After “Batman: Arkham Knight” concluded the series, Rocksteady & WB commenced development on “Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League” set within the Arkham series. The game centers on Floyd Lawton/Deadshot, Harley Quinn, King Shark & George Harkness/Captain Boomerang who are recruited by Amanda Waller to stop Brainiac invading Metropolis and annihilate members of the Justice League who are under Brainiac’s control. I won’t go into full detail on the game’s development history. If you wanna see an in-depth analysis video, check out McMuscles’ series “What Happened” discussing Rocksteady’s downfall. Look it up on YouTube.
Released in 2024 (same year The Penguin aired) on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. it was critically panned by critics, fans and gamers alike. Plus, it was a commercial flop. One Year Later, Rocksteady & WB pulled the plug ceasing plans for additional content. Anyway, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight” will be released on May 29, 2026. Before the upcoming DC game comes out, I wanna share my thoughts on this lackluster game. A textbook example on what not to do if you’re gonna make a superhero game.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. This is not an awesome game. It’s like that one scene in “Osmosis Jones” (one of my guilty pleasures) with a monkey snatching Bill Murray’s egg. Puts it in his mouth, spits it out on the ground covered in filth/saliva and then Bill eats with no second thought.
Good & Evil Aspects
Good: Kevin Conroy did a terrific job for his voiceover performance as Batman. A darn shame this game and MultiVersus were his final performances.
Tara Strong did a decent job for her voiceover performance as Harley Quinn.
Nolan North did a solid job voicing Superman & Penguin.
Graphics look okay. Not fully detailed like Gotham City in Arkham Knight.
Gameplay/Mechanics
- Presented as a third-person action-adventure single-player/multiplayer open-world game, you and your friends play as Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang & King Shark navigating Metropolis while fighting their way through Brainiac’s soldiers doing what they do best, shoot to kill.
- Riddler challenges from the Arkham series are retained.
- Each character has their own unique way of traversing like Harley Quinn with a grapple gun and batdrone.
- Equip buffs for your gear.
Evil: Mission Design’s mind numbingly repetitive. You only fight waves of enemies whether you attack or defend an objective. An unfun merry-go-round spinning over and over you wish it was over. Excuse the redundancy.
Loot System pales in comparison to the “Borderlands” series. Weapons are plain normal. Would’ve been awesome if Rocksteady & WB took the system seriously by crafting guns inspired by many characters within the DC Universe based on powers and equipment. So, here’s a list.
- Electricity – Static Shock, Livewire, Zeus & Shazam
- Green Explosions – Starfire
- Ice – Mr. Freeze, Captain Cold & Killer Frost
- Fire – Firefly
- Water – Aquaman, Aqualad & Ocean Master
- Fear Gas – Scarecrow
- Poison – Copperhead
- Hypnosis – Mad Mod
- Earth Manipulation – Terra
Combat’s pretty bad. You’re equipped with guns, grenades and a single melee attack. It lacks the Arkham games mix of melee and gadgets. Deadshot & Harley Quinn’s wielding firearms are appropriate, but King Shark & Captain Boomerang never used a single gun. That’s like giving Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire & Raven uzis.
I spent $10 on the Digital Deluxe Edition as part of a 90% discount. I got characters dressed as members of the Justice League, 3 Black Mask themed weapons, 1 Battle Pass token, four palette swaps and four trinkets to attach guns. Although a strategic way to save $90, but it damages my enjoyment even further. Rocksteady & WB refuses to give me everything in one package like more additional costumes, characters, new missions and enemies. They want me to spend more money. I refuse to follow their greedy business practices. What if Arkham Knight’s Premium Edition never gave me all the content for $100? If so? I call it an overkill over my wallet. If you’re a video game studio, never swindle gamers spending $100+ lacking insane content. Give ‘em what they want.
A Major Plot Hole involving why didn’t Superman defeat the Suicide Squad. His power level is ludicrously high. So many options like shooting laser beams from his eyes, freeze breath the team into ice or flying into them like a car crashing test dummies.
