The game Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League looked like a contender for Game of the Year last year when it was included in our Big in 2022 roundup. Rocksteady Studios revealed at the Game Awards in November 2018 that their post-Batman Arkham action role-playing superhero endeavor would premiere in 2023, with a delayed release date of May 26.
Nonetheless, I’m happy to report that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League still has all the makings of a Game of the Year contender, albeit having a bit more time in the oven than initially expected. For me, it’s because the game appears to be typical Rocksteady fare: frenetic yet controlled, packed to the rafters with boundless vitality.
However, Kill the Justice League seems to inject new levels of fun into proceedings, giving the whole product some unparalleled dark comedic value, making it stand out from the studios’ past Caped Crusader capers. It has never been wrong that the Batman Arkham series took itself seriously.
However, when games in the same genre today fail to reach the same moody heights as Rocksteady’s previous outings 14 years ago, some light relief in the form of unhinged antiheroes from the creator who does superhero hijinks best is most welcome.
Kill the Justice League puts us in the role of one of the villains, such as Harley Quinn, King Shark, Deadshot, or Captain Boomerang, and gives us the mission of eliminating the titular superhero team, which in this version includes The Flash, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman.
From what we’ve seen of the game, that primarily entails wreaking havoc on Metropolis and beating up hordes of Brainiac’s minions. By the way, Brainiac has brainwashed the good people into bad ones, turning the community into a lawless hellscape and providing the ideal conditions for the Suicide Squad to do their work.
Harley may have to act out grappling hook dives or stuff cartoon bombs into the mouths of her foes as part of this work. The shark may be seen doing a Spider-Man–style wall run or pounding the ground with an area-of-effect assault.
Deadshot may engage in long-range sniping from the rooftops or use his machine gun to mow down targets from a safe distance. It’s also possible that the Captain will rush his enemies at breakneck speed while simultaneously dancing over them with some incredibly graceful parkour movement.
It seems Rocksteady's upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could feature live service elements including a store and a battle pass. https://t.co/T6IANF9OvL pic.twitter.com/m5EFZzy2kb
— IGN (@IGN) January 17, 2023
Captain Boomerang Confronts His KTJL Fears
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a long-awaited addition to the Batman: Arkham series, and while that alone is reason to be excited, the game’s approach to gameplay has some people worried, and Captain Boomerang is a prime example of that.
As players lead Task Force X on a mission to thwart an invasion from the mind-controlling Superman antagonist, Brainiac, the third-person shooter will return to Rocksteady’s take on the DC Universe, expanding upon the acclaimed Batman: Arkham titles with a focus on new characters and settings.
I’ve gotta give it to Rocksteady. Their character designs for the Suicide Squad in ‘Kill the Justice League’ are absolutely phenomenal, which shouldn’t be a surprise cuz they’ve NEVER missed in that department. pic.twitter.com/9Y7PHGvQgV
— Mr. Wayne🦇 (@ArkhamNumb) January 21, 2023
Despite pitching itself as a story-driven, co-op, and single-player game, a leak of Suicide Squad: KTJL’s menu revealed a setup and featured more typical of a live-service or GaaS title.
The inclusion of a Battle Pass and an in-game store has been met with backlash from some players, who have drawn analogies to the failure of rival superhero GaaS title Marvel’s Avengers (Free Cosmetics), developed by Crystal Dynamics and shut down after three years of operation.
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