Gotham Knights offers players four of the most famous Batfamily heroes to choose from. Among them, one reigns supreme as best fit for a lead hero in Gotham Knights - or perhaps I should say, lead heroine. Though each hero has their own arc, it’s undeniably Batgirl who steals the show as heir apparent to Batman.
It’s an oddly fitting turn of events, given WB Montreal’s last released project was the Batgirl: A Matter of Family DLC for Arkham Knight. Much like Gotham Knights, it featured Barbara Gordon and Tim Drake teaming up in fairly open-ended levels that emphasized navigation and environmental puzzles as much as brawling and sneaking. Even the tone is distinctly more jovial than the rest of Arkham Knight. All of this comes full-circle in Gotham Knights, with fascinatingly opposing circumstances.
In the Arkham series, Barbara was first introduced as Oracle, long since sidelined by her spinal injury at the hands of the Joker. She’s essentially an emotionally involved lockpick that's part of her father and Batman's toolbelt, to the point of being fridged in Arkham Knight’s main campaign. There’s no arc for her beyond existing as a tool or an objective. She’s an asset, not a hero.
Gotham Knights tosses this whole notion aside by forcing Barbara to confront a world where not only does she have to be her own hero, but both her paternal figures are dead. Jim Gordon has been in the grave long enough that there are even statue memorials of him. The moment Bruce dies, all those old scars open up again, not just from losing another loving mentor, but what she has to go up against.
Her father’s legacy is being ruined by corrupt cops and incompetent politicians. A legacy they share via her vigilantism, even if she never knew if he deduced she was Batgirl all these years. Where Dick, Tim, and Jason were all adoptive sons of Batman, Barbara’s entire life has always been immersed in the heart of the fight for Gotham’s future. The Gordon family has sacrificed everything, and yet it’s all turned to rot so quickly.
All of this is framed around her still coming back into her own rather than blossoming into a hero. Like Gotham, Barbara is struggling to prove that her scars and trials have strengthened her, not left her broken and vulnerable. Even her photographic memory comes into question as she’s confronted with the revelation she might not be remembering her father’s face. It’s a genuine struggle one can have while mourning, and proves a pivotal manifestation of self-doubt she has to overcome alongside everything else the game throws at her.
The moment Bruce dies, all those old scars open up again, not just from losing another loving mentor, but what she has to go up against.
Barbara’s journey isn’t of brute strength, but will. She has to embrace the mistakes of the past without letting herself be wholly defined by them. Becoming the hero that Gotham needs calls for Barbara to refocus, remembering to embody the best of her teachers while growing beyond them.
By contrast, Nightwing has already essentially become his own hero. Meanwhile, Jason Todd merely needs guidance and forgiveness. Robin still has a ways to go to grow into his own hero, even after completing the game's story. Yet by the end of Gotham Knights, Batgirl is the successor to both of her legacies. Her skills are the most versatile, able to deftly flow between brawling, stealth, detective work, and even a bit of hacking for good measure.
She’s the only playable character with Batman’s cape glide, handling like straight out of the Arkham games, yet her special abilities emphasize the tactical aspects of Gotham Knights. She’s as much a bridge between both eras of Batman gaming as she was between her two father figures.
Her stamina is tangible with her Grit skill tree, as she’s the only character who can self-revive and regain health by taking down enemies. It evokes her raw determination, showing her endurance grow over the course of the campaign. Her pain tolerance grows, no longer letting injuries and disabilities prevent her from being who she desires to be.
Meanwhile, in the story, Batgirl works with Detective Montoya to clean up the GCPD bit by bit, even confiding in her father’s old partner before going so far as to reveal her true identity. She welcomes Jason back into the fold fastest, empathizing with his struggles post-resurrection even if her own journey isn’t the same.
Each of them suffered traumatic events in their heroic efforts, yet Barbara’s able to use the experience of overcoming that to aid a friend in need. All this while maintaining social ties beyond the Batfamily, as she trades emails with Supergirl and checks in with Black Canary over the phone.
Even in simple dialogue, Barbara tends to demonstrate a greater maturity and focus. During a brief yet significant reunion, she’s the one to get straight to details while pivoting to protect her loved ones. Her compassion for Gotham and the people within it never relents either. She’s achieved what, according to Alfred, Bruce even admitted: Barbara has achieved true balance.
She can be the hero Gotham needs without giving up herself in the process. Her aims are pragmatic, actionable, and not simply driven by emotion or obsession. She’s the hero Bruce never could be. In a year where we sadly lost out on a Batgirl film with seemingly the same themes in mind, it’s a welcome consolation that Gotham Knights understands what makes Barbara Gordon one of DC’s best.