Gotham Knightsarguably failed to meet expectations. There are a few reasons why, but it seems largely due to how little marketing the game had to represent what it would feature. Theperceived lack of villains inGotham Knightswas not explained until near its official release, giving fans the false impression that it could potentially have other antagonists throughout its open-world Gotham City. Yet even the villains thatGotham Knightschose to include did not impress many, unlike the generally positive reception toMarvel’s Midnight Suns.
There are few legitimate comparisons that can be made betweenGotham KnightsandMarvel’s Midnight Suns, but it may be of note thatMarvel’s Midnight Suns’ approach to antagonistshas served it better thanGotham Knights. Looking back atGotham Knights, it could have learned from howMarvel’s Midnight Sunsapproaches its villains.
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Marvel’s Midnight Suns Chose Quality Over Quantity
Marvel’s Midnight Suns’ villains include Lilith, the Mother of Demons, as well as the Fallen antagonists she has corrupted and Hydra enemies who are devoted to her. Venom, Sabretooth, Scarlet Witch, and Hulk are all Fallen Villains, while villains such as Dr. Faustus and Crossbones also appear.
These antagonists appear frequently, especially if players engage in a lot of non-narrative combat missions where villains have a chance to arrive as an intimidating reinforcement onMarvel’s Midnight Suns’ tactical battlefield.Marvel’s Midnight Sunshas the added advantage of being a longer traditional RPG, which gives players a lot of time to establish relationships with their characters, and for villains to be contextualized with enough empathy.
Characters in the Abbey are constantly discussing each other even though there are relatively few heroes and villains to speak of, meaning they are all narratively impactful and fleshed out. The quality is there to present antagonists as unique threats, and it is through certain antagonists that other playable characters are debuted and recruited thereafter.Gotham Knights’ approach to villains is lackadaisical in comparison.
Gotham Knights Failed to Meet Expectations on Quality and Quantity
Gotham Knightsis an action-RPG, and while superhero adventures have rarely dipped their toes into narratives that are as long as a traditional RPG is expected to become, it would have been good to seeGotham Knightsattempt this. The game needed more time with its antagonists to make them actual characters, rather than having them besimple set piece boss fights to bookend each ofGotham Knights' case files.
The game abandons its villains soon afterward, making them seem irrelevant - especially considering most of them are only encountered optionally. There is a common criticism ofGotham Knightsthat it undermines its own characters and fails to create a cohesive narrative around them, which is evident through how little of characters’ backstories are revealed or discussed. This could have created better bonds betweenGotham Knights’ titular protagonists, and established more about their histories with each antagonist. Rather,Marvel’s Midnight Sunsaptly depicts its character relationships with each antagonist, and none seem out of place or dismissed throughout the entire narrative.
Marvel’s Midnight Sunsis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with PS4, Switch, and Xbox One versions coming later.
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