In light of the successful Marvel games of recent years, DC Comics is desperate for a hit.Gotham Knightswas underwhelming, and the belovedArkhamseries is getting increasingly further in the rearview.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill be hoping to get the company back on the straight and narrow, but after the recent announcement of a significant delay, fans will have to wait until 2024 to experience the unlikely team’s attempt to save the world from the corrupted good guys. It’s the latest effort from developer Rocksteady, an outfit that has experience crafting great games for DC in the space.
The title will deploy an open world, much likeArkham CityandArkham Knight, but instead of the gritty streets of Gotham,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill instead take to Superman’s playground of Metropolis and have Harley Quinn and her crew work to remove the threat of the Justice League as they grapple with being controlled by Brainiac. That setting has the potential to be something great, as it had been in the comics for decades, but players will have to have an incentive to explore it, which is where the title should look to Rocksteady’s other outings for inspiration.
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Batman: Arkham Rewarded Exploration and Curiosity
At its core, theArkhamtrilogy is pushed forward by exceptional narratives, deep and compelling character development, and a consistent tone that makes the experiences feel like authentic Batman journies. However, whileArkham Asylumdeployed a smaller hub world, its successors entered the open world genre, giving players the freedom to explore an area, take on side activities, and solve interesting puzzles. The latter is something that particularly stood out, with The Riddler making his mark on the world with frustrating, but satisfying trophies to collect.
They did well to keep players entertained during moments away from the story, and tick the exploration box that is so important when a game used non-linear level design.Riddler trophies, in particular, are special because much of the effort isn’t finding them, but solving their cryptic nature. Every one collected felt like a small victory over an iconic villain, andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelifting that philosophy from theArkhamgames and altering it into something new would be a good use of the developer’s expertise.
Dipping into DC Comics' vast range of characters to use as a jumping off point forSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s collectibles would make a lot of sense, though doing it in a different way would be smart. Instead of solving puzzles, collectibles could be attained by breaking Green Lantern’s imagination to acquire them, decrypting something of Cyborg’s, or finding a way to mimic the strength of Superman. Using theabilities of the Justice Leagueto make collectibles feel interesting would help to add to the game’s atmosphere and world-building.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas a mountain to climbif it is to reclaim the confidence of gamers, and incentivizing exploration will go a long way to ensuring the game has a strong launch, and a real chance at sustaining a long-term fanbase. The Riddler Trophies in the Arkham series were one of that series highlights, and doing something similar, but evolved could help the project to stay in keeping with Rocksteady’s previous stellar DC catalog.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelaunches May 14, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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