These types of missions will probably be the meat-and-bones of the Gotham Knights experience, and while they are not necessarily anything new to the genre, I didn’t have any major problems with them. The Harley Quinn-related challenges are heightened versions of these dynamic open-world events, like one where I had to save three hostages strapped to bombs at a concert held by The Freaks. Gotham Knights - Official Red Hood Character Trailer Gotham Knights‘ open-world exploration and crime-busting also feel more natural and enjoyable as a single-player experience than the War Zones in Marvel’s Avengers. Hopping around Gotham as Red Hood feels very distinct to this game. He uses mystical powers granted to him by the Lazurus Pit to jump around the skies of Gotham and is very effective at mowing down enemies with heavy hitter (but nonlethal) guns. I chose Red Hood for this task, who stands out as the most distinct (and my current favorite) character in the game. Harley ultimately escaped, so next it was time for me to explore the open world and complete challenges connected to taking down Harley Quinn. Hopefully, other sections of the game are better tailored to that playstyle. Tim’s a more stealth-focused character, although I didn’t find sneaking to ever be too effective during my time with Gotham Knights as enemies are clustered together and aerial takedown opportunities weren’t as common. I snuck into Blackgate Penitentiary to get intel from Harley Quinn, who winds up sending Robin on a wild goose chase of fighting enemies and gathering intel to get a book of leads Harley gathered for Batman. That mantle still belongs to Tim Drake in this game, which I appreciate as an early 2000s comics reader.
After that, I jumped forward in the story and into Robin’s shoes. Players can also use special “momentum abilities” to deal extra damage, reminiscent of the Flow system in the latest Saints Row. This might take some getting used to for longtime superhero games fans, but it works well enough as the fundamental backbone of combat. Instead of the Batman: Arkham series’ highly influential single attack and counter system, Gotham Knights opts for more complicated combat that involves light and heavy attacks of the melee and ranged variety. Nightwing felt like the most standard of the four characters, although this may be because I controlled him during an early, tutorial-heavy section of the game.
This part of the game allowed me to get used to the investigation mechanics - which have players scanning clues in the environment - as well as combat. To start, I took control of Nightwing as he investigated the death of Kirk Langstrom and is surprised by the sloppy work of the cops and the appearance of The Freaks, one of the gangs that roam Gotham in the wake of Batman’s death. My Gotham Knights demo took me across four different parts of the game and allowed me to go hands-on with all four playable characters. Thankfully, after going hands-on with Gotham Knights for about two hours, the experience is shaping up to be an enjoyable superhero romp, even if it doesn’t end up being quite as groundbreaking as the likes of Batman: Arkham Asylum was 13 years ago. The cards are stacked against Gotham Knights, and early bits of gameplay highlighting significant changes to gameplay and incorporation of RPG mechanics seemed a bit questionable in the wake of the lackluster Marvel’s Avengers. By exploring the uniqueness of Drake's position, the studio could ensure that Robin isn’t overshadowed by Red Hood or Nightwing in the upcoming game despite their shared pasts.
If there are, Tim Drake could be one of the most interesting choices for player character: both Nightwing and Red Hood present him with alternate paths for his own future, which could make Drake’s decisions all the more compelling. It’s known that the player can play through all of Gotham Knights as just one character, but not whether there will be many opportunities for interactions between the four playable characters in the story.
It remains to be seen how WB Games Studios handles its four protagonists. He became Robin after failing to convince Dick Grayson to return to the role, claiming that “Batman needs a Robin.” The question for Tim is now this: what’s Robin without Batman? Tim Drake’s Robin is a sidekick without a hero. Nightwing and Red Hood have already created identities separate from Batman, but Robin has not.
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