**Possible Spoilers Ahead**
Gotham Knights definitely meant well, but the clunky controls don't even come close to the Arkham games' buttery smooth control scheme and lively combat system. Not to mention the story could have done with some work via Paul Dini too.
Batman video games seem to be either REALLY good for some, or REAL average (if not outright awful sometimes). Gotham Knights is like an aggressive middle ground in that spectrum of gaming quality. The voice-acting is competent and the graphics are genuinely good (the frame rate is another issue though), but the control scheme is where the game falls apart compared to the Arkham Series.
With these open-world video games you'd expect the controls to be as seamless as breathing in everyday life, but they're really clunky here, and it kills the immersion (the grappling is just one of the issues here), and it's kind of a blessing that the game doesn't have Batman in the title, because he's kind of dead (at least that's what the intro leads players to believe).
To be honest I haven't even finished the main storyline here because the controls REALLY do get in the way to that kind of disruptive degree. It's a far cry from Batman: Arkham City and Marvel's Spider-Man series, and Gotham Knights takes a potentially interesting idea and ruins it with a control scheme that doesn't feel like it belongs in the 2020s landscape of gaming at all.
Gotham Knights is so-so stuff. It could have been more, but the issues at play here kind of stop anything in this game having any outspoken standout moment. 2.5/5 stars.
Gotham Knights definitely meant well, but the clunky controls don't even come close to the Arkham games' buttery smooth control scheme and lively combat system. Not to mention the story could have done with some work via Paul Dini too.
Batman video games seem to be either REALLY good for some, or REAL average (if not outright awful sometimes). Gotham Knights is like an aggressive middle ground in that spectrum of gaming quality. The voice-acting is competent and the graphics are genuinely good (the frame rate is another issue though), but the control scheme is where the game falls apart compared to the Arkham Series.
With these open-world video games you'd expect the controls to be as seamless as breathing in everyday life, but they're really clunky here, and it kills the immersion (the grappling is just one of the issues here), and it's kind of a blessing that the game doesn't have Batman in the title, because he's kind of dead (at least that's what the intro leads players to believe).
To be honest I haven't even finished the main storyline here because the controls REALLY do get in the way to that kind of disruptive degree. It's a far cry from Batman: Arkham City and Marvel's Spider-Man series, and Gotham Knights takes a potentially interesting idea and ruins it with a control scheme that doesn't feel like it belongs in the 2020s landscape of gaming at all.
Gotham Knights is so-so stuff. It could have been more, but the issues at play here kind of stop anything in this game having any outspoken standout moment. 2.5/5 stars.