Since the review code for Gotham Knights had major performance issues, we’ve decided to test its launch/retail version. So, now that the game is out, it’s time to benchmark it and see how it performs on the PC platform.
For this PC Performance Analysis, we used an Intel i9 9900K with 16GB of DDR4 at 3800Mhz, AMD’s Radeon RX580, RX Vega 64, RX 6900XT, NVIDIA’s GTX980Ti, RTX 2080Ti, RTX 3080 and RTX 4090. We also used Windows 10 64-bit, the GeForce 522.25 and the Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 22.10.1 drivers.
QLOC, the team that has handled the PC version, has added a respectable amount of graphics settings to tweak. PC gamers can adjust the quality of Textures, Shadows, Anti-Aliasing, Effects, Ambient Occlusion, View Distance and Environment Density. The game also supports NVIDIA DLSS 2, AMD FSR 2.0 and Intel XeSS (you can find our comparison screenshots here).
Gotham Knights does not feature any built-in benchmark tool. So, for our GPU benchmarks, we used the first area in which you fight numerous enemies. For our CPU benchmarks, we used the first driving sequence players encounter in the game.
In order to find out how the game scales on multiple CPU threads, we simulated a dual-core, a quad-core and a hexa-core CPU. And, unfortunately, the retail/launch version has the same optimization issues with the review build. While driving, the game constantly loads numerous objects, resulting in a really disappointing gaming experience. As we’ve said and before, these issues appear to be related to I/O, meaning that they will affect all owners (even those using the latest Intel high-end CPUs).
At 1080p/Max Settings (without Ray Tracing), the game requires powerful GPUs in order to be enjoyed. Our NVIDIA GTX980Ti and AMD Radeon RX Vega 64 were not able to offer a 60fps experience. On the other hand, our top four GPUs had no trouble running the game at both 1080p and 1440p.
For gaming at 4K/Max Settings/No RT, you will at least need an AMD Radeon RX 6900XT or an NVIDIA RTX4090. Our NVIDIA RTX3080 was unable to offer a constant 60fps experience at native 4K. Thankfully, you can use DLSS 2.0 or FSR 2.0 in order to improve performance on all GPUs.
Graphics-wise, Gotham Knights looks bland and somehow dated. The game lacks the art style of the previous Batman game, Batman: Arkham Knight. Not only that, but its city feels emptier than what we got in Arkham Knight. At least Gotham Knights has higher-quality textures, so that’s something. It also has a number of destructible objects, though again this is something that was better utilized in Arkham Knight. Oh, and let’s not forget the cool NVIDIA PhysX effects that Arkham Knight had.
All in all, Gotham Knights looks and runs worse than its predecessor, and that’s without using any mods. It’s ironic but this clearly shows the tech difficulties that its dev team encountered. And, to be honest, I don’t know whether Warner Bros Montreal and QLOC will be able to address the game’s I/O issues. Oh, and the current-gen consoles also have the exact same I/O issues, dropping sometimes to even 20fps. In short, stay away from this game until the developers address these optimization issues!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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