Kill the Justice League the game with an interesting idea, but terribly executed.
Image credit: PlayStation / Sony Interactive Entertainment promotional art.
Source: PlayStation
Summary
- Name of the game: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
- Launch date: February 2, 2024
- Developer: Rocksteady Studios
- Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
- Available platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
- Game genre: Action, third-person shooter, open world
- Context of the game: A new installment of the Batman: Arkham universe, in which Task Force X (Suicide Squad) must face a Justice League controlled by Brainiac.
History and narrative
The story sets up an interesting premise: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark are sent to Metropolis to eliminate a Justice League corrupted by Brainiac. This didn't seem like a bad idea at first. At first, many simply don't agree with having something done to their favorite heroes, but the truth is that a game where the same “save the day” formula is always repeated can get tiresome, so the idea isn't bad. We'll talk about the execution. The narrative has entertaining moments and a humor characteristic of Suicide Squad, but sometimes it feels wasted. Character development is uneven, and while there are some well-done scenes, the tone of the game doesn't always match the gravity of the situation. To give you an idea, at times it feels like the game is trying to copy Marvel jokes, to the point where, instead of being funny, it becomes awkward and pointless.
A few times they got a chuckle or two out of me, but all four characters feel like bumbling people who you really wouldn't ever see being able to take out the Justice League. Their abilities also don't excel enough to pull it off, so they resort to advanced technology and resources from other characters to get it done.
The beginning of the game is terrible. Really, the first few minutes make you hesitate about buying, going so far as to think this might be just as bad as the 2020 Avengers game. While it gets a little better later on, don't expect much change. The idea of defeating the heroes is fine, but the situations where you achieve that victory against each of them you just don't buy into. The characters may make you laugh at times, but you don't manage to connect with any of them, neither with the main ones nor with the secondary ones.
The main villain, Brainiac, who controls the heroes, is more than disappointing, to the point that you don't know how he could control the Justice League. He could with them, but not the Squadron... ironic, isn't it? To top it off, spoiler alertat the end, the game decides to invent that multiverses exist and that there are 13 Brainiacs. You defeat the one in your universe in a lousy way at the end, and they tell you: “Well done, now eliminate the other 12”. Unbelievable. And let's not even talk about the role of Wonder Woman, a character that doesn't contribute anything to you and that they put her only to fulfill the presence of the most famous heroes, but her role is irrelevant and annoying with the objectives she has.
A common dislike among gamers is the radical change from the games of Batman Arkham. The story doesn't reach anywhere near the same level of impact and leaves the developer in a very bad light, going from that success to this failure. Nevertheless, it is not the worst story in the gaming world, but the reason why someone might finish the campaign is the presence of some iconic characters that provide memorable moments, either for better or worse, to DC Comics fans or to those who think “well, I already bought the game, no way, I have to finish it”. In conclusion, the script does not stand out too much and leaves the feeling that it could have been much better. According to PS5 data, only 15% of players finish the story.
Gameplay
The game is a third-person shooter with a focus on fast mobility and frenetic combat. Each character has his own play style: Deadshot uses long-range weapons, King Shark is a melee tank, Harley Quinn is agile with her grappling hook and Captain Boomerang mixes speed and short-range attacks. Personally, I always used Deadshot, and not because he was better or worse, but because they all seemed the same to me. You don't feel like there's a noticeable experience in switching characters, and the way you can switch characters is tiresome. It's not as easy as in other games, where you just go to the menu with “Start” and switch with a button; here you have to get out completely.
The start of the game is a tutorial, and I have to say it: if you were hoping to impress with the mechanics in the tutorial, well, it was poorly thought out. The tutorial is one of the worst starts I've ever played. So much so that more than 45% of players quit the game in the tutorial, according to PS5 data. It really scares the player away, because you wonder, “If this is the start, is this what I'm going to do for the next few hours?” And what happens? People delete the game.
The gameplay is dynamic, but it gets repetitive in a very short time. I felt that the game became repetitive after about 3 hours of gameplay. There is a lot of action, but the missions tend to follow a similar pattern: eliminate waves of enemies and complete secondary objectives. This is repeated throughout the game. While the mobility is fun, some players may find that the gunplay is not deep enough.
The game allows you to play solo or cooperatively with up to 4 players, which is a plus. However, the artificial intelligence of the machine-controlled partners is not the best, which can affect the experience if you play alone.
