Euler13 said:I thinking of getting Tales of Kenzera: ZAU (50% off), Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (50% off), and Gotham Knights (90% off).
Even though I like metroidvania style games, I'm not that good at them. Hollow Knights is too hard for me to enjoy, but I loved Ori so much, even though I'll never get all the achievements. I also loved the Batman Arkham series. So they all seem like a good fit for the type of game I'd enjoy. Could anyone advise on these? Enjoyable? Easy/hard?
I’ve heard complaints that the ZAU game has some serious movement jank issues. Since it can’t be played for free in Game Pass presumably this was from people who bought it. But the game has had its usual contingent of racist mouth vomit directed at it so you’ll have to be your own judge. If you do play it, though, I would welcome hearing what you thought of it, including its accessibility to the less coordinated among us ;)
I’m here to talk about Gotham Knights since you asked. If you’re even a mild fan of the comics, animated shows, or just Batman stories in general then it’s worth it (the Vision pack does include 3 extra cosmetic suits per character and if you’re a big fan you may want them, it also makes gear crafting and leveling said gear slightly easier once you’re well into the game so I’d say since it’s peanuts these days, get the edition with it too). By default the game includes drop in multiplayer. You can turn that off in the settings and I did and it plays fine. The Heroic dungeons last few levels you may want a pal or a ringer assist along.
If you’re a comic lore nerd about any if this stuff Gotham Knights is an absolute no brainer. It’s stuffed with stuff for fans of this type and honestly the team must have also mostly been fans.
The combat is great but it is NOT Arkham Asylum combat despite, like many brawler games these days, stealing elements of it. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon Batgirl, post surgery to fix her spine, so after being Oracle she’s back to being Batgirl) is the bruiser tank that for some reason has decent healing to boot, so if you’re having trouble play her. Robin (it’s Red Robin, the Tim Drake version), is the only one that can stealth knock out bad guys so if you insist on stealthing an entire crew then go for him. Nightwing is arguably the hardest to play. Red Hood is the most tame version of Jason Todd you’ve ever seen, I haven’t really played him much. All 4 team members level along with whoever you’re playing and at certain story beats are awarded some level appropriate equipment. So you can switch at any time. Your active character gets much more in the way of incremental equipment upgrades and they have their own unique dialogue. And obviously their city traversal powers, combat, skill tress, and stealth abilities vary quite a bit. You can max out skill trees but the last few points are actually a pain to get and requires hunting rare spawn criminals so be a bit strategic about the skills you leave for last.
Overall the story is fun and the combat is fun. Part way through the game some enemies become massive damage sponges, this is the game teaching you that you need to pay attention to elemental weaknesses. This is all covered in your Journal and you should ABSOLUTELY READ your Journal, it explains a whole bunch of stuff that is worth knowing (as well as having lore sections and stuff). These are not always tips you will just simply “figure out”. Outside of bosses and story missions you're always allowed to run away though.
Gotham Knights is cheap as heck on sale these days, the launch issues were fixed within 45-60 days (worst visual glitches are usually long capes clipping through your feet when crouching, I’ve had less than 5 total stuttery slowdowns the entire time, and I just backflipped 20 meters away to make them stop), and it’s had multiple free challenge mode DLCs added, including two Heroic dungeons and a Heroic version of each boss fight. Most boss fights are fun and cinematic, I only dislike one of them. Even the normal combat feels visceral and has a nice “thud” to it. And it’s a lot newer than the Arkham games so looks a lot better (as great as stupid, dreary Gotham can look anyway, one of these days I’d sure love a Central City or other setting, or Star City with Occupy Wallstreet version of Green Arrow would be amazing).
I am kind of done with Gotham Knights for now but I’ve had two different stints of dozens of hours, the game offers a lot. Even moderate fans should play through the story, on Easy if necessary, at the low price it usually goes for these days.