The little co-op brother of the Batman Arkham series had to take a lot of criticism before release: too much crafting, imposed role-playing elements and too old graphics, according to the players” concerns. After playing it, we know: You probably won”t find better superhero action anywhere else in 2022.
The unthinkable has happened, Batman is dead and crime-ridden Gotham City is without a protector. It”s clear that the city”s creeps are taking advantage of the opportune time to make their way through Gotham”s five boroughs and terrorise the innocent people who live there.
The situation is not entirely hopeless, however – for Batman would not be Batman if he had not made provisions for such an eventuality and recruited four of his former fellow fighters as new heroes for the city.
In Gotham Knights, the fate of Gotham and the fight against well-known villains such as Harley Quinn, Mr Freeze, Clayface and the Penguin lie in the hands of Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing and Red Hood. All four have learned alongside Batman what it means to go out night after night and fight crime – and you dish it out hard in the role of the hero”s offspring!
In an action-packed, two-and-a-half-hour preview, I took a close look at the game for you and reveal what to expect in Gotham Knights. And why, at least at the moment, I can”t understand the worries about crafting and role-playing elements.
New knights, old acquaintances
Now let”s be honest: While reading a Batman comic, have you ever imagined what it would be like to hunt down criminals at night alongside the gritty vigilante? I certainly have! And that”s exactly what”s about to become a reality with Gotham Knights, at least in the game.
In the role of Comissioner Gordon”s daughter Barbara as Batgirl, first-ever ex-Robin Dick Grayson as Nightwing, second ex-Robin Jason Todd as Red Hood, and acting Robin Tim Drake, you”ll try to take on Batman”s difficult legacy. However, the former sidekicks have long since evolved on their own and stepped out of their teacher”s shadow, which is also evident in their very different abilities.
- Robin always has a snappy quip on his lips and sneaks or teleports up to his opponents to give them a good beating with his battle staff.
- As an accomplished martial arts fighter, Batgirl covers her opponents with a hail of kicks and punches, along with hacking into enemy equipment and unpacking a drone for attack and healing.
- Red Hood is the most brutal and aggressive fighter on the team, using mysterious mystical powers he gained when he was resurrected from death alongside his pistols.
- Grabbing two Escrima sticks, the acrobatic Nightwing makes full use of his agility and forces enemies into a painful dance all his own.
By the way, in the spirit of Batman, the Knights only ever KO meanies, even Red Hood only shoots blanks.
Finger acrobatics against meanies
The killing is left entirely up to Gotham”s top meanies – and they”re not squeamish about it, leaving victims galore in their wake. During the gameplay event, I got to deal with the machinations of Harley Quinn, who promptly built a cult of will-less fans around her. Also on her payroll was the gang of crazed looters called Freaks, who loved to throw Molotov cocktails or loot anything that fell to their feet.
Until I finally came face to face with Harley and her giant hammer – which, by the way, really hurts when she lands a hit! – I fought my way through a prison, prevented a bombing and cleared Gotham City”s hospital. After a brief guest appearance in the Suicide Squad, the former psychiatrist has now completely freed herself from her girlie image and ex-boyfriend Joker and gave me a good time at her bloody party.
Motion dyslexics are definitely out of place in the dynamic, fast-paced battles. If, like me, you play with a mouse and keyboard, you”ll also have to take breaks from time to time to relieve your hands: After the fight with the bomb-throwing, fast-dodging and punching Harley and her followers, I needed a few moments to catch my breath!
But that”s what makes all the battles so rewarding: when I”ve managed to achieve even the additional objectives of a mission, it feels really good. Especially in missions with sneak bonus objectives, you have a clear advantage by observing the enemies” running paths and using all your active character”s options. You choose which of the four you play before the mission starts; in co-op with a friend, you can also go off in pairs.
A city to explore
Thanks to the hook pistol, you can swing elegantly from house to house or even land on a lamppost – there are plenty of suitable targets in gloomy Gotham at night. By the way, you can also do this in combat when pursuers get too close!
The gloomily designed city captures the Batman atmosphere very well, there is something to see or a crime to prevent at almost every corner. Scuffed corners alternate with landmarks familiar from comics, games and films. Thanks to Batcycle, I was able to cover longer distances comfortably, but I also had to be careful not to run over innocent civilians.
Of course Gotham is not as busy as the streets of Los Santos, I had a relatively free ride at the play event. But I didn”t find that too bad, because I first had to get used to the controls, which are a bit awkward with the keyboard.
In addition to the hook pistol, all Knights have an individual flying or gliding ability. Alternatively, you can use the fast travel function to get to the headquarters or other unlocked targets. The Gotham Knights” headquarters is called the Belfry and is located in the old Wayne Tower.
At the Batcomputer you can pimp the new generation of heroes not only visually: Earned ability points can be put into four categories that suit the respective character, and you can also choose momentum abilities. These are only activated when you have filled up your momentum bar by beating up opponents, but they really work hard.
It”s up to you which ability categories you concentrate on when distributing points. So far, however, I have the impression that it is worth pushing hero-specific skills, as the more expensive, higher-value skills offer strong advantages.
Equipped with fancy new skills, you”ll start new nightly exploration trips from HQ to make the city a little safer – and no question, there”s a lot of work waiting in the chronically crime-infested Gotham!
The View: Cheerful to Brawl-heavy
Naturally, I couldn”t look at everything in the limited play-on time: I couldn”t try out the crafting system, I would have liked to make the streets safer with Nightwing and Red Hood in addition to my guest appearance as Robin and Batgirl. I can”t judge how much the enemies level up either, but I didn”t have the feeling of facing unfair challenges on the medium difficulty level.
Some gang members took a lot of damage, but with the right fighting tactics they were still manageable – trial and error is the key here. So far, Gotham Knights plays very smoothly, apart from a few minor bugs, the fighting is really fun and, despite the similar enemies, the different scenarios have not bored me so far. If the open world lives up to its promise, Gotham Knights will be a fun action diversion with an interesting storyline, and not just for Batman fans.
Editor”s verdict
While writing this text, I really realised again why I love my job as a gaming journalist: the rather quiet weekend with the Floodland preview was then given a thrilling contrast with the action-heavy Gotham Knights. After two and a half hours packed with content, I walked out of the game event with fingers in knots and sweat on my forehead. And it was a really great feeling! The challenge of combat, a fair learning curve and the sense of achievement when I got to grips with a new character and new abilities made me feel really good. Apart from that, my fan”s heart leaps at the many little details I”ve been able to discover in Gotham so far, and I”m hoping for a lot more of them in the open world.
I didn”t expect Gotham Knight to really grab me, but now I want to know more: Who is behind the conspiracy in Gotham”s criminal world? How much will I learn about the four Knights in the game? How will the fights against Mr. Freeze or Clayface go, what else is there to discover? I”m not sure yet whether I”ll be using the controller or the keyboard/mouse for the upcoming test. For my fingers, the former will probably be better! Because there”s plenty to fight about. I”m also hoping that the investigation part will play a decisive role, as it was only touched upon in the play event. After all, Batman has always been both an outstanding fighter and an accomplished investigator.
