Post
by Lenny Solidus » Wed Dec 28, 2022 5:11 pm
Gotham Knights
This is not an Arkham game, it was never developed as one advertised as such or intended to be taken as one. GK is essentially a four games in one style rpg set in Gotham, the stories for each character branch off in different ways while all still being tied together surrounding the very well realised dynamics of the collective bat family. If you ever hoped for a game based on either Robin, Nightwing Red Hood or BatGirl you can either stick to just the one as your primary like Batman with the Arkham games or mix and match at your leisure and all of them have different stats, combat styles and a very charitable amount of cosmetic items. I'm still very early into the story and I have already found the one Batgirl costume I would be perfectly happy to stick with the rest of the game, her stealth suit.
Like Spider-Man there are self-contained stealth areas, though you are given multiple access opportunities into a building occupied by criminals and can then take out enemies as and how you please unless you get spotted that is.
What Gotham Knights really is though is a very different kind of open world one night at a time well, crime fighting simulator. If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to only go out into a huge sprawling neon lit city and prowl the rooftops looking for random elements of crime to take on head first and dip out of the area before the cops arrive, stopping bank robberies or preventing backstreet muggings you come across as you ride by on the batcycle *hearing the victims pleas in your earhole begging to be allowed to make it home safely. Here it is. Does it have the most alive feeling open world, definitely not, does it have the most dated looking or least interactive, again no.
Every single night you leave the Belfry a brand-new set of crimes and story beats awaits, but there are also plenty of completely randomised crimes going on you can simply stop and scan from a distance and choose to either ignore or intervene to build up the crafting elements you need to become more equipped for harder enemies and story boss fights. Most enemy engagements tend to have hidden or fairly obvious upgrade crates that you pick up to improve your arsenal, but enemies also drop them in lesser form depending how you take them out.
After having what I personally felt was a lot of choice taken away by the batmobile sections in Arkham Knight it's a really refreshing take to have no forced vehicle sections and a spawning vehicle you can use when and how you wish or just stick to your grapple for the entirety. I get why many still compare it to Arkham, people wanted more Arkham. I myself wanted a change, or at the very least some form of diversion from the well trodden Arkham blueprint we have had for several games, and I am perfectly happy with the path taken here. Even the horrible UI you eventually just work with because it's so important for your character progression, but I am still hoping for some kind of rework in the future. It's much less linear overall but still delivers on all the story and character elements you would expect and I can say the characters if you are at all familiar with any of them from other form of media are all done justice.
The modern Spider-Man Insomniac game influence is clear and present and it works surprisingly well in my opinion. Combat wise I was not at all sold on it at first, but the more you put crafting into your build it really starts to come into its own with unique finishers attacks and weaponry. As there's no counter like in Arkham avoidance crits and heavy hits become key, even just utilising your surroundings properly can turn the tide quickly in your favour. Unlike Spider-Man areas don't suddenly become cordoned off when you enter a fight, you are free to move about as you please and take on the rumble down below as you please.
Many on Steam in the discussion threads will tell you the game is still fundamentally broken as shit, I can say that though not perfect it is now in a state that it should have been far more close to at launch and I have no 3090 running behind the scenes. I can hit an almost steady 60 frames with the occasional dips on the bike or traversing high above the city but they are both minute and can be pretty much be ignored. People trying to run the game at 4k at max settings on a 3090 and complaining the game runs like crap, well no shit. FSR has now been fixed and works very well on my 1060. Graphically I think the game looks great, I am often very surprised just how good it looks running on my PC with all the dense moving layers of fog and endless neon signs and with the map being two to even three times larger than any Arkham game before it.
So should you buy this game? It really all comes down to how much can you let go of your ties for another Arkham game, or even another Rocksteady game. Gotham Knights is much more diverse, more willing to just hand you the reigns and allow you to be let loose with those nights out on the prowl, for it to be your own experience then return back to base to use your winnings in preparation for the next night and so on. That's not to say there isn't a cohesive narrative because there very much is, it's just now spread out across four characters rather than just the one and you will get a slightly altered experience with each depending on who you choose to go out into the night with during that particular session.
My son paid £20 for Gotham Knights as a gift and quite honestly it has overtaken my time spent playing Miles Morales - everything that takes place in the city ramps up more and more every single time you leave the Belfry in a pretty cool way, it really does make you feel like you are going out into the night to cleanse the city at your own pace in your own way and with whichever character you feel like playing as with varying but equally fun and interesting play styles you cater as you go which is something I always wanted from this sort of game.
Sorry if this seemed a bit of a ramble, I recommend Gotham Knights but understand completely that it might not be for everyone. The pushback on the game might seem warranted because we are all sick of broken releases no question, but those still sticking to it being a completely broken mess are forgetting Arkham Knight was so bad it got removed from actual stores. GK isn't and never was in as poor a state as that game was.
Building the future, and keeping the past alive - are one and the same thing.