Also, included are missions of the Riddler in an alien invasion, where this villain sets riddles for the Justice League around the map. I didn't see much point. The weapons are not very varied, all four characters can share weapons, which also makes the game very standard. You are offered 4 characters, but you don't feel any difference between one and another. The worst thing is the way of transporting around the map, which is really annoying and slow. Luckily, the map is not that big, but at least with Deadshot, having a booster that overheats in 3 seconds is terrible. Harley with a hook, Shark with slow jumps and Boomerang teleports you by aiming. With each of these, the experience of moving around becomes tedious.
The design of the boss battles is horrible, and not just for the narrative, but also for the gameplay. You fight 5 bosses, and all the battles are bad.
Spoiler
Flash's, generic and boring; Green Lantern, shooting at the objects he creates; Batman, one part is boring and annoying, I mean when he throws a gas at us and we must ventilate the room before fighting him; Superman, shooting him until he falls because now we have his weakness equipped; and Brainiac, the worst, a copy and paste of the fight with Flash. Each battle has its own way, but it doesn't convince you in any way that it's positively memorable.
Graphics and visual design
The game looks good, with detailed character design and a vibrant Metropolis. However, the art is a bit generic and fails to stand out as much as Gotham in the saga. Arkham. The visual effects of the abilities and explosions are well done, but the design of the enemies is vague. To be honest, all the aliens looked the same to me: the small one, the medium one and the big one.
The Suicide Squad's costume design and aesthetic is striking, and there are plenty of visual customization options for the characters, which is a plus. However, the city feels empty and lifeless. At least it didn't encourage me to explore at all. The only thing there are buildings and aliens everywhere. A world without soul.
Sound and music
The soundtrack is good, but not particularly memorable. The sound effects are good, especially on gunshots and explosions. The voice acting is solid, with standout performances in English, although some lines of dialogue can feel stilted.
The sound effects in combat help with immersion, but there's not much to note in terms of musical ambience. Don't expect an iconic soundtrack like in the games by Batman Arkham.
Difficulty and accessibility
The game has different difficulty levels, but in general, most missions do not pose a significant challenge. Combat is frantic and chaotic, but the design of the enemies does not always require complex strategies. If you set it to easy, you're not going to have a challenge. Now, it's a typical game where, to make it more difficult, they throw an absurd number of enemies at you to shoot at you from all sides, which, even if you dodge, will always lower your health somewhat.
In terms of accessibility, there are configuration options for controls and visual assistance, but it is not a game with many advanced features in this section.
Additional content
The title was designed as a game as a service, which means that it will have updates with new characters and missions. However, this also means that there are microtransactions and a battle pass, which may not be to the liking of all players. I, for one, am not one of those who like them because they ruin the player experience. I think this was the first and worst mistake of the game's failure.
At launch, endgame content is limited and it feels like the game is designed to make you invest more time in future events and expansions. As a result, it feels like a slack job on the offline side. Character customization is extensive, but many skins and cosmetics are locked after additional payments, which is a surprise in service games.
Value for money
The game came out with a price tag of $69.99 USD, which is quite high considering it is a title with microtransactions and additional paid content from day one.
While the story and gameplay may be entertaining, but not for long, the focus on the game-as-a-service model and lack of variety in the missions may make the initial price too steep. For some players, it will be more worthwhile to wait for discounts or play it when they add more content. I recommend not paying more than $15 USD for this, I had it on ps plus and if I had paid full price I would have regretted it.
Trophies / Achievements
- Platinum obtained: No.
- Percentage of trophies obtained: 32%
- Estimated time: 30-40 hours.
- Platinum difficulty: 5/10. Getting the platinum requires completing a lot of side quests and repetitive content, so it can get tedious over time. It's not a difficult platinum, but it does demand patience to repetitiveness, which something I wouldn't be willing to do for this game.
Conclusion
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an entertaining game in terms of gameplay at times, with an interesting story as an idea but it doesn't manage to take advantage of its full potential. The repetitive missions and focus on microtransactions affect the overall experience.
If you're a fan of Suicide Squad or like third-person action games, it may be worth a try, especially in co-op with friends. However, its game-as-a-service model and lack of depth in some aspects make it not a must-buy at launch or even consider buying it at a discount. A game that will soon close servers.
My final rating for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is:
2.5/5.0
