It’s interesting that Gotham Knights, the new Bat-Family game from Warner Bros. Montreal, opens with Batman’s death as the main characters of the game are grappling with the legacy he leaves behind and struggling with where to go next. In many ways the development and resulting game are put in the same situation living in the shadow of the sublime Batman Arkham video games. Unfortunately for these Knights, the game struggles to stand apart due to a myriad of issues.
If the Arkham games are the Burton films, Gotham Knights feels like a Schumacher film… for better or worse.
Gotham Knights puts you into the boots of Batman’s closest allies: Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood and Robin, as they pick up the call of Justice after Batman’s death. Players then go on nightly patrols in a fully open rendition of Gotham City and investigate the mysterious circumstances behind the death of the Dark Knight as well as other villains who see his death as an opportunity to wreak havoc in the city. Gotham Knights attempts to differentiate itself from most superhero games by having a full customizable gear system and having the game be full co-op.
Where the game begins to stumble is in its gameplay design choices. Leveled enemies can at times feel very spongy and some boss encounters are so poorly designed that I started questioning if I was playing the encounter wrong. Where to even begin with what happened here? Players are asked to engage with a crafting and gear system that allows you to equip your chosen Knight with a suit, melee and ranged weapon that increases their power level and base stats and allows them to take on high level missions. Story and side missions are locked behind level requirements that you are forced to meet to actively engage with them. This wouldn’t inherently be a problem if leveling didn’t feel like a grind and the gear system was explained more thoroughly rather than players navigating a messy UI to understand the intricacies of it all. To level up players are forced to engage with menial open world crimes to unlock the bigger “premeditated” crimes. The problem here lies in the fact there just isn’t enough variety to justify taking these challenges over and over again.
After about 4 or 5 random crimes, I felt like I had seen most of what the open world challenges had to offer.
The cycle of grinding random encounters and crafting better gear to raise my power level honestly feels more at home in a game like Destiny than it does in a Batman game that takes pride in having a story that players can experience solo or with one other person. Those who have no experience in such games may have trouble grasping all the systems at play because the game has limited tutorials and aspects of the game that should be accessible are hidden behind menus and menus of messy UI. Which is a shame too because the level of customization for cosmetic and builds is staggeringly good.
In a baffling decision, trademark traversal is locked behind a certain number of challenges. For example Batgirl can’t glide until the player does an AR training mission, solve 10 premeditated crimes (not the random ones), and defeat 3 mini-bosses. Only then is she inspired by Batman’s cape on display in the belfry hub area and can finally glide around Gotham’s skies. Now these challenges wouldn’t inherently be a problem except for the fact you’re required to meet this criteria FOUR different times if you want to unlock each Knight’s signature traversal. Until then you’re forced to use a finicky grappling hook that at times feels unpredictable, and the bat-cycle that lacks a sense of speed and velocity. Until I unlocked these abilities, navigating the world felt like an absolute chore with the finicky grapple hook and lackluster bat-cycle.
Combat at first feels pretty lackluster. Featuring a system not unlike Sony’s Spider-Man games, players are given light and heavy strikes alongside ranged weapons and a satisfying dodge. Combat comes into its own when you start unlocking unique character abilities that are tied to a momentum bar. These range anywhere from Batgirl unleashing a fury of strikes to Red Hood emptying the clips of his guns into a single enemy. Each Knight will also have a signature ability unique to them such as Batgirl summoning a drone to fight alongside her and provide healing and Robin summoning an army of microbots. When leveled up the Knights feel far more unique, and combined with good gear it feels immensely satisfying going into an enemy stronghold and wiping the floor with everyone inside.
The story missions and side missions are an absolute treat. It was great seeing these versions of the characters interact and they’re all written very well. Every time a cutscene played out I was enthralled with this version of Gotham and the characters within. Villains are fleshed out to a satisfying degree and I was chomping at the bit to get back into my investigations of Harley Quinn, Mr. Freeze, or the Court of Owls. Throughout the game are character moments and deep references to Batman lore that would make any level of fan happy. It felt like everywhere I turned there was a new labor of love to discover (special shout-out to the emails that feature some VERY deep cuts and surprise appearances). It’s very obvious this game comes from a place of passion which makes the disconnect between gameplay and narrative feel larger than it should.
I need to reiterate just how good the story-based and villain arc missions are in particular because they’re a blast to play through. Investigating a creepy mansion to unlock a door to a mysterious basement, to violently making your way through an overtaken hospital. When not grinding the meaningless open world crimes, these missions pick up the slack and fulfill the ultimate fantasy of being a member of the Bat-Family. When these missions become available they play out as some of my favorite gaming sequences this year; it’s just a shame that some player may be turned off by the grind to reach the player levels required for these experiences.
Performance on the other hand is another story entirely. Gotham Knights publicly canceled their last-gen counterparts earlier this year to focus on giving players the best next-gen experience. In my time with the game on Xbox Series S, Gotham Knights struggled to hit a consistent frame rate. While a 30fps cap would be acceptable if it hit that on a consistent basis, the fact that the game struggles to hit that mark is alarming to say the least. I recommend that if players do pick up this game, they do so after a few patches.
Do I recommend Gotham Knights? Yes and no. On one hand, the story and unique takes on well established characters provide a treat to long time Batman fans and admittedly in the moment when every element clicks together, I was having a good time. On the other hand, the game is marred by some baffling gameplay design decisions that feel more at home in a live-service game, and the whole experience is marred by a bevy of technical issues that make it hard to enjoy what good there is. Ultimately, Gotham Knights feels like a Schumacher Batman film. It may be fun in the moment and have its heart in the right place, but how good is it really?
