Gotham Knights recently dropped, and the internet can’t stop talking about it. However, this isn’t always a good thing, and this time DC fans have mixed reviews about the new expansive criminal underworld of Gotham Knights.
Therefore, if you want to find out from a reliable source whether you should spend your money and play Gotham Knights, please keep reading and learn everything we’ve gathered about it.
batman Gotham knights
What Is Gotham Knights?
Gotham Knights is an open-world action RPG set in an interactive Gotham City after the death of Bruce Wayne. It is crucial to point out that DC took a massive risk with this game by killing their most popular superhero and giving the Batman family the responsibility to protect Gotham City from the criminal underworld.
Game Developing and Pre-release
This game was developed by WB Games Montréal and published by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment Inc. The player will get to use one of the four intricate members of the Batman Family (Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin), who had parted ways until the Dark Knight passed and had no choice but to come back and bring hope to the city by getting Robin to protect Gotham.
If you buy this game, you will have fun learning more about the city’s history, defeating notorious villains in epic confrontations, and solving mysteries that connect the darkest chapters in the game.
WB Games Montréal announced this game back in 2020, which is why many DC fans had been eagerly waiting for the release date to come. The main game presents Gotham’s five distinct boroughs being overwhelmed by criminal activity, so our four heroes decide to “step into the knight” and get Robin to protect Gotham City from the criminal underworld.
Pros and Cons
Right off the bat, we gathered a short list of pros and cons that are meant to give you a general perspective on the quality of Gotham Knights. This will help you understand everything in Warner Bros’ game, but you should keep reading if you want a deeper dive into each of them.
batman Gotham knights
Pros
- Fantastic storytelling of the city’s history
- Well-developed characters and a solid criminal underworld
- Great multiplayer sessions for solving mysteries
- You get to patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs defeating notorious villains
Cons
- Lack of combat innovation for Robin to protect Gotham
- Lousy performance
It doesn’t use stealth
Gotham City
Gotham City’s History
This is the city where young Bruce Wayne grew up. However, he is no longer there to protect it, so the Batman family Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin shall take responsibility for defeating notorious villains. It is popularly known as the home of the Dark Knight, and it has a sense of decay and corruption attached to it due to all the criminal activity that occurs within it.
According to the city’s history, it was founded by a Norwegian mercenary, but it was later taken by the British, which is an ode to New York’s history. DC has added several characteristics to Gotham City. Still, one of the darkest chapters in the city’s history was when Ra’s Al Ghul and Talia Al Ghul released the Ebola virus and caused a terrible epidemy in the town.
Gotham Knights Interactive Gotham City
However, if we compare the Gotham presented to us in Gotham Knights to Arkham Knight, it lacks personality and seems pretty flat. This makes it complicated for the story to get to the audience, as they tend to be distracted by the lack of emotion of the world surrounding it. Another factor that many people noticed is that the city’s map is way too large for a simple action RPG, which can make it a bit slow to play. You will have to move from one location to another by crossing massive bridges to move between islands for solving mysteries and for Robin to protect Gotham.
Characters – Batman Family (Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin)
The DC world has a wide variety of characters that stood in the shadow of the Dark Knight for way too long, but now in Gotham Knights, we see the fantastic world of the Batman family. It is made of four of the most well-created characters in DC’s history. They got the perfect opportunity to shine by solving mysteries and defeating notorious villains in epic confrontations. The Batman family: Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin are fantastic heroes that now patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs to bring hope to its citizens and protect Gotham from its darkest chapters.
Nightwing
Dick Grayson is also known as the original Robin. He grew up to become Nightwing, the most charismatic member of the Batman family, and he is known for his high skills in battle and incredible flexibility. At some point, he became Batman a while after certain events in Gotham City required him to drop the title of Nightwing to patrol Gotham’s streets.
Gameplay
If you choose this character, you will have a more dynamic playing experience and combat style that resembles the Spiderman character in Insomniac’s Spider-Man game. His darts even work the way Peter’s webs would.
Batgirl
Barbara Gordon is a hero known for her gigantic will and determination. She is always moving forward, as turning back has never been a choice, and this has led her to become an expert in several martial arts, such as kickboxing, capoeira, etc. Barbara has been through many hardships, including a spinal injury that almost ended her crime-solving career.
Gameplay
In the action RPG, Bat Girl is more of a hacker and has a more defensive combat style. She can take many hits and patrol Gotham’s streets, experiencing little-to-no damage, which resembles Batman from Arkham City’s gameplay.
Robin
Tim Drake is the newest member of the Batman family, but that doesn’t stop him from using his heart and soul to protect Gotham City. He is also the most intelligent person on this team. He uses his deductive skills in the action RPG to get into the mind of his adversaries, which causes Robin to protect Gotham.
