PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Five years after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight, DC supervillains Harley Quinn, Boomerang, Deadshot and King Shark have been brought under control thanks to explosive devices that have been implanted in their heads. Facing off against Superman, Batman (in Kevin Conroy’s penultimate appearance in the role), Green Lantern and The Flash, all of whom have been corrupted by Brainiac, the Suicide Squad band together as part of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X to embark on a quest to take down the Justice League once and for all.
From the developers of the near-flawless (and undeniably influential) Arkham series of games, Rocksteady, high expectations were placed on Kill The Justice League as soon as the game was first revealed. However, this is a different kind of game entirely – intended to be played online with other people, this is a “live service” multiplayer offering that leans more towards games like Destiny, Anthem and Outriders than the single-player adventures that the developer has become known for.
Playing like a cross between Crackdown and Borderlands with maybe a bit of 2014’s underappreciated Sunset Overdrive thrown in, each of the four playable characters can be swapped between at almost any time (unless they’re currently under the control of another human player), and each has their own unique abilities and weaponry. Harley Quinn, for example, uses a grapple gun and bat drone to swing across the city and favours SMGs, pistols and heavy weapons to dispatch her foes, while Boomshot relies on a jetpack to soar through the sky and a pair of rifles (of the sniper and assault variety) to keep enemies at bay. All four characters control well and are great fun to use, although a couple of the traversal mechanics are a bit more fiddly than the others.
When it comes to shooting things, though, Suicide Squad really comes into its own. Combat is fast-paced and extremely satisfying, and you’re given plenty of ways to approach each encounter. There are guns, of course, but also grenades, melee attacks, a couple of special moves, and an “affliction attack” that pretty much does what the name suggests. Each weapon has its own stats and perks that dictate its effects, encouraging players to experiment with different loadouts. Along with this, each character levels up independently, allowing you to choose your favourite squad member then focus on enhancing their abilities to create your perfect build. Alternatively, solo players could spend time swapping between all four characters, equipping each one with different skills and abilities to give you a wider array of offensive options. However, all four characters’ skill trees are almost identical to each other, with only a handful of abilities related to each individual character’s unique skills, so whichever squad member you choose to play as, your options always feel slightly restrained.
This slightly underwhelming feeling, unfortunately, extends to the story campaign’s missions, which doesn’t offer much variety at all. You’ll always be either defending something, escorting something, or going to find something and taking it somewhere else, while blasting waves of enemies along the way. Despite the undeniably excellent gunplay, the uninspired missions and general emptiness of Metropolis mean that, when playing solo, the whole thing can feel quite flat and soulless. Bringing a few real-life friends in helps to perk things up considerably, but a wider variety objectives would make the most noticeable difference.
The campaign lasts for around 10-12 hours, after which you’re into the much-hyped “endgame”. At the time of launch, though, this endgame doesn’t offer much that you haven’t seen during the main campaign. There are unique pieces of gear to work towards, based around “villain synergies” where pieces of gear from different DC supervillains combine to create super-powerful effects, and enemies gain modifiers as your Mastery rank increases, changing the way that you approach each encounter, but apart from an additional objective that asks you to survive for as long as possible by killing increasingly strong enemies to earn extra time (think Resident Evil‘s “Mercenaries” mode), you’ll be repeating the same handful of mission types that may well have already outstayed their welcome during the story.
In its current state, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a bit of an odd proposition. The combat is excellent and the cutscenes and voice acting are first class, but the shallow pool of available mission types doesn’t make for the most enticing endgame. Promises have been made by the developer to support the game with updates, additional characters and new missions over the next couple of years but, for now, only time will tell if the game will overcome its sparse beginnings and reach its full potential.
