Batman is Dead

The story I am about to tell you is true, I have friends that can attest to it. Back when the Arkham game was announced, we would talk about the perfect Batman game. I said my perfect game would be one where Gotham was an open world, and Batman would have to go out each night and stop random crimes, all the while having to use his detective skills to investigate scenes for clues. He could use the Batmobile to get around and would have to go back to the Batcave to analyze his clues. What I had described to my friends many years ago, is in essence what Gotham Knights is; just minus Batman, because friends… Batman is Dead.
(Pause for dramatic effect)

Still with me? Good. Gotham Knights is a 3rd person action/RPG from the folks at WB Montreal who also brought us the arguably superior Batman game that is of course Arkham Origins. If you haven’t played it, you should; its backwards compatible on the Xbox and Steam has it on sale all the time. Basically, what I’m saying is these folks know the Batman license and boy does it show in Gotham Knights. The very city of Gotham is very much a character in and of itself. The map is enormous and broken up into 5 different boroughs, each controlled by a various group of ne’er-do-wells. As players move through the city with their chosen Knight, they will find all sorts of Easter eggs from Daggett Enterprises to of course Arkham Asylum; there are tons of sights and thinks to find and discover.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $69.99

Before I go any further, lets address the preverbal “bat in the belfry”; yes, this game runs at 30fps on next-gen consoles. Yes, I agree that it sucks, I agree with people being upset and angry, heck even a part of me finds it unacceptable. But the game is still playable, I didn’t run into any game breaking issues for a massive open-world game such as this. I did have issues in cut scenes where for some reason Jason Todd apparently had Alfred starch the pull strings on his hoodie to the point that they are just point forward like some strange indicator for Jason. Outside of that though no issues, the developer’s reason for the lack of a 60fps support is one that you will either accept or not but I’m here to tell you that all those pictures of Arkham Knight with a comparison to Gotham Knights are very inaccurate. Gotham Knights is a frankly, gorgeous game through and through.

Gotham Knights version of the great city of Gotham is by far the best look iteration yet. From the cobblestone streets in Old Gotham, to the glistening lights of the Iceberg Lounge in Downtown Gotham this city is a sight to behold. And while yes, some areas are foggier than others, I can assure that its not meant to hide anything, anywhere you can see as far as the city scape goes, you can get to which helps the immersion so much. The graphically prowess of GK, doesn’t stop there though, the costumes for each hero are some of the best that we have seen in a superhero game yet. Not just in overall design and flexibility of customization but graphically as well. Seeing the various materials in each suit, the leather and various metalwork is really cool to see that level of detail that I assume is thanks to the power of being solely a next gen game. More than just the city though, the very people and characters throughout all look wonderfully graphically. From the villains like Mr. Freeze and Penguin to even the lowly random mob guys that the players will fight each character is modeled exceptionally well throughout.

In Gotham Knights, Batman is Dead and players will take on the task of protecting their city as one of Batman’s protégé’s. Each hero fights differently and as they progress and level up will further stand apart with different abilities. Before I go any further though let me just say that this is NOT a Batman Arkham game; meaning the combat, movement and feel is very different. Batgirl plays the most like Batman in her combat, with her expertise being in hacking devices and can buff her teammates damage. Jason Todd on the other hand is the bruiser of the group, he is the only character who can grapple and throw the larger enemies and he uses guns; non-lethally of course. Players will quickly find a favorite especially if they have a partner to play with, or they will be like me and just switch back and forth because you enjoy them all.

Gotham Knights gameplay is split into two parts with the first being the protection of the city of Gotham, which means that each night players will go out on patrol in the city to stop criminals. While in Gotham players have access to the city at large and don’t need to fear running into higher level enemies as they level with the player. As players make their way around the city they will find various crimes happening that they’ll be tasked with stopping. These small crimes provide clues that the Knights will collect over the course of the night’s patrol. When players have had their fill of being up bad guys, they will return to The Belfrey, which is the base of operations. This transitions gameplay to the daytime and all the clues that the players gathered the night before are loaded into the Bat-computer and will lead to bigger crimes such as bank robberies, kidnappings and gang strongholds that need clearing out. The Belfrey is also where players will be able to craft new gear or mod gear that they had collected from fighting enemies the night before.

This loop is not only fun to play but again is my perfect Batman game. While the Knights will bust some heads, its awesome that the developers remembered that they can all use their heads as well which is just as important to the mythos of Batman as his ability to smash some teeth. Making the game an RPG was a good move, I will say that the combat suffers in the early game from feeling ‘clunky’ but by mid to late game even at 30fps the combat felt fluid and more than that was enjoyable which is important. The developers had mentioned that the reason for the low frame rate was due to the inclusion of the tether free co-op. While I was able to drop into some games and can confirm that its possible to be doing something on one side of the city while your friend is on the other side as being cool, it kinda makes it less about co-op at that point. The good news is that Gotham Knights can be played single player and you can turn off the ability to have anyone drop into your games for those that want to do so.

I haven’t spoken a lot about the story in this review, and I won’t because it is easily the strongest Batman story we have seen in a game to date, and I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. The Court of Owls have been revealed but I assure you it’s only the tip of the preverbal iceberg. This group was a huge hit and a big shake up in Batman lore when they were presented some years ago but even those of us that know that comic arc is going to be surprised here. It’s not the same story form the comics and I enjoyed the changes and twists that were made, I know there was a BIG leak about something that happens at the end of the game… yes it happens but its more than that little screen shot shows I assure you. Even the side stories are long quest lines that involve using puzzle solving skills, investigative work and more in order to figure out what plans the villains have.

At the end of the day this is a Gotham City Protector simulator which is what Batman and his family are to Gotham City. Gotham Knights does a fantastic job of illustrating that point beautifully, each night players return to the Belfrey they are met with a breakdown of the nights activities along with how many days its been, 65 days and counting for me. Gotham Knights did an outstanding job at making me really feel like I was a vigilante protecting the city, as I said the immersion level is Gotham Knights greatest achievement. I am excited to see where the team takes the Knights next honestly, and with all the talk of the ‘Multiverse’ lately there is no reason why this series can’t exist side-by-side a traditional Batman game. All four of the characters show growth and come to terms with not only Bruce’s death but the legacy that they have inherited by his passing and while yes, it’s a shame there is no performance mode Gotham Knights is a fantastic experience that should be experienced by fans and non-fans alike.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.