This game shouldn’t have been made. Let me explain.
Batman: Arkham Knight was released on June 23, 2015. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was released on January 30, 2024. Quick math will show you that’s its been 8 years, 7 months, and 7 days in between those releases. After playing and beating the main campaign in SS, I don’t know how it took that long for a team as highly regarded as Rocksteady to make a game so unbelievably average.
There is nothing about the gameplay, story, or world to justify almost 9 years worth of work. I tried multiple times to lay out my opinions in a more straightforward way but every time I did that, I found myself comparing it to the Arkham games almost every time. So, instead of fighting it, I decided to lean into it.
Playable Characters
Arkham Series:
A vast majority of the time, you play as Batman. It’s not until the second installment where you play as other characters in the DLC for the game. This version of Batman is the most true-to-form version of the character. It is heavily implied that most, if not all, of the events in classic Batman comics has happened prior to the beginning of Arkham Asylum. As you progress through these games, you witness and learn what makes him one of the best superheroes ever created. You dive into his insecurities and fears thanks to Scarecrow. You contemplate his flaws (mainly his no-kill rule and it’s consequences) courtesy of the Joker. The story is a shining example of what it takes to do what he does and how dedicated one has to be to continuously do the right against all odds.
Suicide Squad: KTJL:
There are 4 playable characters at launch: Harley Quinn, Boomerang, King Shark, and Deadshot. Each character is true to their roots of being villains but something is….missing. Throughout the game, there’s almost no character arc in any of them. They are recruited by Amanda Waller, follow her instructions, and simultaneously try to figure out a way to defuse the bombs in their heads. There’s no arc about how Harley got over the death of the Joker and what she has been up to since then. There’s no backstory about King Shark at all. Deadshot mentions he has a daughter a couple of times. Of all people, Boomerang reveals the most about himself when he reveals that the reason he hates the Flash is because he “made him look like a fool” but then just doesn’t go into any detail at all. AND that was after Flash was dead and it was random banter while traversing the world. Simply put, there is no difference in the characters from the start of the game to the end. After defeating Brainiac, they are still under Waller’s control and are still horrible people.
Gameplay
Arkham Series:
This is where the Arkham games thrived and shined a spotlight on Rocksteady studios. A way to describe it would be simplistic with endless possibilities. As Batman facing a group of thugs, you can attack head on or wait for one of them to attack first and counter. After a few punches/kicks, you knock the thug down (but not out). It usually takes a few knockdowns to render the thug unconscious. From that formula, the games introduce a variety of gadgets and moves that you can use on these thugs. You can grapple them towards you and clothesline them, you can stun them with a Remote Electrical Charge, you can throw Batarangs, plant Explosive Gels, stun enemies with your cape, leap over thugs to attack from behind, Ground Pound after a knockdown, throw enemies at other enemies, use environmental interactables, and much more. Along with those abilities, the game throws different enemy types at you that needs to be dealt with differently than regular thugs. Riot Shields, Ninjas, thugs with shock sticks, Titan-infused thugs, Brutes, Gunners, Medics, Robots, and other all have unique styles of dealing damage to Batman and how to subdue them. There’s also another layer to the combat in the form of combos. After you reach a certain threshold, Batman is able to use a Takedown to “insta-kill” most enemies complimented by a cool and brutal animation. The way this combat system is honed allows the player to jump from one thug to the next and, with enough practice, take on a whole squad in epic fashion. So much so, that there was (and still is) a whole community of players that try their hand in the free Combat Challenges. Players compete for high scores by fighting wave after wave of endless thugs, racking up combos in the hundreds. I myself went 45 minutes nonstop in a Combat Challenge in Arkham City only to fall when my hand started cramping.
The combat system is only half of the gameplay meta in the Arkham series. Batman is mostly known for his stealth and his ability to use the shadows to his advantage. Rocksteady mixed in plenty of scenarios where Batman enters a room full of thugs armed to the teeth with guns. A head on attack would most certainly mean failure. So you mostly have to use the conveniently placed gargoyles/ledges/vents to track the thugs’ respective routes and take them out one by one until who ever is left can be managed. This also allows Rocksteady to be creative with the level design and introduces even more thug varieties like ones with night vision goggles that can spot Batman lurking; or ones that have tech jammers which hinder Batman’s ability to scan his surroundings. I will certainly say that the stealth levels throughout the Arkham games aren’t nearly as robust as it’s combat system but it served as a nice break and made you switch gears mentally in order to proceed.
