I have been looking forward to Gotham Knights since the game was originally announced. I loved the idea of being able to play as members of the Bat Family, especially Batgirl. I was hoping for Gotham Knights to be Batman Arkham Knight 2.0. I think many other gamers were thinking the same thing based on comments I had been reading online. As of right now, Gotham Knights is rated 6/10 on Steam and 73% of gamers liked the game. I can only speak for myself in saying that I enjoyed playing through Gotham Knights, but I don’t think the game is as good as I wanted it to be.

Gotham Knights has an incredible opening sequence featuring Batman fighting against Ra’s al Ghul. During the fight, Batman is mortally wounded. With no way out, he sets off the Batcave’s self-destruction sequence, trapping himself and Ra’s in the rubble. The Bat Family (Red Hood, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Robin) come together to become the Gotham Knights with the intent of continuing what Batman started. While following up on one of Batman’s leads, they discover a scientist, Kirk Langstrom, murdered. This sets the Knights on a path of lies and treachery in uncovering The Court of Owls an elite group operating in Gotham. If that wasn’t enough, Talia al Ghul and the League have also been making an appearance. Can The Knights prevent an all-out war that could leave Gotham in ruins?

I already know that this review is going to be biased. I loved playing as Batgirl. She was easily my favorite. If I wasn’t playing as Batgirl, I would alternate between her and Nightwing. I did try to give the other heroes a chance, but Batgirl always remained supreme. I think being able to interchange between each of the Bat Family helped as each of their powers was better equipped for certain combat scenarios. I think one of my favorite powers to unlock later was Batgirl being able to pull up her own drones that would fire on enemies. It was very powerful and I activated that ability a lot.

The combat in Gotham Knights didn’t feel as smooth as it was in Batman Arkham Knight. There were times when the game would glitch during an intense fight scene which was annoying. I would have to grapple away until the game would be better and then try and start over in the fight. I do feel that the characters in Gotham Knights could handle firepower better than Batman Arkham Knight. There was more stealth in the Batman games whereas in Gotham Knights, I could enter a combat scenario even if the enemies were carrying assault weapons. As someone who isn’t a stealthy type of gamer, this worked well for me.

I think the biggest gripe I would have about Gotham Knights is the leveling system. In order for the Bat Family to gain more equipment or powers, there was a need to level up in the game. This got old really quickly. There were times when certain missions, the Bat Family would have to be at a certain level. I would try and play through the level even if I was a little bit below the suggested level and it made a difference. It was much more difficult and intense. I was playing through the game on Medium, as I like the challenge without it being too much. The leveling system was grueling in my opinion and I felt I had to do side quests to level up quicker when really I would have preferred to finish the main story first without interruption. I wish Gotham Knights wasn’t made as an RPG and instead, a story that gets increasingly more difficult as the levels progress.

At this point, I haven’t actually finished the full campaign. I have the last bit with the Man-Bats attacking Gotham. I tried to get past them and it was brutal. The Man-Bats are difficult and there are three of them. Additionally, if the Bat Family uses all their health packs, they don’t get any more unless they go back to their hideout which may reset the progress made, but I’m not 100% sure on that. It was enough that I needed to take a break from the game. I honestly may drop the difficulty mode to get past this section.

I had a fun time playing through Gotham Knights. It wasn’t the Batman Arkham Knight sequel I was looking forward to, but I’m still glad it exists and I enjoyed playing through the game.