Gotham Knights review: riddle me this – when is a Batman game not a Batman game?
Gotham Knights is not a Batman game. We know this because the Caped Crusader is killed – literally, terminally, inescapably – in its opening reel.
The in-game pretext for this is a thematic exploration of heroic legacy and what it means to the people – good and bad – left behind. The real-world subtext is much simpler: you know those Arkham games you loved? Well, this ain’t one of them.
Acknowledging the bat in the room so brazenly and so early on is a ballsy but risky move on the part of developers WB Games Montreal that never fully pays off. Yes, the ghost of Batman haunts every frame of their game – just not always in the way they intended.
Much as the studio’s 2013 standalone stopgap Batman: Arkham Origins felt like an inferior, own-brand take on their stablemates Rocksteady’s more celebrated series, so this one buckles under the weight of comparison which, consciously or not, WB Games Montreal’s game design invites on a regular basis.
Structurally at least, Gotham Knights is very much its own game. You play as one of four comic book-accurate costumed vigilantes picking up the late Bruce Wayne’s cowl, each bringing a different set of skills and moves to the fight.
Flocking alongside Barbara Gordon’s nerdy hacker, Batgirl, are three species of Robin: stealthy teenager Tim Drake in the classic green and red regalia; plus Dick Grayson’s acrobatic Nightwing; and Jason Todd’s gun-toting goon, Red Hood.
The quartet have joined forces to avenge their mentor’s murder and work his last case, an increasingly involved investigation into corruption, conspiracy, and secret sects operating at the heart of Gotham’s judiciary which eventually brings a host of classic Batman villains (and allies) into play.
This entertaining, episodically delivered storyline is one of Gotham Knights’ strongest suits, the narrative twists punctuated by a number of well-choreographed set pieces (and the occasional terrible ones) which, while never quite clearing Rocksteady’s highest bar, provide plenty of stand-out moments nonetheless.
Progression is triggered by taking one of the team (or two, via drop in/drop out online multiplayer) out of their Belfry clocktower base-come-social space and onto the streets of Gotham for the nightly patrol.
WB Games Montreal’s cityscapes certainly look the part – all neon and noir – but feel eerily soulless. Post-Batman’s demise, gangs of thugs have congregated on every corner, and duffing them up reveals a repetitive roster of bigger crimes to foil, resulting in resources, experience points, crafting blueprints, and, occasionally, new plot points to explore.
Active leads can be pursued in any order but key actions such as changing character, equipping crafted suits and weapons, and analysing plot-critical evidence, can only be carried out back at base, meaning you’ll be returning on a regular basis. It’s an interesting and largely successful attempt to add structure to open world exploration that confers a compulsive pick-up-and-play feel to proceedings.
By contrast, Gotham Knights’ open world activities are strictly by-the-book. Progressing further into the game largely means longer to-do lists of rote tasks to tick-off. And while it’s surprisingly easy to fall into the game’s grind-based rhythm, the ambient pleasure from doing so is undercut by the disappointment that this current gen-only game is still in thrall to the previous console era’s design doctrines.
Take the way traversing Gotham has been rendered a needlessly reductive chore. Each character starts with a grappling hook to fling themselves across the skyline and a summonable Batcycle for a more conventional approach.
With no supplementary, Arkham-style glide mechanic available out of the box, hook travel is fiddly, imprecise, and lacking the empowering style afforded by the open world Arkham titles, let alone the freewheeling fun of web-swinging in Marvel’s Spider-Man.
You can eventually earn new aerial abilities for each character but they are, inevitably, hidden behind a checklist of challenges. Even the open world quality-of-life staple, fast travel, is locked away behind a tedious and reductive drone-scanning mechanic.
Combat continues the trend. The core concept is similar to Rocksteady’s much-imitated formula – BIFF! POW! [dodge counter] ZZZZZWAP! – but each character also has special abilities which can be unleashed once they have built up enough Momentum. These are naturally unlocked via three skill trees – a hidden fourth reveals souped-up powers with at least one eye on multiplayer team-ups.
Encounters largely follow the Arkham template again, right down to the inclusion of elevated vantage points for stealth takedowns – a decision that’s even stranger given the characters possess neither Batman’s covert moveset, nor any means of luring their prey to a secluded spot.
By this point you might be wondering why WB Games Montreal bothered at all, particularly given Rocksteady are due to return with a Suicide Squad game next year. And yet, in truth, for all its flaws Gotham Knights remains immensely playable.
If the Arkham games are Christopher Nolan levels of invention and genius then Gotham Knights is hanging out down in the DC Extended Universe with Zak Snyder and Aquaman. Set your expectations accordingly and there’s enjoyable entertainment to be had.
Just keep reminding yourself: Gotham Knights is not a Batman game.
Gotham Knights is released on PlayStation 5 (version reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 21, 2022.