SS: KTJL:
If you thought that this game built on the playstyle of the Arkham series, guess again. Although there are four playable characters and they are perceived to have different abilities, their mains weapons are…guns. There are 6 types of guns and they are: Pistol, Submachine gun, Assault rifles, Sniper rifles, Miniguns, and Shotguns. Each gun type as specific attributes and not every character can use every type of gun. Along with the guns, players can use Melee attacks, throw grenades, perform Suicide Strikes and Finishers. Finishers are similar to Batman’s Takedown move in the Arkham series where they are ‘insta-kills’ most of the time. Suicide Strikes are a way to deal a lot of damage to a group of enemies. Both Suicide Strikes and Finishers fill up via meters during combat.
The enemy types are some version of Brainiac ‘enhanced’ aliens (formerly humans)… that have guns. There are snipers, brutes, tanks, helicopters, Flash-enhanced grunts, Batman-enhanced grunts, and Terminauts. I expect them to add more enemy types as new seasons are released but we’ll see. Most of the time, you can just shoot every enemy with your guns to kill them although, some Missions add difficulty modifiers such as ‘critical damage only’ or ‘immune to Suicide Strikes’ to spice things up. Comparatively, there was much less thought put into the combat loop than the Arkham games.
So far, there is no other type of gameplay in SS: KTJL. There is just the different types of Missions. These Missions are honestly very uninspiring and there are only 4 types: Tower Defense, Escort, Rescue, or Collection. Even though each type of Mission has it’s own core objective, the gist of them stay the same; fly/jump around and shoot purple bad guys with your guns. I really wish there was more to say but I promise you, this is it. Besides the boss battles (I’ll get to that in a sec), this is all that this game is. There’s nothing unique or intuitive about the gameplay loop. There’s no creativity going into this. It’s not even mentally satisfying to play like the Arkham Combat Challenges.
Riddler Challenges
Arkham Series:
The Riddler is a lingering threat in the Arkham games who provides the player with ample riddles to solve and trophies to find. Batman feels responsible for capturing the Riddler after he escapes Arkham Asylum during Joker’s takeover. He reveals the he has hidden puzzles all over the island and boasts that his intellect is superior to that of Batman’s. Little does the Riddler know, every time he opens up a communication with Batman, he is slowly revealing his location, so Batman decides to play along. Riddles are presented to Batman whenever he enters a certain area on the map. The riddles can be solved by scanning particular objects within the world that fit the respective riddle. Trophies are hidden around the map that Batman not only has to locate but also use his gadgets and creativity to access (I remember some of them being rather difficult and, I’ll admit, I had to look up how to obtain). After the events ini Arkham Asylum, he is thrown into Arkham City with everybody else. After Arkham City he was apparently freed due to Arkham City being unlawful and he had his charges dropped. In each sequel, Riddler raises the stakes by capturing hostages, introducing new types of challenges and colludes with other notable villains. In Arkham Asylum alone, there are 240 Riddler Challenges. In Arkham City, there are 440. In Arkham Knight, there are 243.
SS: KTJL
Riddler is, once again, on the loose. This time because he helped the Arkham guards with their taxes (?). So now, he decides to go to Metropolis for some reason and test the intellects of the Suicide Squad. I was willing look past that because I missed these challenges and I believed they were a core component of what made the Arkham series so great. Well, like everything else in this game, I was disappointed. There are three types of Riddler Challenges: Riddles, Trophies, and AR Challenges. The Riddles were VERY easy and half the time it was just scanning a large sign on a building. The Trophies were not hard to obtain as in there were no obstacles or puzzles to solve in order to reach them. A vast majority of the time, they were simply hanging upside down from a ceiling and their exact location was automatically marked on your map if you came into close proximity while doing anything else. The AR Challenges are just rings that you fly/jump through and you have to beat a certain time. I beat every AR Challenge on the first try. There are 21 Riddles, 13 AR Challenges, and 40 Trophies….so 74 Riddler Challenges in total. That is 1/3 the amount of Riddler Challenges of Arkham Asylum and nowhere near as difficult. When I realized this, that’s when the disappointment really started to settle in.
Now, that’s enough of comparing it to the past. As you play SS: KTJL, it becomes very clear that this is not the same team that made the Arkham games. The dedication to excellence, the respect to the characters, and the overall ability to entertain the audience is just not present here. This brings us to the story. The main objective of the game is indeed to kill the Justice League. Personally, I have no problem with that. There are plenty of instances where something like this could work and it’s been done before (Injustice is a great example). HOWEVER, nothing about this story in particular makes any sense. Let me explain.
