Gotham Knights: The Official Collector's Compendium Review

While Gotham Knights didn’t set the gaming world on fire, Insight Editions’ Gotham Knights: The Official Collector’s Compendium is a great 256-page hardcover package that will help players further appreciate Warner Bros. Games Montréal’s latest Batman game.

The package begins with a lovely foreword from executive producer Fleur Marty discussing some of the challenges the team faced while making the game during the pandemic and how this compendium showcases so much of the hard work that went into it. It then opens up with glimpses of fantastic art of Gotham before detailing the four playable characters, their different gear that they use, and a look at the development team and their goals for the game. As someone that mostly played as Nightwing throughout the campaign, it was great getting in-depth looks at the other character’s abilities and gear as well.

As far as structure goes, the bulk of the book is mostly a step-by-step look through the campaign itself from pages 68 through 241. While not written explicitly like a traditional strategy guide, there is essentially a full and detailed walkthrough here that goes into boss attack patterns, showcases photos of cinematics, and plenty of concept art for each large encounter. It’s a nice way to structure the book as it’s easy to thumb toward a specific section (if you want to see more of the Court of Owls’ lair, simply go to the point in the story) and while the game isn’t all that complicated, it’s nice seeing map layouts of the buildings and other details of the Gotham locales you frequent throughout the game, such as Penguin’s Iceberg Lounge.

Beyond all of the great-looking concept art, the book also features some great quotes from cinematic director Wilson Mui, art directors Jay Evans and Daniel Kvasznicza, narrative director Ann Lemay, creative director Patrick Redding, and game director Geoff Ellenor. Rather than being a deep dive on the game’s development, they offer brief looks at why choices were made and their goals with them, such as how they showcase the powerful families that have controlled Gotham for decades and how that ties into the story. While the team may have not succeeded with all of its goals, hearing the reasoning behind their choices gives players a chance to reexamine elements of the games and add some additional appreciation for what was achieved.

Check out some exclusive excerpts from the book below:

Even though I won’t be rushing to replay Gotham Knights anytime soon, I had a blast going through The Official Collector’s Compendium. Authors Michael Owen and Sebastian Haley did a good job blending guides, art, and a look at the development all into one detailed package. If the game resonated with you more than myself or you’re just a fan of the Caped Crusader and love looking at art of the familiar characters, then this is definitely a worthwhile pick-up.