First impressions of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League have been shared on the internet following a hands-on event hosted by Warner Bros for press and streamers. As a result, new, official footage of the game has been shared online by several media outlets to provide a better look at how the game plays in its open world map, as well as some of its more linear missions and boss fights, with a look at each character’s playstyle. The new footage also shows that despite what many theorized from early footage, the gameplay isn’t Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s biggest problem.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League follows Amanda Waller’s Task Force X, a team comprised of some of the DC Universe’s rogues as they battle a brainwashed version of DC’s primary superhero team, the Justice League. Unlike Rocksteady’s previous Batman: Arkham games, which were single-player action-adventure experiences with stealth and a then-revolutionary Freeflow combat system, Suicide Squad: KTJL is a third-person shooter that can be played solo or in a group of up to four players via online co-op.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League – Release Date, Characters, & Gameplay
After several delays, Suicide Squad: KTJL will return to the Arkhamverse as Task Force X takes on mind-controlled members of the Justice League.
There Has Been Controversy Surrounding Suicide Squad: KTJL
Arkhamverse Fans Have Been Vocal About Suicide Squad’s New Direction
Although Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was always marketed as a shooter, those who watched the gameplay reveal at Sony’s February 2023 State of Play still voiced their opinions about how the shooting mechanics didn’t seem as revolutionary as the melee-based Freeflow combat system, and compared them to other shooters on the market such as Fortnite, Destiny, or even the failed Crackdown 3. There was also heavy criticism of the live-service elements in the game following a leaked menu page that showed a Battle Pass and an in-game store, with some suggesting that the title would be DC’s answer to the failed Marvel’s Avengers.
Unlike the Closed Alpha Playtest in December 2023, in which players signed NDAs forbidding them from discussing their experience – something that has now been lifted by a post on the official Suicide Squad game X account – those who played the game at Warner Bros’ event were encouraged to voice their opinions about Rocksteady’s latest Arkhamverse game from the start. This has led to discussions surrounding the studio’s depiction of the wider DC universe after leaving the confines of Gotham City for the first time, as well as its gameplay.
There have been some mixed reactions surrounding its gameplay, although Rocksteady has been praised largely for its storytelling and portrayal of the characters in Suicide Squad: KTJL, including several DC icons who are being introduced to the Arkhamverse for the first time, alongside the return of the studio’s acclaimed depiction of Batman, being fan-favorite Batman actor Kevin Conroy’s final performance in the role as he finished recording it before his passing in November 2022.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League – Every Confirmed Character
Suicide Squad: KTJL is set to have an impressive roster of DC characters, with several characters also returning from Rocksteady’s Arkhamverse.
Suicide Squad: KTJL’s Gameplay Isn’t That Bad
Once Mastered, Chaining Attacks Can Be Satisfying In Suicide Squad: KTJL
Having played Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s Alpha Playtest last year, the gameplay isn’t as bad as many may have believed from that early footage. All four members of the team have unique methods of traversal with Deadshot’s jetpack, Harley Quinn’s use of Batman’s drone and grapple, Boomerang’s boomerangs which have been enhanced by Doctor Sivana’s Speed Force Gauntlet, and King Shark’s mystical powers which can be used to jump to great heights. Despite the different approaches, once mastered, players can get across the city at roughly the same speed as their teammates, meaning nobody is left behind or waiting for anyone to catch up to start a mission.
While the game’s shooter mechanics work for Deadshot or Harley Quinn, with one being an expert marksman, and the other seen using guns at points throughout the previous Batman: Arkham games, it did seem out of place for some characters such as Captain Boomerang, whose whole arsenal of weapons is boomerang-themed in the comics, or King Shark, who seems more suited to a melee-heavy approach. Fortunately, this is made up for through the characters’ specific special moves or melee attacks, in which King Shark can rip apart his foes with two large bladed weapons, and Captain Boomerang can throw special boomerangs to deal damage, and these special moves can be completely satisfying when chained together with the gunplay and traversal to take out large groups or heavy artillery.
Will Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League Be Cross-Platform & Have Crossplay?
Will Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League players be able to form teams to take on Brainiac regardless of their chosen gaming platform?
Suicide Squad: KTJL’s Biggest Problem Is Its HUD
Suicide Squad: KTJL’s HUD Can Be Messy And Overwhelming At Times
Unfortunately, as satisfying as the gameplay can be at times, the biggest problem is that it can be obscured by an overly cluttered Heads Up Display at points. Throughout the game, the HUD shows the map, health bar, and ammo counter, as is fairly standard. However, as pointed out by Yong Yea on X, the screen can also be filled with other messages informing players how many collectibles have been picked up, what their other teammates’ scores are, mission objectives, combo multipliers, or repeatedly showing tutorial messages for special moves, despite players likely mastering these early on. Other X users such as TheIsikawaRin called it “Ubisoft syndrome at its peak“, evoking memories of the “If Ubisoft Made Elden Ring” memes that circulated around the time of Elden Ring‘s launch.
While it could be argued that the Batman: Arkham games also displayed button prompts, these only appeared when necessary, and didn’t result in as cluttered an appearance due to their font and size. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s HUD, however, uses larger icons, and while it doesn’t constantly occur throughout the game, it can be overwhelming when multiple messages and icons do appear simultaneously, especially as this tends to happen when fending off large waves of enemies in the online co-op mode.
In the Alpha, there was the option to turn off the damage counters for those who don’t like numbers appearing above their opponents’ heads, but some other holographic elements from characters’ special moves, or HUD elements could still heavily obscure the action for other players, with Boomerang’s special move involving an over-the-top Fruit Machine-esque holographic icon as it takes down a huge group, or Deadshot’s many explosives going off at once during his to create smoke cloud being two particular examples. It’s yet to be seen how much more customization Rocksteady will include for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s HUD, and how many of these options can be hidden to provide a more satisfying appearance, but hopefully, the studio will take note of players’ feedback and incorporate this option if it’s not already included at launch.
Sources: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League/X, Yong Yea/X, TheIsikawaRin/X
Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League
Set in the Arkham game universe, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an action third-person shooter live-service game from the developers at Rocksteady. Players will choose from one of four members in the Suicide Squad, headed by Amanda Waller, as they’re forced to take on their most difficult challenge yet – to face a corrupted slate of the world’s greatest heroes, including the Flash, Batman, and Superman. The game allows for teams of up to four players as characters collect gear to improve their chances of survival.
- Franchise
- Batman: Arkham , D.C.
- Platform(s)
- PC , PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X
- Released
- February 2, 2024
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Shooter , Adventure , Action
- ESRB
- Not Yet Rated
