Gotham Knights has a problem with how much it leaves an emphasis on Batman, despite claiming to concentrate on its playable protagonists. Each Knight is given their own respective time in the sun, but mainly in optional storylines that players must actively follow through by playing as them individually. Before Gotham Knights was released, a reigning theory still prevailed that believed Bruce Wayne was actually alive. This ended up not being true, but Gotham Knights’ narrative still keeps him around long enough to bask in his own glory.
The thrill of Gotham Knights is its open-world gameplay and nightly patrols. These moments only have little to do with the main plot, though, since larger story beats take place in sequestered missions. Either way, Batman is commented on and remarked about in many conversations that characters have. There is merit to this when Batman is referenced in terms of backstory, such as events that Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood can all relate to with shared experiences. Otherwise, Gotham Knights does not do enough to step out from under Batman’s iconic silhouette.
Batman is Found Around Every Corner in Gotham Knights
Bruce dies at the very beginning of the game, in the narrative’s present day, and so it makes sense that he would be constantly brought up as Gotham Knights’ characters mourn together. But past these sentimental moments that the Knights may bond over, there was little reason to include him thereafter.
Each instance where Batman is brought up afterward reminds fans of him, and because players do not have any contextual knowledge of what this Batman was like before his death, it draws even more attention. The Joker is another example of this, where each time he is mentioned in passing it only draws fans’ attention to the fact that he's missing. In this case, fans may be less intrigued by the characters they actually play as due to how compelling and enigmatic these other characters are.
Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood are all still interesting, but are perhaps spread too thin since fans cannot play as all of them at once. It also does not help how often Batman is seen or talked about, regardless of who fans play as. For example, Batman appears in the Belfry’s purple-hued training simulations, congratulating and consoling each character as they succeed and exit the simulation. Rather, this instance, as well as each instance where characters bring him up, may have been agreeable if only Bruce was not brought back from the dead in Gotham Knights’ final act.
Gotham Knights Lets Batman Outshine Its Titular Heroes
The end-game boss fight against Bruce Wayne is certainly one of Gotham Knights’ most memorable moments. That said, it makes Bruce the focus again rather than Gotham Knights’ four playable protagonists. In terms of the game’s narrative and how it concludes, Batman steals the entire show out from under Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, and Red Hood. It is technically Bruce that saves the day, not the Knights, though the Knights are who snap Bruce out of his Lazarus Pit brainwashing.
Bruce receives yet another climactic farewell with another sacrificial act, proving twice in one game that he is the better character and hero. If one of the Knights was given a choice to make that equaled this one in emotional weight, that could have been different. Players instead get to see their favorite Bat Family members learn and grow together in the Belfry, as Gotham Knights’ Alfred Pennyworth leads them with moral counsel. The Knight that players finish the main story with stands triumphantly atop a gargoyle looking out on Gotham City. But because of Bruce it hardly seems like they have earned it as much as he did.
Gotham Knights is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.