Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been catching a lot of flack recently. While it all started with its first gameplay trailer, a recent hands-on event somehow left the press even more disappointed, piling on the criticism for Rocksteady’s upcoming third-person action shooter.
Suicide Squad is the developer’s first major release since Arkham Knight in 2015, which ended the beloved Batman trilogy on a high note. However, Kill the Justice League is an entirely different game, forgoing the single-player action adventure in favor of multiplayer co-op, microtransactions, and other live-service features.
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The criticism is understandable. Most fans would rather Rocksteady continue where they left off, choosing another character from the DC roster and focusing on single-player. But no matter how much we want to believe those Superman rumors, Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier has debunked that narrative time and time again, and the truth is that Suicide Squad has been Rocksteady’s focus since 2017.
Listen, I’m right there with you. I own the Arkham Trilogy on every platform. And as an avid Destiny 2 player and someone who managed to sink over 100 hours in Marvel’s Avengers, the last thing I want is Rocksteady using its resources on another live service game. So I went into the Suicide Squad closed alpha, much like the rest of you, ready to hate it, and I did. But, after seeing 26 minutes of gameplay, my mind is starting to change on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
EXTENDED GAMEPLAY SHOWN FOR SUICIDE SQUAD: KILL THE JUSTICE LEAGUE
IGN recently released a new gameplay video, showcasing 26 minutes of extended gameplay of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which you can view below:
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League doesn’t look like the Arkham games we know and love. Gone are the dark streets of Gotham in favor of the brighter and bigger Metropolis. Hell, most of the characters don’t resemble their previous Arkham Universe selves.
That said, I’d be lying if I said hearing the Riddler five seconds into the gameplay didn’t spark something in my head. Whether that’s serotonin or unbridled rage from the hours I’ve spent collecting his trophies in previous games is yet to be determined. However, I must admit hearing that voice takes me back to those Batman days.
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Speaking of the Caped Crusader, fans quickly pointed out that Batman occasionally appeared in the background. The Brainiac-controlled hero seemingly stalks the Squad as they progress through Metropolis, which I assume will eventually lead to his boss fight. It’s a tiny feature, but I have to applaud Rocksteady for it if that’s how it will work. It’s exactly what you would expect a mind-controlled Batman to do, and if the studio leans into fear (and possibly Scarecrow’s fear toxin) as he gets closer to the players, it will be a home run.
Now, Batman stalking the Suicide Squad isn’t going to make Kill the Justice League a must-play game immediately. The overall gameplay is still a massive departure from the Arkham games, and it will take some time to get used to it. However, this goes back to my previous point that many of us – myself included – are going into Suicide Squad ready to hate it. We aren’t giving it a fair chance, so of course, we’re going to focus on what’s wrong with it instead of the good.
I wouldn’t say I liked the gameplay from what I played in the closed alpha (which wasn’t much). But not because it was inherently bad but because it was different. The mechanics are fun if you don’t let the nostalgia of the Arkham games cloud your judgment and just appreciate Suicide Squad for what it is.
After watching the gameplay video, it looks like it could be a fun time, swinging, jumping, running across Metropolis, and completing relatively easy missions with friends. Story-wise, it has an exciting plot, and you know Rocksteady is bringing its best writers and voice actors to the table, which already gives it a leg up compared to other attempts at a live service game.
The HUD, however, is atrocious. It is customizable, so I’ll cut them some slack on that front, but it’s a mess. I’m a sucker for the minimal, sleek aesthetic of some games’ HUD, so the first thing I’ll do in Suicide Squad is remove 90% of the on-screen clutter.
In my opinion, the best-case scenario for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is that Rocksteady creates a niche player base, much like Destiny 2, and continues supporting the game with content that those players enjoy. Given DC’s roster of iconic villains, I think the potential is there to be something really great.
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Worst-case scenario: the game’s release is met with negative scores across the board, leading to an Avengers dilemma where the player base is too niche, and the game is dead before Rocksteady can live up to any of its promises.
I certainly hope for the first of those two options, if not something better. However, given the track record of live service games, I won’t get my hopes up, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is starting to change my mind. The game hits the shelves on Feb. 2 as a multi-platform release.
About Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Release Date: February 2, 2024
Developer: Rocksteady Studios
Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, & PC
Genre: Action-adventure third-person shooter
Synopsis: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an original genre-defying third-person action-shooter developed by Rocksteady Studios, creators of the best-selling Batman: Arkham series. Play as Harley Quinn (a.k.a. Dr. Harleen Quinzel), Deadshot (a.k.a. Floyd Lawton), Captain Boomerang (a.k.a. Digger Harkness), and King Shark (a.k.a. Nanaue) and embark on an impossible mission through Metropolis to save Earth and take down the world’s greatest DC Super Heroes, the Justice League.
Are you excited for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Has any of the recent news made your opinions better or worse? Are you picking the game up on launch? Let us know on social media, and keep following The Illuminerdi for more content like this. We’re always watching.
SOURCE: IGN
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