(Note: This review contains story spoilers for Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League)
I’ve just wrapped up Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and as the credits roll, I find myself hoping for a post-credits scene that might redeem this game in some way.
Taking down the Justice League with a bunch of B-grade bad guys may sound far-fetched, but spoiler alert — they manage to pull it off.
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The game’s development was messy. Rocksteady, the developers behind Arkham City, delayed the release by nearly two years in their quest to get it “right,” desperately seeking to appease the majority.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League falls short on multiple fronts. Set in the Arkham universe, it fails its legacy characters, disappoints in gameplay, and misses the mark by attempting to thrust live service games to the forefront.
And yet, despite its shortcomings, there’s still plenty to enjoy. I’ll start with what I do like about the game.
Good times
In Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, Brainiac has descended on Earth (or at least Metropolis) and plans to destroy it. The Justice League has been brainwashed, including Earth’s mighest hero Superman, and there’s seemingly no cure other than death.
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Visually, this game is stunning. The cutscenes are the standout, not only in the way they look, but voice acting is on point. I may not have skipped any scenes, but at times it was hard to watch where the story was heading.
The characters shine, and the banter between them had me smiling.
Captain Boomerang’s Aussie quips are a highlight, along with Harley Quinn’s classic craziness, Deadshot’s serious nature, and King Shark’s Drax-like stupidity and literalness.
Character models are beautifully detailed, and animations are smooth. I encountered no major bugs or glitches, and the game is wonderfully polished!
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It’s also spectacularly optimised; on the PlayStation 5, the game is just 48GB.
The story starts strong, and the opening cinematic had me loving the narrative more than the Suicide Squad films — but it was short-lived.
As the hours went by, I was hoping for a turning point. Unfortunately, it never came.
Baaaadddd times
Where this game struggles is not knowing what it wants to be. Its attempt to be edgy was overshot, it’s full of overly repetitive missions, lacks enemy design, and features extremely lackluster boss battles.
The main story is essentially one giant tutorial preparing you for the end game. Even after 20 hours, I was still learning and unlocking new abilities for the final sequence. After the credits, the end game is an entirely new thing altogether.
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Rocksteady has borrowed elements from some of the best video games, attempting to blend it all together. There are hints of Marvel’s Spider-Man, Crackdown, and Guardians of the Galaxy, but it seems to be missing classic elements from their Arkham universe – aside from Harley Quinn’s grapple hook.
I primarily played as Harley Quinn, occasionally swapping to Boomerang. Traversal as Harley Quinn is a cross between Marvel’s Spider-Man and the Arkham games, but she can only swing once before a cooldown is applied. Traversal could be much more enjoyable if it wasn’t limited.
Deadshot’s Jetpack will take you the distance, Boomerang’s Speed Force Gauntlet is also a great way to get around. King Shark can jump high and far, but he’s my least-played character.
You’re able to swap around as you explore, and some missions grant bonuses if you play as a particular character, usually in boss fights. However, the boss battles are weak, and the final boss battle in the story is essentially a rehashing of one of the first.
Special Bullets…
The thought of fighting Superman was incredible, and I was expecting the Suicide Squad to gain some profound new superhero abilities to take him on. But really, you just use Gold Kryptonite bullets and keep shooting Superman until he dies. I could’ve fallen asleep.
The Green Lantern battle was much the same, with the Suicide Squad using some special bullets that can pierce his lantern powers.
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Batman’s boss fight was just 20 minutes of pumping bullets into him until he’s defeated, all while effortlessly jumping over waves of fire and dodging… Laser eyes.
Immersion Breaker
After every mission, you’re taken out of the action for a posing sequence. You’re then awarded with a new piece of gear from a loot box and given a breakdown of your stats. This took me right out of the action; all I wanted to do was keep playing, but I’m forced to stop for 30 seconds or so. I understand this in multiplayer, a scorecard of sorts – but playing alone, it didn’t feel necessary.
Some of the best sequences in the game were inside buildings, away from the open world. While you’re limited in your abilities, you can walk around and explore detailed interiors.
An early mission sees you enter “The Batman Experience,” a museum that features interactive exhibits of the Arkham universe. But it’s here you’re hunted down by Batman himself, placing you in the shoes a Gotham thug.
Classic DC locations are also highlighted, like The Hall of Justice, Wayne Bank, Luthor Corp, and The Daily Planet.
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The Hall of Justice serves as your main base of operations, and upon arrival, there’s a history of Justice League stories to delve into. The squad gets their traversal gear from a display cabinet filled with equipment from heroes and villains alike. They’re not holding back on lore.
Déja Vu
Out in the world, you’ll encounter Brainiac’s army on every street corner. There are many tactics to take them out; aim for bulging weak points, time counter attacks, throw a variety of grenades, melee to apply one of many affiliations, shoot the legs to activate a shield breaker then melee them to replenish the shield… There’s so much going on.
After 23 hours of gameplay, I understand the combat and its intricacies — but it’s a steep learning curve. I can now drop a grenade on a small group and take them all out in one go.
However, beyond the bad guys on street corners and rooftops, the world doesn’t have much else going for it.
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The Riddler has gone soft.
The Riddler lays claim to the world’s collectibles, with trophies hidden around the map and traversal challenges to take up. But these Riddler Trophies just sit on the side of buildings or at landmarks. There’s no puzzle mechanic to get them, there’s little to no challenge at all.
They seemingly exist just to fill the otherwise blank areas and spaces.
There are also Riddler traversal challenges; swing, jump, or fly through large rings within the time limit. These challenges could’ve been implemented by any other character in the DC universe, and I would’ve loved them more for it.
I’m tired of this shit
Now, an hour later, and the credits are still rolling.
I’m currently watching a massive list of names from people who tested the game while I write down these thoughts. What exactly did they test?
The reality is, despite the poor gameplay, this game will sell. It has a great IP behind it, looks good, and has a strong narrative.
If you’re looking at Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League in hopes of embracing a new entry into the Batman Arkham series, you’re going to be disappointed.
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If you’re looking for a new multiplayer looter shooter to play with friends, you’ll likely have a good time.
I don’t know if Rocksteady can turn this one around; years of content have likely already been locked in. Season 1 will see The Joker return, at least another world’s version of The Joker.
But as for making this a better game, it’s going to be tough, and only time will tell.
Quest Daily scores Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League:
6/10
Quest Daily was supplied a game code by WB Games for this review.