Gameplay
Many people believe Robin is the weakest link in the Batman family. His stealth-driven gameplay resembles Batman from Arkham Asylum, which is cool to experience. Still, he lacks character development, and his voice actor isn’t the best.
Red Hood
Finally, the last member of the Batman family is Red Hood, an anti-hero that resulted from the violent death of Jason Todd. He was resurrected by one of Batman’s deadliest enemies. Although he has a terrible temper, Red Hood can control it to patrol Gotham’s five distinct boroughs and protect Gotham City from the criminal underworld.
Gameplay
Although this character has incredible strength and power, he is way too slow for hand-on-hand combat. Therefore, it is more suitable for those who want the third-person shooter experience.
Notorious Villains – Criminal Underworld
Since this is a story-driven game, it can be complete with some notorious villains to defeat. Luckily, Gotham Knights is filled with these characters, and you will find a handful of them when playing it. Some of the most important characters who the Batman family defeated: Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin, to protect Gotham are the following.
Court of Owls
This is probably the creepiest ensemble of villains in the DC universe and Gotham City’s history. Even though the Court of Owls is the main evil force our protagonist will face, we won’t learn this until after we’ve spent hours solving mysteries in Gotham City. Sadly, Warner Bros didn’t use this as a surprise factor. Instead, the Court of Owls’ appearance was spoiled when the action RPG was announced.
Side Quests
Although most of Dark Knights’ marketing efforts were focused on the Court of Owls, players will experience many interesting side quests that showcase classical Batman villains, such as the Penguin, Harley Quinn, Clay Face, and Mr. Freeze. Each protagonist will face their own side quests in the interactive Gotham City, where the player will learn more about them, their motives, and their relation to the Dark Knight. This will ultimately create an emotional connection to each character, which is one of the game main focuses asides from solving mysteries.
How to play
The best advice we can give to anyone playing this game is that if you want the story to advance into its darkest chapters, you should focus on stopping the crimes that pop up in the interactive Gotham City instead of merely collecting resources. This is the only way to reach the main goal: finding out about the Court of Owls to protect Gotham City.
Overall Gaming Experience
The truth is that Gotham Knights isn’t the best action RPG in Warner Bros Games’ history, but something we shall give it merit for is not being repetitive. Although the map is so big, you can still have fun in various missions defeating notorious villains in epic confrontations in Gotham’s five distinct boroughs during its darkest chapters. Therefore, in the game’s interactive Gotham City, you are unlikely to get bored, as it relies on several crimes, from terrorist threats to bank robberies.
Gameplay
When playing Gotham Knights, you must keep an open mind and understand that Warner Bros didn’t intend to create another Arkham game. This is the only way you will enjoy the mission of the Batman Family: Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin to protect Gotham during one of its darkest chapters.
Graphics
Although the art style is fantastic and one of the best we’ve seen in a Warner Bros game, it is highly unoptimized, which takes a lot from the gaming experience. You can barely tell the difference between any other PS4 or XBOX One game, as it only plays at 30 frames per second.
Sound
The music was one of the most excellent parts of this action RPG, as the soundtrack did a fantastic job of creating a cohesive atmosphere and ensuring the player connected with the story. Most voice actors did a tremendous job, but the script could have been improved to eliminate unnecessary dialogue.
Fun Factor
If you’re looking for a game to have fun for a while, Gotham Knights is the one for you. It has a pretty exciting story and fantastic characters (Batman Family: Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin), which keeps you hooked to the screen and makes you want to play for hours and patrol Gotham’s streets. Still, many technical errors get in the way of this being an entirely enjoyable experience.
Things to Keep in Mind
Arkham’s games were probably the most popular franchise Warner Bros has released in a long time, and any game that would come after it was going to face its consequences. That’s why many Batman fans had already given up on Gotham Knights and its interactive Gotham City way before it was even released. They were probably expecting Gotham Knights to be the same game they were used to instead of this action RPG with a significant focus on the story and character development.
PERFORMANCE ERRORS
Nevertheless, Gotham Knights has many issues, such as long loading times and several cracks. In addition, although it can be played in a multiplayer setting, it is primarily a solo-player game, as it is focused on the adventure side of its story.
RPG FACTORS
You will find an experience bar that will allow you to increase your level and gain access to fantastic weapons and new adventures. These weapons can be crafted with the materials you will find during your journey in Gotham with the Batman Family (Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin) while defeating notorious villains.
Bottom Line
Gotham Knight focuses on the adventures of the Batman Family (Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, and Robin) to protect Gotham City. Still, the developers at Warners Bros took a massive risk at killing off their most important character and giving its side kicks a bit of spotlight.
The truth is that Gotham Knights isn’t the best game ever developed by Warner Bros, as it has several bugs and performance issues that make it complicated to play.
Still, the story behind Gotham Knights is worth the hassle, and we highly encourage you to test whether this game is for you or not.
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