Summary
Superhero video games are having a bit of a renaissance right now. While superhero games have been around for decades, truly great titles have been pretty few and far between. That changed withRocksteady’sBatman: Arkhamseries, which broke new ground for the entire superhero gaming genre back in 2009, and in turn kicked Marvel into gear and led to Insomniac’sSpider-Manseries, which now carries that same torch. But it hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows for the superhero video game genre sinceArkham Asylum, withMarvel’s Avengersbeing a clear disappointment, and a game thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueneeds to study carefully.
By all accounts,Marvel’s Avengerswasn’t a great game. Coming hot off the heels ofMarvel’s Spider-Man,Marvel’s Avengersfailed to live up to the hype, and its attempt to cash in on the live-service market but its unwillingness to embrace it fully left the game feeling half-baked, confused, and a tad greedy.Marvel’s Avengersnow acts as the perfect example of what superhero games shouldn’t be, and it’s imperative thatSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguelearns the right lessons from it.
Marvel’s Avengerswasn’t a terrible game, but it had some glaring issues, some of which could be found in the game’s story mode. Afterthe release ofMarvel’s Spider-Manin 2018, fans were expecting another excellent single-player adventure, albeit from the perspective of the entire Avengers team. However, Crystal Dynamics had other plans. WhileMarvel’s Avengersstill had a full single-player campaign, it relied a little too heavily on its multiplayer component to keep fans invested, as while its story was solid, it wasn’t anything to really write home about.
For the last 14 years, Rocksteady has been a developer mostly known for its strict adherence to the single-player action/adventure genre, and its expansive story modes. Rocksteady is seemingly trying its hand at something new withSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, introducingfour-player co-op, but while that could be a great addition, it shouldn’t get in the way of the game’s story content.Suicide Squad’s story and characters should come first above all else.
Another major issue withMarvel’s Avengers' overreliance on multiplayerwas its dull endgame. After beating the main story inMarvel’s Avengers, players could only really complete the same handful of missions over and over again, slowly grinding to increase their character levels. A severe lack of variation and incentive is detrimental to a live-service game, and it’s one of the biggest reasons behindMarvel’s Avengers' downfall.
Suicide Squadcan’t fall into the same trap. After finishing the story inSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, there needs to be a plethora of new content for players to dive into. From new bosses to new map areas to new side activities to new collectibles,Suicide Squadneeds to save some of its most rewarding moments for its endgame, otherwise, players are just going to drop off the moment the credits roll.
Something that fans are very worried about withSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis its approach to monetization. A Battle Pass has already been confirmed, along with additional costumes for each playable character. While there’s nothing necessarily wrong with letting eager players purchase in-game skins, they can’t be as overpriced as theskins inMarvel’s Avengerswere. This is even more important following Warner Bros.' recent statements on increasing the amount of live-service content in its future games and following theMortal Kombat 1Fatality controversies.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as the Suicide Squad to take down the World’s Greatest DC Super Heroes, The Justice League. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, is a genre-defying, action-adventure third-person shooter from Rocksteady Studios, creators of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series.
