Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Review – Bang Bang, My Antihero Shot Me Down

Legendary studio Rocksteady Studios makes its triumphant return after nearly a decade away with Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. You likely know them best for revolutionizing superhero games with the critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham trilogy. Now they’re back in the DC Comics sandbox with a bang.

This raucous third-person shooter transports players to the fan-favorite Arkhamverse, letting them wreak havoc across a bright, chaotic Metropolis. You lead the rowdy Task Force X squad – Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark and Captain Boomerang – on a mission to take down a Justice League gone rogue. It’s a recipe for blockbuster fun.

Fans can expect Rocksteady’s signature cinematic flair, with face-melting action scenes and charming banter between DC icons. But this time, gameplay leans into come-as-you-are cooperative chaos rather than solo stealth and sleuthing. Instead of silent takedowns, expect brazen shootouts, spectacular abilities and relentless pursuit across the sprawling cityscape.

Series veterans should note this shared-world experience also folds in live service elements like post-launch content and cosmetic microtransactions. But that online dressing shouldn’t detract from the campaign’s dirty dozen hours of bombastic story moments stitched together by frenzied objective-based missions. Strap in for a wild ride alongside DC’s despicable antiheroes. Rocksteady is back, locked and loaded.

Minds Unhinged: Brainiac’s Plot to Control Earth’s Mightiest

The premise kicks off with a bang. Five years after Batman’s disappearance, Superman’s home turf of Metropolis lies in ruins. An alien overlord named Brainiac has turned the Justice League’s might against its citizens, wrecking supervised havoc against the sprawling cityscape. Lois Lane gives harrowing updates while Amanda Waller once again turns to her band of imprisoned misfits, Task Force X, to handle the dirty work.

Their mission? Take down Earth’s newly-corrupted champions…by any means necessary. The setup oozes personality, pairing Rocksteady’s trademark production values with a flipped script. Fan-favorites like Harley Quinn and Deadshot take center stage, leading to laughs almost as plentiful as headshots thanks to their contagious camaraderie. The banter proves genuinely amusing, even if it occasionally feels one fist-bump away from obnoxious.

Rest assured, plenty of surprises lurk around the corner for longtime Bat-fans, with both winks and necessary connections to the landmark Arkham trilogy. The Dark Knight himself even makes an extended cameo thanks to Kevin Conroy’s haunting farewell performance. Pull no punches seems to be the motto here when it comes to playing with players’ expectations and nostalgia.

Once the squad hits the streets, the campaign rarely loses momentum as players jet between objectives, mixing quips with quelling revolutionary creatures called the Regime. The varied battles serve as perfect breadcrumbs toward the main event: run-ins with The Flash, Green Lantern and other iconic, if understandably ticked off heroes. The road to confrontation weaves a solid comic-inspired yarn where poignant moments feel rightly earned rather than overly telegraphed.

Some twists and depictions inevitably fall flatter than hoped – comics diehards will surely pick apart particular narrative choices. But the provocative direction generally refreshes Rocksteady’s creative juices rather than strays needlessly. Come ready to see Superman and spunky Suicide Squad members alike in a whole new light – and prepare for a finale that pulls no punches.

Arkhamverse Action Gets More Trigger Happy

Suicide Squad marks a deliberate gear shift for Rocksteady Studios. The creators that perfected hard-hitting yet calculated melee combat now embrace ammunition by the barrel. Make no mistake though: the signature smoothness remains even as the studio levels up to a quicker tempo.

Each antihero feels distinct once you take control. Harley pirouettes through the air with gymnastic grace thanks to her bat drone grappling hook and trusty hammer. Deadshot lives out Heavy Arms fantasies, hovering above the fray while spraying hot lead. Meanwhile Captain Boomerang gets up close and personal thanks to speedy teleports empowered by wrist-mounted Flash fuel.

Most missions task the team with taking down swarms of minions across large spaces, leading to frantic firefights mixed with vaulting verticality. It’s easy to find a flow state once you acclimate to this dance of death – circle an area while unloading rounds into flesh, air dash through projectiles, hammer an enemy to regain health, then grapple to a perch to reload and repeat.

The game offers a robust set of options for tailoring your combat flavor. A branching skill tree lets you customize movement speed, weapon handling and special abilities for your chosen contract killer. The familiar loot grind yields more traditional firepower like assault rifles, shotguns and the like with tweaked stats and bonuses. Within a dozen hours you’ll likely settle on a satisfying loadout to carry you through the rest of the journey.

