When I first saw the trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, I was really excited as the game’s concept looks nothing less than a blockbuster formula. With Rocksteady Studios, which has previously delivered gold in the form of the Arkham series, at the helm and some of the most popular superheroes of the modern era, what could go wrong, right? Well… sometimes, even the best chef can’t make a good dish if the recipe isn’t right, despite having perfect ingredients. Before I dive deep and explain more, I would like to share the disclaimer that the game’s review code was provided to us by the publisher for PlayStation 5.
Campaign story
As you might have guessed from the name itself, the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League campaign story revolves around the Suicide Squad – Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark. The primary antagonist here is Brainiac, who manages to brainwash most of the Justice League members – Superman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Batman. The Suicide Squad has been assembled here by A.R.G.U.S. director Amanda Waller to tackle this brainwashed Justice League. As the story progresses, the Suicide Squad searches for ways to kill the members of Justice League and the story ends up presenting some interesting plot points and characters.
For comic book fans, the story is a delight, and I genuinely found it to be interesting. While this is not a masterclass in storytelling, plot twists keep you on the edge of your seat and you are constantly entertained. The voice acting is consistently good, especially the posthumous performance from Kevin Conroy as Batman is a standout. Without giving away any spoilers, certain aspects of the plot seem a bit arbitrary and those could have been handled in a better way. But overall, the story campaign is worth playing.
Gameplay and combat mechanics
When I first started playing the game, I was genuinely excited as it showcased how the different characters possessed different abilities. Even while shooting, each character was provided with a different kind of default weapon and I was already thinking about how the game would leverage the unique powers to offer unprecedented gameplay. However, this excitement was short-lived as eventually, the game turned mostly about acquiring better weapons than making use of the unique abilities of the characters.
Once you get a grip on how each character moves around, the gameplay feels fluid and you can attack enemies in different creative ways, though there is a sense of repetition that lingers around. If you like hitting combos, you can go up to a whopping 50 (hard to achieve but doable). However, the anchor here is that the game focuses more on characters getting hold of better weapons rather than providing meaningful upgrades to their abilities. This creates a fundamental issue as most players playing this game would be interested in playing it because of the characters with their unique superpowers, but what you get is an experience that tries to level the playing field.
Rocksteady earned its reputation in the industry with its melee combat in the Arkham series and here, it has switched to third-person shooting. With standard weapon choices, the developer doesn’t add anything new to this combat system and as a result, you could soon lose interest in continuing. If the game offered crazy weapons, which would have even been impacted by the character you are playing with, it had the potential to offer something extraordinary. But unfortunately, it doesn’t do that.
The only effort in this direction is the inclusion of Affliction Strikes, which add a new layer to melee attacks by offering unique properties. While such features can potentially make the game a bit overwhelming for some players, once you get the hang of them, these are fun to use and could set the direction for the game going forward.
World design and graphics
Set in Metropolis, the game looks drastically different from the Gotham portrayed in Arkham series and unlike the previous dark and gloomy approach, this time we are treated to a brighter cityscape. Now that the game has been out for some time, you might have already heard the criticism around the graphics in this game. Many players have posted comparison videos online featuring Gotham in Arkham City vs Metropolis in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, showcasing how the game released nine years later has inferior graphics and interactive elements. While this comparison does have some weight, it is important to keep in mind how different the approach to these two games has been. Arkham City was designed to be a much more compact experience, while the latter has been designed to be a game with live-service elements.
I think Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has decent graphics, although I wouldn’t say it can compete toe-to-toe with some other recent games. As we are talking about a game with fast-paced action, the attention to detail has been invested more towards gameplay than graphics and interactive elements, but that’s something most players wouldn’t mind.
Live-service component
Single-player games, despite having a huge fan following, are a dying breed. Game developers have realised that in order to remain relevant for a longer time, a live-service component has to be a crucial aspect of their games. Following suit, Rocksteady has also added a live-service aspect to this game to encourage players to come back time and again for a long time after finishing the mainline story. Unfortunately, if we draw a comparison scale, it is closer to Marvel’s Avengers than Fortnite while delivering on this front.
As a looter-shooter, the game behaves exactly like any other game in this genre and that’s where it falls short of distinguishing itself through its amazing set of characters. In its current state, you might not feel compelled to come back every other day to this game but if Rocksteady decides to make certain changes with an update, this game could go a long way.
Verdict
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League comes with an engaging single-player campaign that could still leave the fans divided due to certain creative choices. However, the game’s massive potential is impacted due to the fact that the individual abilities of the characters are not used to their full potential. Currently, it feels like it is in a confused state of being where it is trying to play like other looter-shooter games and failing to distinguish itself with its amazing set of characters. I won’t go as far as to say it could be another Marvel’s Avengers as Rocksteady can still push updates to improve this game’s online component massively, but it needs to act fast.
Editor’s Rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros:
- Amazing set of characters
- Good story campaign
- Decent world design
Cons:
- Combat gameplay relies heavily on weapons
- Live-service mode feels bland
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