I’ve been a fan of the Arkham games since their launch. I even enjoyed Arkham Origins which was made by WB Games Montreal and not Rocksteady. This game doesn’t get a lot of love – just like Gotham Knights.
The darkness really takes hold in this game. The nocturnal beauty is evident and there’s a semi-vast open world to explore at night. What’s problematic is the traversal system and there should’ve been proper gliding mechanics implemented herein.
What hinders the overall experience is the combat system. Arkham Origins did well to borrow from Rocksteady’s formula for fighting. However, Gotham Knights introduces a brand-new system for brawling and it’s one of the weakest fighting mechanics I’ve come across in a superhero game.
The 30 FPS doesn’t complement this system. Let’s compare it to a game released one year later: Spider-Man 2. The fighting there is so natural and so fluid. But in Gotham Knights the fighting is so dry and so stale. The leveling up and gear updating system is also overcomplicated or not explained well enough to a newcomer.
Now, let’s go to the good parts. The story is fantastic and the plot is unpredictable. The rogues’ gallery is massive. The Batman lore is also everywhere to be found. But the writing is not enough to save the game. There are minimal boss battles as well.
I also found the graphics to be just short of awesome as this a next-gen only game and Unreal Engine 5 should have been used. But originally, this was a cross-gen game and that’s why I guess that Unreal Engine 4 was utilized instead of 5.
The gameplay is why Gotham Knights falls short of greatness. It had a lot of potential and good post-launch support. Maybe it’s even more fun playing with friends though I’ve only tried it solo.
Overall, Gotham Knights needed more work done on it. I adored the characters (especially their designs), the graphics, and the story but I abhorred the gameplay. If only it was more refined like the Arkham or modern Spider-Man games. Alas, that is not the case here.
