Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is out for early access, and the reception has been vastly polarizing. The game has been developed for seven years, and many expected much from it. It’s time to check whether it was worth the wait or a complete disappointment.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Overview

The premise of the game is in the name itself. Amanda Wheeler has assembled a Suicide Squad composed of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark to kill the Brainiac-controlled Justice League. While the game is set in the Arkham-verse, Kill the Justice League occurs in Superman’s home turf, Metropolis. In the ruined state of the city, the Suicide Squad is out on the hunt for heroes gone rogue.

The game allows you to take control of the four characters and switch back and forth between them at any given time. Each villain or hero in this game provides unique gameplay and combat style with varying traversal movements. Players can also upgrade the Suicide Squad with powerful items to reach their full potential. 

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Actual Review

As mentioned earlier, the community’s opinion on the game is vastly polarizing. Many cannot accept the story’s progression, especially the ending for Arkham’s Batman. Those who focused mainly on gameplay have praised the game’s combat and playstyle, which is top-notch. However, both sides can agree that Rocksteady to make it a live-service model is questionable. Here is everything we have seen from the game:

Inconsistent Story Plots and Characterizations

The most criticized aspect of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League is how it depicts the Justice League. Many have even decided to refund or avoid the game, primarily for this reason.

The most understandable reason to hate the game’s story is due to its treatment of Batman. The Caped Crusader was the titular hero of the previous Arkham titles. Batman also defeated Harley Quinn in the earlier games, so it makes even less sense that he is so easily beaten in such an undignified way for Suicide Squad. 

However, it wasn’t that Batman was defeated by the Suicide Squad that irked Arkham-verse fans, but the way he went out. Many pointed out that Arkham Knight didn’t even put much of a fight and provided less challenge to a group of villains. This is even worse when it is shown in the beginning that the Caped Crusader was able to overpower the squad. If Rocksteady had made the fight more challenging and engaging, perhaps fans would have accepted his fate more willingly. 

Another part of the hate in the game’s story are the inconsistencies present. Many DC fans are unwilling to accept that figures like the Flash or Green Lantern, both powerbombs in the JL, were defeated by a group of villains deemed weaker than them. Many were even more furious that the Suicide Squad could kill Superman without the use of magic. While the villains being able to defeat the superpowered team isn’t unbelievable, Rocksteady could have made their storyline more solid if they explored the plot further or made some apparent intricacies that showed why the Suicide Squad had the edge instead of just having plot armor.

Things could have been more coherent if players could explore how each Suicide Squad member developed post-Arkham to justify their wins. While we can appreciate Rocksteady’s decision not to focus much on the Justice League, the narrative could have benefited from more fleshed-out endings. Instead of just slumping over or giving one last vindictive monologue, players could have gotten more engaging endings for each.

It’s well established that Suicide Squad’s narrative is its weakest point, but the actual boss fights don’t add any engaging elements either. While we can appreciate the dialogue exchange between both sides, it felt like each Justice League member was just an obstacle to a goal rather than an actual memorable character. Their deaths should have been more impactful to show what’s at stake.

Combat and Gameplay

After discussing the game’s weakest point, it’s appropriate to discuss its most vital aspect: gameplay. Whether you hate the narrative or not, we can all agree that Suicide Squad’s combat and movement mechanics are fluid and superb. Fight sequences are incredibly responsive and dynamic, which makes everything feel more alive.

Swapping back and forth between characters was easy and felt natural, which allowed players to do better combos. None of the villains’ combat styles felt out of place, and their controls were easy to learn and navigate through, which helped gamers feel more at home with the gameplay. On top of that, Suicide Squad shows straightforward combat mechanics that let players enjoy the game’s fast-paced environment. 

The traversal is also highly praised, as each character’s movement was smoother than most triple-A games. Each villain had their unique way of traveling around the world, and their methods didn’t feel forced or clunky. On top of these, their mobility abilities paid tribute to the heroes they are supposedly antagonistic to, like Harley Quinn’s Grappling Hook (representing Batman's signature grappling hook), Captain Boomerang taping into the Speed Force via his projectiles (based on the Flash), and Deadshot’s Jet Pack (representing Green Lantern’s ability to fly).

Repetitive Content and Live Service Model

While the game’s combat mechanic and traversal are enjoyable initially, players might quickly tire of the repetitive content they need to do to progress. Rocksteady didn’t introduce any variety in what type of missions gamers can experience, resulting in these features feeling bland and lacking substance. The game repeats tiresome missions like escorting payloads or securing zones, which seem unrelated to killing the League members.

One of the game’s weakest points is its Live Service Model, which many gamers are not fans of. The decision to follow this system might feel off, but it’s the best that the studio made to ensure that the game has replayability. Currently, Suicide Squad feels too repetitive and boring for players to continue playing it after they finish the story. Still, its Live Service Model might pay off if it can bring more engaging and entertaining DLCs in the future. 

UI and Graphics

Suicide Squad has superb graphics, and there is no doubt about it. There aren’t any noticeable glitches or bugs that would ruin players’ immersion, which is something you would expect from a company like Rocksteady. However, many criticize the game’s over-the-top UI and counters that can introduce too much clutter. 

Players have complained that too many things happen on the screen during combat. Damage counters keep popping up, words flash around the screen, and counters take up space from the side, making the game feel crowded. These issues, paired with the fact that the game has highly advanced graphics, can confuse players and prevent them from focusing on things that matter. Thankfully, Rocksteady foresaw this problem and  integrated an option that allows gamers to turn off or hide specific UIs.

It’s Enjoyable, But Nothing You Might Miss Out On

All in all, Suicide Squad is enjoyable when we just look at its gameplay. Gamers will enjoy it if they seek quick gun gameplay and world exploration. However, lacking diversity and an engaging storyline weakens its strength as an Arkham entry. You won’t feel attached to anything, so you won’t miss anything if you drop the game. If you buy Suicide Squad, you won’t feel like you got scammed, but you won’t feel like you won a prize either. If we were to rate it, it would be 5/10, so it’s up to people if they should get it.