Gotham Knights [Review]

Game Developer: Warner Bros. Games Montréal

Publisher: Warner Bros. Games - Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website | Youtube

Platforms: PC, Playstation 5, XBOX Series S|X

Review Platform: XBOX Series X

Release Date: 21st October 2022

Genres: Action, Adventure, RPG

Modes: Single Player, Online CO-OP

Gotham Knights - Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Website | Youtube

Key provided by Warner Bros. Games

It is common knowledge that Batman is dead, what does this mean for Arkham? Bring in Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin and Red hood (The Gotham Knights).

Excitement was high for our return to Arkham City. But does it live up to the hype, can it improve on the series it follows?

From the start you are thrown into an Intro Cut Scene, that builds the story for the entry of the Gotham Knights. I will not spoil this intro, as the knowledge Batman is dead is there but a lot of people were not aware of how or when. Then you are introduced to the Bat Family, standing around his gravestone, which brings in an interesting character select screen. You are able to switch between the four while they speak and make your decision, but you are able to change during the game so do not panic if your decision is not what you 100% hoped for.

There is a lot to do in Gotham Knights, from crafting weapons, skins and batcycle upgrades to plenty of alternative missions and collectables. There is a lot to learn and investigate if you are willing to hunt on patrols and take in the side missions over the campaign. This can also be played in CO-OP, with a friend it can be an added extra of change and excitement, but the host of the game will be the one in control. It is untethered, so no need to stick with one another but the progressing story will need you both to be at the points to initiate and all cutscenes are related to the host.

First impressions are great in presentation, sound and feel but it does not feel next-gen but is still enough to make you feel impressed. This brings me to a subject that caused a lot of uproars, the fact console editions were capped at 30FPS but PC can have higher and better performance. For me, this was not a big deal, I still felt comfortable playing.

The city is large, dark and well-detailed, standing atop the highest points is quite a sight, but travelling the city can feel a little restricted. With the grapple hook, you feel you want to swing but it is point-to-point and traversing can sometimes be bugged. You also have use of the Batcycle, which looks great and summoning the vehicle in feels great but I feel underpowered when riding. I want to feel fast and excited while travelling around the city but it feels restricted in speed, more like a cruise than a rush. You also unlock fast travel, which you have to clear drones to make your Wing Suit usable. When I unlocked this ability I was quite excited, as felt I could move around the city with more ease. But as it suggests, it is fast travel so is, in essence, a teleport-to-point system.

Enemies are vast and varied but can feel overpowered, which in essence is a way to make the action last longer. But could we have had more enemies at a lower rate to feel more intense, rather than a handful that take a long time occasionally to take down.

Do not let these comments fool you, as these are my personal playstyle and thoughts, I still thoroughly enjoyed that game and liked the new take on Arkham City.

Game Score: 7.5/10