Gotham Knights

Gotham City thinks that the Batman is dead, but whether he is or not – you will have to play through to find out (or not) – he has left some final advice for his various companions. These friends must work together to keep Gotham’s criminals from celebrating the vanquishment of their archnemesis too overtly.

However, in the aftermath of Batman’s mysterious disappearance, the gang of friends discover the existence of a criminal cabal. It is known as The Court of Owls, and is said to be as old as Gotham City itself. The cabal possess – as all villain-worthy secret societies do – its own personalised league of assassins, known in this case as the Talons.

However, the Court of Owls are not the only antagonists in the game: fans of the DC Dark Knight will be delighted to recognise the likes of The Penguin, Mr Freeze and many more, all operating alongside the bad actors of the Court of Owls.

You will play across five district boroughs of Gotham City, which is a fully open world, allowing you to explore as far and wide as you like. It doesn’t matter which playing character you choose, they all level up as you do, so you can introduce a new-to-you character during harder levels without losing any of your hard-earned skills.

The Nitty Gritty

The game is designed for predominantly solo play, but a buddy can join in and help you out as a drop-in drop-out facility second player. The second player can rage-quit for half-an-hour and then come back without having too much of an effect on the main player’s game, which is useful for those with volatile friends.

As you play through the levels and improve your stats, so do your enemies, so you don’t ever really have time to get bored with one level or another – the stakes rise along with your powers and abilities.

The good guys’ base of operations is the belfry, because Bruce, for reasons that may or may not become clear as you play, has destroyed the Batcave. The Belfry is the game’s hub as well as the character’s daytime refuge, where you can change characters, update customisations, perform housekeeping tasks on the game, and generally get ready for the next chapter of play.

The Belfry houses the BatComputer which helps to log your tasks, research and aids with other odds and ends of gameplay in a seamless and immersive manner. Ideally, the daylight lasts as long as you need it to, so you can spend as long as you like in the Belfry: as soon as you leave the belfry, night-time arrives and adventure beckons once more.

Batman’s unique vehicles survived the BatCave destruction and are available to the gang – the Batcycle among them. Also surviving was Alfred Pennyworth, the butler, and he lends the protagonist a hand, with immersive and interesting cut-scenes. A final friend to the gang is Renee Montoya, a (seemingly rare) good cop.

Who’s Who in the Belfry?

All the following playable characters each have their own unique skills and skill trees, so choosing your character is not merely cosmetic as each level requires unique skills in order to master it. Choose from:

Nightwing: Real name Dick Grayson, and the original Robin, as aficionados of the original comic series will recognise, this character is great at acrobatic manoeuvres and is skilled with dual escrima sticks

Batgirl: Real Name Barbara Gordon, and, of course, Commissioner Gordon’s daughter reprising her comic-book role as Batgirl. She excels at not one but several fighting styles and is excellent at coding, making her the Belfry’s resident computer expert

Robin: Newcomer Robin (the third person to hold the name) real name Tim Drake, this iteration of the beloved Boy Wonder can teleport using the Justice League’s satellite, and otherwise excels in stealth, fighting with his sturdy staff

Red Hood: Jason Todd is strong and proficient with various and varied weapons, and uses the name Red Hood – which might confuse purists of the comic book lineage: it was used as a name for a villain who became disfigured and transformed into the earliest version of The Joker, now one of the most beloved characters in Gotham, bad guy or not!