Okay, so this isn’t Batman Arkham. It is, by nature, the alternative to everything the Arkham Games were – brighter colours, playing as the anti-heroes and some decent comedic jabs. Honestly, it’s like if you crossed Fortnite with those legendary games, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, if you can hold an open mind. So…let’s do this.
Indeed, the story (as with the Arkham series) is where Kill The Justice League excels, and if you are a DC and comic book fan, we suggest you give this one a go. It might not change the way we view comic-themed video games, but it’ll certainly be a lot of fun.
This game was always going to have a bumpy ride, yeah? Following delay, OG developer departures and the unenviable task of having to follow up the aforementioned series. Rocksteady had to roll a real hefty bolder way, way up hill. It’s not easy to take villains, and make them the centre of attention, asking players to murderise some of their favourite heroes in The Flash and a (too young?) Poison Ivy, for example, but here we are. Get ready to be bad, and subvert all of you expectations (storywise) for what a “superhero” game looks like. The premise of this one, is simple – save the world from the good guys, and don’t get your head blown off by Amanda Waller. Sounds cool, so far. Honourable mention for the soundtrack too – the music makes for the perfect accompaniment to bashing some alien skulls in.
You may remember that the concept for this whole thing (at least) was (arguably) teased at the end of one of the original Batman games (Origins), with Deathstroke in his jail cell, and it’s not like we’ve never had the opportunity to play as villains in the Arkhamverse games before in DLC with Harley, Deathstroke and as part of main stories (Joker).
Here, you can be the big, burly King Shark (voiced masterfully by AEW’s Samoa Joe), the quick and cunning Harley Quinn, the wise-cracking King Boomerang (a surprise favourite for me from the off), or the gun-toting master-assassin, Deadshot. All very good options, to be fair, but with the Live Service support promising more characters like The Joker joining in from Elseworlds, and more besides, that is certainly tickling the ol’ villainous tastebuds. It’s worth remembering too, that you can change (and customize) characters at loadout, for a turn with each.
Once again, and I cannot emphasise this enough, the story is paramount here, and this is where the developers have worked their absolute socks off. I will play this repeatedly because I love a good story and a beautifully done cutscene (there are plenty here), and while some of you may just be tempted to check out cutscenes on YouTube in a few months, I encourage you to go back, and really engage with the story – there are interesting character dynamics, and again, with the expansion vast possibilities about where this could all go. There is even a prequel comic for context, if you’re into that sort of thing.
On to the gameplay, and I’ve never been a big Fortnite fan, I’ll just say that right from the off. I’ve never liked the bright and cheery, fast-paced nature of it all, and that is one hundred percent evident here. You jump and shoot, and spin and bounce, and that combined with the gunplay can feel a bit childlike at times, but once you get over the general silliness of the movement mechanics (King Shark is like….hundreds of pounds and he just bounds about), there is a lot to enjoy here. While, I didn’t enjoy a lot of aspects about the combat (especially when considering that this game will forever be tied to the Arkham games), if you actually spend time to learn the mechanics and upgrade your character stats (via a skill tree) and weapon builds, I promise you will be rewarded. It just depends how much time you can spend with the game, as it can get very repetitive. If I had to summarise to prepare you for the overall combat vibe, I’d say think of Destiny, and you will be close to the simple point and shoot-style mechanics on offer here.
Indeed, I know this has been referenced a lot in other reviews, the screen looks very busy, and that can be distracting, and as much a I love the character dialogue in the cutscenes, it is true that when you are playing in the open world, the quips can get a little repetitive…okay, a lot repetitive, and that is likely to irk a few people.
If you are looking for some silly action and combat, a dark, engrossing story and a way to reconnect with your anti-hero-side, then this game will be for you, absolutely. If you don’t take it too seriously, it will entertain and engage you for hours. If on the other hand, you want it to exude the quality, intensity and overall form of the Arkham Series, then you will, sadly, be disappointed, though the continuity and references to those games in the cutscenes and through gameplay are a real highlight.
Rocksteady have tried something new, and that is to be commended because there are so many times where this hits the mark (voice acting, cutscenes and general characterisation), but unlike the aforementioned series, it is doubtful that you’ll be playing, and talking about how amazing this game is to play repeatedly in ten to twenty years.
It’s better than Gotham Knights, I’ll give it that.
