Gotham City faces a dire crisis, and its survival rests on the shoulders of Robin, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood – the Gotham Knights. Each character possesses a unique set of abilities, skills, strengths, and weaknesses. Players can embark on this adventure solo or team up online with up to four individuals. The game scales the challenge, presenting more numerous and formidable enemies as the player count increases. Accumulating experience and resources allows for upgrading equipment and costumes, as well as unlocking new abilities. Traverse a vast open-world map, tackling missions according to preference. Players can utilize grappling hooks to navigate the cityscape or ride a motorcycle, eventually unlocking the ability to fly.
Gotham Knights presents a compelling experience, though several minor issues prevent it from achieving a perfect score. One notable aspect is that, despite being released exclusively for Playstation 5 and Xbox Series S/X, the game’s graphical fidelity doesn’t fully leverage the capabilities of these current-generation consoles. While Gotham City’s nighttime aesthetic initially impresses with its lighting and atmosphere, the realization that it feels sparsely populated becomes apparent. The game’s setting, predominantly at night, contributes to this, but it also suggests potential compromises in development to accommodate the previous generation’s hardware limitations.
The multiplayer mode, while functional, did not fully meet initial expectations. While teaming up with friends to combat villains in Gotham City offers some enjoyment, it lacks substantial depth. Although individual special missions can be undertaken, the multiplayer aspect ultimately feels somewhat underdeveloped, missing an opportunity to deliver a truly unique and engaging cooperative experience.
A further consideration is the inherent comparison to Insomniac’s 2018 Spider-man game for Playstation. Both titles share a similar open-world structure, tasking players with traversing the city, engaging in side missions, and ultimately progressing through the main storyline. However, Spider-man executes this formula with greater polish and refinement. Despite offering four playable characters and a multiplayer mode, Gotham Knights, unfortunately, falls short of surpassing Spider-man, resulting in a somewhat less compelling experience.
The game features adjustable difficulty levels ranging from very easy to difficult. Playing on the normal setting, it becomes apparent that early-game combat options are limited until sufficient experience and equipment are acquired. This can lead to repetitive and monotonous encounters. Certain missions may also prove excessively challenging early on, necessitating further character progression to improve the chances of success. The ability to adjust the difficulty level for specific missions provides a welcome degree of flexibility.
Despite these criticisms, Gotham Knights offers a genuinely enjoyable and engaging experience. The narrative is compelling and intricate, unfolding in a captivating manner throughout the game. The four playable characters each possess well-developed backstories, which are explored in detail as the story progresses. Fans of the DC universe will particularly appreciate the inclusion of Jason Todd (Red Hood), whose character reflects the trauma he has endured, referencing events such as Death in the Family (distinct from Death of the Family).
Once sufficient experience has been gained and resources have been acquired to enhance equipment and weaponry, the initial frustration of feeling underpowered diminishes. As character progression occurs, many of the aforementioned issues become less pronounced, allowing Gotham Knights to realize its full potential. Patience is therefore rewarded.
Testing Gotham Knights on Xbox Series S revealed no significant performance issues. The game ran smoothly, albeit at 30 fps, with commendably short loading times. On a couple of occasions, I experienced brief pauses, only to realize that the game was awaiting player input to proceed.
In conclusion, Gotham Knights is a recommendable title. Had it not been for the noted shortcomings, it would have been a definitive must-have and earned a perfect score.
Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment provided a review code for this evaluation. The provision of materials does not influence editorial objectivity.
