, in particular, speak more like Barbie and Ken than tough crime fighters.
The best thing about Gotham Knights is Gotham City itself: the purple and red of the neon, the fog surrounding the dark buildings and the Chicago charm of the alleys and streets. However, that vibe is only superficial, because this city is as dead as Batman. The types and amount of crimes you can solve increase, but almost come down to defeating the same type of villains, and there is little else to do but collect a small number of collectibles.
What makes Gotham even less lively is the way the heroes move through it. They can use the grappling hook to move from building to building with a little fluidity, which isn’t fun at all, but at least less boring than taking the Batcycle. Driving this moderately designed engine gives no sense of speed and is as exciting as taking the bus from Amstelveen to Bijlmer. Sometimes I have the feeling, when I drive over the many bridges of another Gotham, that it also takes the time of that journey by public transport.
There is still a new form of “crossing” to unlock for each superhero if you complete the Knighthood challenges, but I don’t think I’ll ever reach this knighthood. For that you have to solve a dozen crimes, and if there is one in North Gotham while I’m in Lower Gotham, I don’t want it anymore. Fuck no, I’ll be bored for five minutes on that lame bike!
Gotham Knights’ biggest disappointment is fighting. If you are expecting the spectacular counterattack combat of the Arkham series, be prepared to be disappointed. It seems the whole counter-principle (literally what makes brawling so interesting) was discarded because it probably didn’t work in combination with Gotham Knights’ cooperative approach. What remains are heavy and light attacks, some special moves and a dodge in a combat system that gets a little more interesting as the game progresses, but never comes close to pumping your fist in the air and screaming “WHOOP” to the brutality of Arkham action.
The same goes for stealth. It’s just too simple and too simple, even if you play with Robin “focused on stealth”. Because the difference between the characters is marginal, as the basics are exactly the same and only the specials and the way the moves come in should make a difference. Skill trees don’t change much either, as they are almost completely filled with passive stuff like more damage and more chance of crit. There are certainly some character-specific things and there’s another skill tree stuck behind the Knight’s Challenges, but the changes are too sparse and too erratic to keep the gameplay immersive.
Gotham Knights isn’t an impressive game, but a fascinating story could have done a lot better, especially for comic book fans. In my opinion, WB Games Montréal doesn’t even succeed in this, because the investigation into Batman’s death is little more than a series of clues showing mediocre missions and unnecessary cameos (Harley, Cobblepot, Mr. Freeze, the entire Rogue’s Gallery ). . Meanwhile, some chatter in the Belfrey Tower, the headquarters of the Knights, makes for a tedious attempt to pump some excitement into the lifeless ensemble.
Obviously, all of this is more manageable in co-op, Gotham’s “heart and soul”. Because playing together, especially with nice people, makes everything more fun. But the fact that you can play Gotham Knights online with another sufferer, and that a four-player mode is also on the way, doesn’t make this game any less boring, slow and boring. In fact, he probably ensured that Batman didn’t want to be found dead in this …