Another Major Plot Hole. Whenever a Green Lantern dies, the ring leaves to find a worthy successor. However, King Shark puts John Stewart’s ring to break through Brainiac’s ship disabling the shield. This never happens in the comics. The ring’s supposed to find a good guy not a bad guy. Poor excuse for Rocksteady & WB to sell an alternate costume for King Shark in a Green Lantern suit. He already has a Superman costume as part of the Digital Deluxe Edition.
Exploring Metropolis isn’t fun. Not as memorable as Gotham City.
Many characters are done dirty. Here’s a list on who’s who Rocksteady & WB mistreated heroes and villains. Each one Triples Down Points.
- Batman gets shot in the head by Harley after she gives him a nonsensical speech on why he’s mean to criminals.
- Superman’s treated as an incompetent bad guy. He doesn’t defeat the team from the get-go.
- John Stewart lies dead on the ground. He’s stripped naked.
- Wonder Woman’s killed by Superman. She never had an epic heroic sacrifice.
- The Flash lies dead while Captain Boomerang pees on his corpse.
- Poison Ivy’s resurrected as a little girl. She’s annoying.
- Toyman’s a nerdy teenage dweeb obsessed with the Justice League.
- Amanda Waller comes across as a nuisance. I know she’s supposed to be a no-nonsense intimidating and ruthless government official like having the guts to stand up to Batman, but all she does is act bossy and constantly reminding you not to fail the mission.
Blatantly taking inspiration from free-to-play game, “Fortnite,” Rocksteady & WB added battle pass and microtransactions taking a live-service approach. Remember the good old days when “X-Men Legends” and “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” didn’t rely on battle passes and microtransactions? I miss my childhood.
I spent several hours engaging tedious missions. They didn’t keep me invested. I was miserably bored.
Remember in Arkham Knight when you took cool snapshots in Photo Mode. This game doesn’t have it in single player mode. Cue, Carmen Cortez line from “Spy Kids,” “Oh shiitake mushrooms!” That’s repugnant, folks.
After you defeat Brainiac, Task Force X are assigned to defeat 12 variants of Brainiac from different dimensions. What to these dimensions feature? Same missions and recycled boss battles. For instance, Brainiac wields a Green Lantern ring using the same attack patterns as John Stewart.
You can obtain additional characters, Joker, (from another universe) Lawless, (Deadshot’s daughter) Mrs. Freeze & Deathstroke by completing copious amount of repetitive missions in a selected episode reaching a high rank or instantly spend $10 dollars per character . “Marvel Rivals” continues to add free characters. Yikes!
The worst part of the entire game is the true ending from the fourth and final season. Turns out the Justice League were clones from the very beginning. The actual team are alive except Wonder Woman. The Ending doesn’t make any logical sense. You can tell Rocksteady & WB pulled the plug immediately ceasing future content. Both, Rocksteady & WB earn a Billion Points Down for making the worst superhero game in recent history. On the same grade as “Superman 64.” OH MY GOODNESS! That’s the worst Superman game of all time!
The Final Verdict: F, FOR FAKER!
Suicide Squad Kills the Justice League is arguably the worst game of 2024. All the bad stuff, indicates why this game tarnished Rocksteady’s reputation as a respected video game studio. They followed a dark path. They used to make quality over quantity games like my personal favorite, “Arkham City.” In the words of Heath Ledger’s Joker, “It’s not about the money, it’s about sending a message.”
As a result of poor reception, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice caused Rocksteady & WB to lose $200 million. EGADS! 2024 wasn’t a good year for WB. They made either critical or commercial flops listed.
- Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (-$12 Millon)
- The Watchers (-$42 million)
- Joker: Folie á Deux ($-144.25 million)
- Trap (didn’t lose money, but it stinks)
- The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (-$10 million)
- Mortal Kombat 1 (a critical disappointment cancelled plans for additional DLC)
Let this be a lesson for video game developers on what not to do if you’re gonna make a huge video game based on a beloved franchise. If you wanna play actual good superhero games, buy Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man 1-2 plus Miles Morales solo game on PS5. Also check out “Marvel Midnight Suns” & Marvel Rivals.
Dang! Marvel’s killin’ it in video games. I hope WB Games get their act together. Develop proper DC games. I want a Teen Titans game darn it. Heck, “Injustice 3.”
Nickthemoviecritic.com 