Guardian of Gotham finds Bruce Wayne an inmate of the infamous Arkham Asylum, following a violent, drug-induced public outburst at the end of episode three. Still under the drug’s effect, Bruce’s addled mindset offers a true-to-life perspective on Gotham’s criminally insane. Though pacing issues perpetuate the series’ alternating ups and downs, from an interactive perspective, Guardian of Gotham is on the stronger end of the spectrum. While the busy narrative offshoots emphasise the desperation of Gotham’s plight, at this late stage, they should be meeting to form one gripping throughline. Steps are taken towards this goal, but not striding enough that we can fully shake the feeling that our last outing might be somewhat scattershot. The omission of a customary teaser for what’s to come further stokes the flames of uncertainty, but hopefully it’s to avoid spoiling what’s all killer no filler - laser-focused - rather than carrying a negative connotation. Though pacing issues produce another slight lull and perpetuate the series’ alternating ups and downs, from an interactive perspective, Guardian of Gotham is on the stronger end of the spectrum. A gruesome crime scene maintains engagement, even if the links are blindingly obvious to draw, while a Scarface-inspired action sequence is the best one yet. Whether you actually see the latter depends on the decision you make in closing, which finally seems to make good on the promise of choice carrying significant consequence, though we won’t truly know until we see how the wider picture pans out. Despite starting and ending strong, these moments simply bookend a mostly uneventful middle that comprises a majority share of the short episode. Guardian of Gotham has more redeeming qualities than episode two, but having been bitten then and nipped now, it’d be easy to become shy.
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Score 7/10 Leave a Reply. |
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