Brainiac has invaded Metropolis and has the goal of brainwashing the Justice League in order to take control of the planet and then proceed to terraform it into his former homeworld of Colu after it was seemingly destroyed (pretty much the plot of Man of Steel). At the start of the game, there’s technically only 3 members of the Justice League that have been brainwashed by Brainiac so far: Green Lantern, Superman, and Batman. This apparently happened when Brainiac shows up and asks the League to “talk”. Superman gives him the benefit of the doubt and goes to Brainiac’s ship accompanied by Batman, Green Lantern, and the Flash (Wonder Woman was busy, I guess). They are captured and brainwashed (exact details unknown) but the Flash escapes. The fact that Brainiac was able to simultaneously overpower Superman’s strength, Batman’s intellect, and Green Lantern’s will automatically makes him the ultimate power in the universe. I’m talking this world breaking stuff. With Superman alone, Brainiac could easily snuff out all life on the planet.
Anyway, Amanda Waller, commander of ARGUS, sees this after WEEKS and decides to put together a team to try and salvage what is left and find a way to stop Brainiac’s plan. So…. she picks Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang…. King Shark is the only member that has real superpowers which are strength (no where near Superman’s level) and the ability to jump high/far. The SS arrive in Metropolis and things look bad. The squad is almost immediately apprehended by Green Lantern and shown around for plot reasons (why he didn’t just immediately kill them all, I don’t know). Then Flash shows up and saves the SS by distracting Green Lantern. Waller wants the Flash brought into the fold so the SS set out to find him. They find him beaten and battered going in and out of consciousness. FYI, the fight between Green Lantern and Flash happened OFF-SCREEN. The SS grab Flash and retreat into the nearest museum called “The Batman Experience” which recounts the events of the Arkham games. Well, guess who’s lurking around…Batman. He has obviously been brainwashed and is actively killing civilians for pretty much no reason. He kills the power and forces the SS to split up and walk around in the dark… that’s pretty much all you do as the player and you wait for him to take you out one by one. One thing leads to another and Batman takes Flash back to Brainiac (why he didn’t just immediately them all, I don’t know). So now the only member not under Brainiacs control is Wonder Woman.
Now that we are at this point in the story, let’s just get straight into the boss fights. The rest of the story is nothing but meeting other D-List villains and how they are able to enhance your weapons.
The Flash
The first member of the Justice League you face is the Flash. You obtain some type of technology from Lex Luthor (who is then killed by Flash) that is able to reject the Speed Force if Flash comes within close proximity. Cool, great. But still, how are the SS supposed to shoot the fastest man alive with guns? That question is not answered. Instead, you counter Flash’s attack when a big symbol appears around him and build up a meter. How do you counter? Oh…well… you shoot him with a ‘special’ bullet. That’s all you know as the player, I honestly can’t tell you more. Once this meter is full, you are then able to shoot the Flash and cause damage. No, I still don’t know how that works or why Flash didn’t just run away when he realized he could take damage. Instead, you just shoot him until is health bar is depleted and he just kills over. The cutscene starts with him just lying on his back already dead; no last words, no dramatic death scene, no proper send off…just dead. Boomerang then proceeds to take a piss on him, even knowing that Flash saved his life like an hour ago. Also important to note that the body has no bullet holes in it despite being shot thousands of times between the 4 members of the SS. Green Lantern then shows up ready to kill them and Brainiac opens a portal for some reason and the SS jump through. They end up on Earth-2 and return to Earth-1 with a new Lex Luthor, Lex-2.
Green Lantern
Next on the list is Green Lantern. Waller needs Green Lantern out of the occasion as he is protecting Brainiac’s ship with an energy shield construct. Lex-2 just so happens to have Yellow Lantern batteries that Batman was keeping as a contingency plan. So, the SS go and confront Green Lantern. The boss battle itself consist of the SS shooting Green Lantern’s constructs which fills up a meter. When the meter is full, you can shoot him and deal damage….that’s it. I’m telling you a first year game level designer thought of this. Once you beat him, Green Lantern ends up on his back but this time he’s not dead yet. Him and Deadshot go back and forth since they don’t like each other (it is never explained why) and it ends with Deadshot executing him followed up by a cringey one-liner. With the Green Lantern dead, the shield somehow stays up…. SO WHAT WAS THE POINT OF KILLING HIM??? This is where the game lost me completely. It is well known that when a Green Lantern dies, the ring detects this and flies off to find a new wearer that is worthy of it. In this story, it does not and just stays on his finger. King Shark then forcefully takes the ring and puts it on. He constructs a giant shark that rams the shield and creates a hole. The shark then turns around and is headed straight for the SS (not sure why). The team then pry the ring off of King Sharks finger and it falls into the bay, never to be seen again and presumably just sits there forever. It then cuts to Green Lantern on the floor dead in his underwear.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is the only member of the Justice League that isn’t killed by the SS. Unfortunately, Superman has that honor. The SS are helpless as they watch the two go at it for what felt like 30 minutes. In the end, it is revealed that due to Brainiacs brainwashing, Superman is longer affected by regular green Kryptonite, which Wonder Woman ws depending on and leads to her death. The SS were literally 20 feet away from this and instead of Superman taking half of a second to laser them all in half, he flies off towards Brainiac’s ship to heal. The weird thing about the death of Wonder Woman is that it was the only one that was a big deal. For whatever reason, they all liked her and were sad that she died. When any other member of the JL died, they were either happy or indifferent. So, why all of sudden, do they care about Wonder Woman especially when she was the only one that was rude to them and NOT brainwashed? The complete tonal shift makes no sense. Shouldn’t they be sort of relieved that Superman killed her instead of capturing her and taking her to Brainiac to be brainwashed? Speaking of… why didn’t that happen? Brainiac just lost the Flash and Green Lantern, wouldn’t filling the gap with Wonder Woman be his top priority? She is almost evenly matched with Superman and has no glaring weaknesses like Kryptonite. Whatever…. the writers just expect the players to not think and just keep going.
