Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leagueis out now, and aims to be the next step for Rocksteady’s beloved Batman: Arkhamverse. Unfortunately it missed the mark in several ways, devolving from near-perfect action adventure games to a lifeless looter-shooter that you can’t even play offline.
While fans express their disappointment and outrage, I thought it’d be fitting to look back on another Batman game that received a critical reception at launch,Gotham Knights, which I believe we treated too harshly.
Take a look atGotham Knightsbelow
Spoilers ahead forGotham KnightsandSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
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To address the elephant in the room, both games deal with the death of the Dark Knight himself Batman, but after playing both games I’d argueGotham Knightshandles it much better.
What’s great about this opening is it sends Batman out in the only way he’d ever accept, as a warrior, protecting his loved ones and passing the torch to new heroes in one fell swoop. What follows is an optimistic tale of Batman having trust in his family to continue the war on crime when he’s gone, and the team coming to the realisation that they’re worthy of that trust and have always been the heroes he knew they could be, so told through videos he’d prepared for if his number ever came up.
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Whether intentional or not,Gotham Knightsfelt like it had more respect for Batman thanSuicide Squad: KTJLdid, and the latter had three/four games of character development for the guy.
Then there’s the open world. No one can argue thatSuicide Squad: KTJL’sdepiction of Metropolis isn’t a good one. The grandiose architecture in ruins, the statues of all the heroes being a bleak reminder of who they once were and Brainiac’s horrifying skullship lingering overhead all set the scene perfectly. It feels like the end of the world, and makes you wonder how things could ever go back to the way they were even if the Suicide Squad can save the day.
Suicide Squad: KTJLhas a gorgeous open world, but falls apart when you start taking on missions and side content. Mission variety cycles between defending an objective, escorting some of the slowest moving vehicles in gaming history, killing enemies to charge something, or rescuing civilians/soldiers. Outside of missions there isn’t much to do aside from shoot random aliens or solve Riddler’s stupid puzzles, which is a shame because the combat is actually engaging. I was shocked that there were no meaningful side missions that delved deeper into the story or lore of the universe.Arkham CityandArkham Knighthad incredible side missions where you’d take on a famous villain or solve a mystery, sometimes both, whereasSuicide Squad: KTJLjust points you in the direction of another horde of enemies to shoot.
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Gotham Knightson the other hand told its own story and tried its best at delivering a fresh take on video games based on Batman and while it fell short at times it’s clear there was passion put into crafting the world. If Batman hadn’t died at the beginning and instead taken on a mentor role at the end of his career it probably wouldn’t have received the hate it did on launch and beyond.
We definitely treatedGotham Knightstoo harshly, and I think theSuicide Squad: Kill The Justice Leagueand the critical reception its received so far proves that in more ways than one.
Topics:Gotham Knights,Batman,DC,Xbox,PlayStation,PC
