Gotham Knights is easily one of the more controversial video game releases to have come out in quite some time. The reception to this title’s announcement was already pretty lukewarm from the get-go, and the news that came out about it before its launch didn’t really help things either. As a result, there are many people who might like some of the aspects of Gotham Knights… but there are some issues that definitely take away from the overall experience.
That being said, Gotham Knights can still be an enjoyable game in its own right. The game might not be greater than the sum of its parts, but the parts that truly shine definitely contribute to the title being quite memorable in its own way. Hopefully, the following changes can be incorporated into Gotham Knights to make this experience worthy of being called one of the better superhero games around.
10/10 The Addition Of Performance Mode On Consoles
One of the biggest controversies that Gotham Knights faced was the lack of a 60 FPS Performance Mode on consoles. This was a dealbreaker if you wanted the action gameplay to be enhanced with a smoother framerate.
Given how so many other games have this option (with titles like God of War: Ragnarok sporting a 120 FPS mode as well), it’s easy to see why a lack of the same in Gotham Knights was so disappointing. Hopefully, a patch further down the line would take care of this.
9/10 Making Knighthood Less Grindy
Knighthood should’ve been an interesting mechanic that let the four protagonists come into their own as the protectors of Gotham. Instead, it turned into a grindy mess that you will hate going through over and over again for each character.
The requirements to attain Knighthood are to complete ten crimes, fight three mini-bosses, and complete the timed strikes training with each aspiring hero. Suffice it to say, spending upwards of three hours with each character to just unlock their unique traversal option can be quite a pain indeed.
8/10 Reducing The Health Of Enemies
While it’s unfortunate, Gotham Knights is bound to be compared to the Batman Arkham titles since they share so much of the same DNA. While the combat in Gotham Knights has a ton of new additions to it, the simple act of beating down enemies has a massive problem attached to it.
Simply put, even the most basic enemies around have just too much health. Trying to attack enemies that are just a level or two higher than your chosen hero can be a downright chore, and steps should be taken to reduce enemy health so that combat becomes more exciting.
7/10 Possibly Improving On The Game’s Environmental Design
Out of all the changes mentioned on this list, this is easily the hardest one to integrate. After all, there are barely any instances of a developer team changing the aesthetics of its open-world game in such a drastic manner.
However, there’s no denying that Gotham Knights has been criticized across the board for its lackluster world design. Compared to the moody and gothic architecture of the city in the Arkham games, Gotham Knights’ take on the city is pretty disappointing and a major detractor from the overall experience.
6/10 Making The Boss Fights More Memorable
Boss fights are one of the biggest parts of any video game that need to be downright perfect. The Arkham games had their fair share of poor boss fights, but there were some standouts that you would still remember to this day.
In comparison, the bosses in Gotham Knights are nowhere near as memorable. Most of these battles are against massive health sponges that barely give a window to attack, forcing you to play so defensively that these fights become lengthy and boring slogs.
5/10 Adding More Life To Gotham City
The open world of Gotham Knights has issues that go beyond the lackluster art design. It seems that nightlife in Gotham City is completely barren, given how empty the world feels at times.
There are many ways in which the open world can feel more alive. Even just adding a group of goons around the world does a great job of making the city feel more populated, and hopefully, the game could incorporate this while increasing the number of civilians and cars in Gotham too.
4/10 Overhauling The Game’s Loot And Gear System
One of the most frustrating parts of Gothan Knights is the relentless equipment micromanagement. Loot is everywhere and the vast majority of pickups aren’t even worth it, with a select few being on par with each character’s level, boasting decent stats, and also being of a higher rarity.
There’s just something really odd about having to worry about elemental resistances and the like in a game about superheroes. The fact that your gear has mod slots that are also pretty vapid and don’t really require any thinking beyond choosing the one with the highest number makes for menial busywork, as opposed to actually making players carefully choose what they’re equipping.
3/10 Improving The Drab And Uninteresting UI
Switching out equipment in this game would’ve still been slightly enjoyable had the UI been at least somewhat decent to look at. Unfortunately, it seems that the game has let you down in this regard too.
Everything from the large and blocky font to the lack of any artistic flair in the UI really hurts the experience. Many games have released updates that change their UI, and one can only hope that Gotham Knights does the same over time.
2/10 Optimizing The Game’s Performance On Consoles
It’s one thing for Gotham Knights to be stuck at 30 FPS on consoles. However, it’s a completely different ballgame when the game fails to maintain a steady framerate on these platforms as well!
It’s clear that the game is facing optimization issues across the board. Thankfully, patches and the like are bound to address this issue, so it probably won’t be a complaint for too long.
1/10 Making Brutes Less Annoying To Fight
Brutes are a common enemy that you would be pretty familiar with if you’ve played the Batman Arkham games. However, while the brutes pose a decent challenge in these titles, these enemies are downright irritating in Gotham Knights.
Just like the bosses, these brutes can only be attacked in a really small window and force players to dodge way too often. The fact that they barely have any variations in their attack patterns makes them even more irritating to battle.