Batman
So, after learning that Superman’s DNA has been changed to nullify the effects of Kryptonite, Lex-2 determines that we need to know exactly what changes were made. To accomplish this, he recommends the team go capture Batman and bring him in so that tests can be run. Yea sure, why not? With the convenient timing of Gizmo, he states that he can find the Batcave using his homemade “Batmobile”. You find the cave and enter. It’s pretty empty and doesn’t have all the mementos since this is a sister cave in Metropolis. After looking around and finding the Batcomputer, Batman appears and the boss fight begins. The first half of the boss fight is almost identical to that of the ‘Batman Experience’ in the beginning of the game where you cycle through each character. Batman has filled the cave with fear toxin so there are a few hallucinations and Batman continuously tries to sneak up on you while talking shit. The last character you play as is Harley and when she pulls the last lever, Batman believes that he has won. However, Harley reveals that she has made her own fear toxin after spending time with Scarecrow in Arkham (something that was not even hinted at prior). Harley releases her fear toxin and the second half of the boss fight begins. Batman appears as a giant, overarching demon looking thing and has like 3 attacks which you can just jump over. Can you guess how you defeat him? That’s right… you shoot him. Once you defeat him, he is incapacitated but not dead. You take him to Lex-2 and he runs tests on how Brainiac altered the DNA of the JL. After doing so, he creates Gold Kryptonite, capable of taking down Superman. To lure him out, they take Batman to the center of Metropolis. Harley then proceeds to scold Batman like he’s the bad guy (seriously… she says he “caused long-term mental and emotional damage to everyone you knew”…. who the fuck wrote this garbage?) and then proceeds to shoot him in the head. The last we see of Batman is on his back in a pool of his own blood. All that character development in the Arkham series… gone. Like it never happened.
Superman
Immediately after Batman’s death, Brainiac sends Superman to deal with the SS. Armed with Gold Kryptonite, the boss battle begins straight away. To defeat Superman, you need to counter his attacks and build up a meter to be able to deal damage (yes, almost exactly like the Flash fight). Once you defeat him, he just kills over. No last words or any big hoopla (yes, almost exactly like the Flash’s death). I wish there was more to write about the SS’s interaction with Superman, but that’s literally it.
After the SS defeat Superman, they are finally confronted by Brainiac. Before he could do any harm, Lex-2 teleports the team to safety (How? I don’t know). The team decides to take the fight to Brainiac and goes to Earth-2. Here it is revealed that there are, in fact, 12 Brainiacs that are working together. This particular Brainiac identifies himself as Vril Dox, or Brainiac 2. He transforms himself into a Flash look-a-like and the final boss battle commences. If you haven’t guessed, it’s literally the Flash’s boss fight from earlier in the game. You have to counter him to build up a meter and then you can damage him. The only difference is he spawns his minions to help. Once defeated, you take him back to Earth 1 where Lex-2 and Waller extract a live sample they need to find the other Brainiacs and then they kill him.
So that’s the end of the story and the endgame starts where you have to keep playing the same missions over and over and over so that you can collect enough currency or whatever to go find the other Brainiacs. Rocksteady is planning on providing free DLC for the rest of 2024 as they really want to milk the Live Service aspect. In my opinion, I don’t think this game makes it past 2024. There are already more players that have gone back to Arkham Knight that are currently playing SS: KTJL according to Steam’s numbers. It’s a real bummer that this game ended up the way it did and there’s probably nothing they could do to make me return and I have a good feeling that I’m not the only one that thinks that way.
In conclusion, this game should’ve been scrapped early on in development. The Suicide Squad can be an interesting read from time to time but the truth is that the team is made up of C-tier villains that no one really relates to. To have that team be able to take on the Justice League (with no limitations) is downright preposterous and a truly impossible task. This is the worst thing Rocksteady has ever made and could result in downsizing or just an outright closing of the studio.
Tired Consumer 
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