Mixed emotions

Developer Rocksteady has a storied history in gaming. Creating one of the greatest superhero game franchises of all-time, and then going off the grid for nearly a decade between releases. Suicide Squad arrives on the scene with plenty of conversation around it. It was delayed multiple times and in development for nine years. After that long nothing can live up to expectations. Toss in that this is also their first foray into a genre that is an easy target for the enthusiast audience, and it feels like a recipe for failure. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has its fair share of problems, but underneath is a game that does a lot right. The story is outstanding, the game play is fun, which both underscore what could have been. Still there is a solid game here that is fun for multiple types of audiences.

One of the reasons that the Arkham games succeeded was their storylines. Suicide Squad continues that tradition with one of the best written and acted DC story in a long time. There are four playable characters and each one is interesting and written extremely well. The dialogue is hilarious at times and the comedic timing is some of the best. This game feels like it could have been a movie or TV show, and I ain’t talking CW fodder. This game had me captivated until the end. Sure the name implies what happens, but the events that unfold are so well done I couldn’t wait to see where it went. Yes, there are some weird comic book exceptions that will get some weird people upset, but everything here is so well done I didn’t mind.

MSRP: $69.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99

Let’s discuss the elephant in the room, this is a live service game. It has plenty of systems and loot that are designed for continuing the adventure way past the credits. Thankfully for those just wanting the story, none of it is really required to finish that part of the game. While it is introduced, I never felt the need to engage with it. This is also a co-op game by design. There are four characters and you can play with friends online, but I was also able to use bots, which I prefer for the story portion. What Rocksteady did well is that anyone can drop in at any point and keep their progress, even in the story. They really went out of their way to make sure playing with friends only benefited the host player.

The core game play is the same across all four characters. The main attacks are shooting and melee with a sprinkle of traversal. Each character has unique attacks and movement mechanics which makes each one of them feel different to play. Deadshot uses a jetpack, while Harley Quinn swings around using Bat tech. It definitely takes a little while to adjust, so swapping between characters isn’t always recommended. This bummed me out as I got to the end game as my Harley was level 26 and everyone else was stuck at single digits. This means grinding them up to match her level. I wish all characters leveled up together so I didn’t have to grind to match them all.

The skill tree is honestly kind of boring. Instead of upgrading traversal or melee mechanics, it is more a numbers game. Ticking this box grants you 20% extra damage while swinging and using grenades is not my idea of interesting. Most of the time I just picked one that related to how I played. Every other tier gives you two to three choices and honestly none of them are appealing. It feels like an afterthought and I just never cared about what upgrades I was getting.

Over the course of the game they also introduce various vendors for different aspects including things like crafting weapons and afflictions for weapons. Again none of this is required to finish the story, this is mostly end-game fodder. I collected a ton of resources, and rarely did I understand what they were for. Loot is present and guns retain that familiar color coding that represents their power. You can tell the game initially had a gear score attached and was removed. The sad part is the weapons are kind of boring outside of their main function. Sure it is neat to set someone on fire or get extra critical damage, but for me it was just about the damage. I am not a numbers guy, these types of games don’t retain my interest for the most part. So I was at least happy that the game was fun to play and I could ignore this stuff if I wanted to.

The end game stuff opens up even more things to grind for. Sadly the mission and enemy variety are pretty lacking. There are only a handful of different types of missions and some of them feel similar. I grew tired of them by the end of the campaign, and grinding them at harder difficulties for a new yellow pistol never appealed to me. Credit where it is due though, for people who enjoy that stuff, Suicide Squad delivers. There are gear sets and plenty of unique items to gain. Tons of stuff to collect and craft. The game feels like if it sticks to its roadmap of content, it could have a healthy post-release amount of stuff to do. If they bring more story, I will be there, but new loot just does not entice me.

We can’t discuss this game without talking about how freaking good it looks. Rocksteady have outdone themselves here. The facial animations are some of the best I have ever seen in a game. Metropolis is a vibrant world that is extremely fun to explore. The game also runs at a nearly locked 60fps and just feels great to play. I did experience some slowdown during one of the more intense boss fights, but the majority of the game never missed a beat. Sound is weird with some awkward audio levels at times. Voices get extremely louder than they should and super quiet at times. The voice acting itself though is stellar, as all the characters within the game deliver outstanding performances.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is full of potential. The game is a blast to play. The story is one of the best in a video game in a while, and there is a lot here for those that enjoy looter shooters. This almost feels like two games in one. I loved the campaign, but had little interest in the end game, while others will likely breeze through the story just to grind. I hope they continue the flow of content for both audiences because I would love to revisit it down the line. Also patch in that offline mode ASAP. Being mid boss fight for the server to disconnect is a huge bummer and makes me not want to play.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.