GamesActionSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice LeagueLove it or loathe it, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League deserves to be judged for what it is – not what it isn’tWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice LeagueLove it or loathe it, Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League deserves to be judged for what it is – not what it isn’tWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Games)
We’ve known for a long time thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewould be nothing like its predecessors. That should be a shock to no one, given that developer Rocksteady first unveiled its live service looter–shooter intentions back in February 2023. It was a bitter pill for some to swallow at the time, and the disappointment from passionate fans of the Batman Arkham games was, and still is, understandable to this day. That said, I’m growing increasingly tired of how these comparisons are still being used as a stick to beat the game with now that it’s launched.
Squad goals
(Image credit: Warner Bros. Games)
“A strange first impression”(Image credit: Warner Bros.)GamesRadar+’s UK Managing Editor weighs in on Rocksteady’s latest in ourSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League review in progress.
“A strange first impression”
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)GamesRadar+’s UK Managing Editor weighs in on Rocksteady’s latest in ourSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League review in progress.
(Image credit: Warner Bros.)
GamesRadar+’s UK Managing Editor weighs in on Rocksteady’s latest in ourSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League review in progress.
And that’s precisely my point: for a game of its genre, it’s totally solid. The gunplay is fluid and punchy, the ceiling for build potential is sky-high once you get going, and it’s just a good time all around if you want to relax with some friends and blast shit out of the sky. It’s fun, and that’s not a crime to admit. It shouldn’t make you less of a Batman Arkham fan to acknowledge that no matter how disappointed you were initially, Rocksteady has gone all-out to create a visually impressive, snappy third-person shooter despite how well-worn the live service format has become. You can do both these things at once and still respectfully give the game its fair share of criticisms when Harley’s traversal feels like a chore, or when the more bizarre winning conditions of certain side quests start to grate on you. You can also understand all these things at once and have no desire to play it.
A league of its own
(Image credit: WB Games)
There are many valid things you can critique about Suicide Squad that have nothing to do with Batman.
There are many valid things you can critique about Suicide Squad that have nothing to do with Batman.
To that end, I’m definitely empathetic. In all its brooding, gritty, action-packed glory, Batman Arkham Asylum is held up to this day as one of thebest superhero gamesever. The standout offerings in the much-loved series were always going to be tough acts to follow, not least for a live service game that probably would have clicked better with some of us had it launched five years ago.
Looter-shooter fatigue is very much a thing in 2024, and I don’t blame anyone who simply has no interest in diving into yet another grind-heavy game like Destiny 2 that lacks finality and locks the coolest content behind a paywall. I just don’t think that’s what Kill the Justice League is trying to do at all, and I’d wager anyone who says otherwise has probably not played it and will refuse to do so because it’s not a Batman game.
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There are many valid things you can critique about Suicide Squad that have nothing to do with Batman. In my mind, its biggest challenge is the conflation of two genres that are hard to mesh. Stunning cinematic cutscenes detail an intense, DC canon-abiding storyline with a narrative that can feel so high-stakes at times that it simply jars against the chaos of the genre it’s been baked into. I can see how the two can feel like oil and water, especially when Rocksteady fans are so used to a very different kind of game in terms of tone. But the Batman Arkham games being good does not make this game inherently bad, and I can’t believe I’m having to say that.
For a trip down memory lane, we’ve rankedthe best Batman gamesof all-time.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
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1
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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
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3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
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3
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4
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”