Some may miss the more methodical and puzzle-like encounters Batman faced in his Arkham days. But the campaign finds ways to vary things up, especially when crossing paths with A-list heroes. A battle against willpower incarnate in Green Lantern memorably spans a sprawling arena with strategic cover opportunities. And quickly interrupting The Flash’s attacks requires almost rhythmic timing. Each face-off unfolds as a multi-phase endurance test demanding mastery of your entire toolkit.

That climactic energy doesn’t always carry over into standard missions, unfortunately. Whether clearing civilians from a collapsing bridge or defending gear from Regime raids, a lot of objectives share the same defend/escort/infiltrate templates. The repetitive structures doubly disappoint given the wasted potential of Metropolis’ verticality and Squad abilities for set piece moments.

Nevertheless, Suicide Squad mostly rewards the player’s inner adrenaline junkie over those seeking intricate challenges. Spray-and-pray matches might lack finesse, but they deliver blood-pumping spectacle as you trade steel rain with Brainiac’s army.

A Playground Fit for Gods and Monsters

Metropolis shines as an unconquered urban playground where players battle for air supremacy. The sprawling cityscape combines art deco skyscrapers with retrofuturistic technology to create a utopian landscape both stylish and wondrous. Tourist hotspots like the Daily Planet building not only dazzle the eyes, but also serve as ideal staging grounds for Kingdom Come-like clashes.

Developers lavish attention on exterior spaces for maximum super-powered impact while interior, street-level locales remain more sparsely detailed. But given gameplay prioritizes motion and verticality, gazing outward proves more rewarding than routine room-clearing ops.

Getting around town elicits childlike glee thanks to each antihero’s signature movement style. Swinging between skyscrapers as Harley Quinn liberally invokes her inner Spider-cop. King Shark’s super-leaps let players experience the city as bounding behemoths would. Combined with silky smooth controls, racing across rooftops offers some of the most grin-inducing open world traversal around.

Those who fondly recall bounding across cities in Crackdown or Infamous will feel right at home. Yet Metropolis doesn’t quite reach the dizzying levels of environmental interactivity seen in past open world sandboxes. Most fixtures exist solely as set dressing rather than gameplay opportunity. It’s perhaps understandable given the Justice League poses threat enough without factoring in destructible set pieces. But added variability and purpose to what lies between objectives would enhance replayability.

An urban environment brimming with metahuman monuments also magnifies noticeable gaps around civilian presence. The oddly vacant city strips vibrancy and life even while buildings crumble spectacularly thanks to Brainiac’s mandibles. Players will yearn for the bustling urban melting pots found in Rocksteady’s expertly realized takes on Gotham City. Metropolis ultimately serves its purpose as a picturesque playhouse, if not a truly lived-in locale.

Chaotic Co-Op With Competitive Comforts

Rocksteady leans into Squad’s shared world potential for those seeking camaraderie alongside wanton destruction. The entire campaign supports up to four player co-op with easy drop-in functionality. Simply sending an invite allows friends to join your instance, or matchmaking with randoms takes mere moments rather than marathon queue times.

The collaborative focus fosters lively competition through more than high score chasing. A post-mission tally declares a singular Squad leader based on factors like enemies defeated and damage dealt. The premier antihero selects the next main story or side mission, incentivizing skillful showboating between allies.

Even solo players benefit from quality-of-life adjustments that make the game more approachable. Your AI companions sport actual friends’ custom characters in a clever Social Squad mechanic, earning them bonuses for fights they didn’t directly participate in. Daily and weekly challenges similarly sync across all modes so players don’t miss out on progress.

The thoughtful conveniences should help extend staying power for those not normally keen on service-style slogs. Speaking of, diligent assassins will find substantial quests and goals awaiting in the endgame, with more on the way. Once Brainiac faces judgment, the fight shifts to reclaiming Metropolis sectors while battling newly surfaced villains.

A steady stream of free episodic updates lies ahead as well, bringing new locales, missions, characters, enemies and themed events. The staggered roadmap should hopefully prevent content droughts if players blast through the initial offerings quicker than expected. Just don’t expect the same staggering value as say, a full-fat MMORPG.

Of course the game won’t completely shy away from monetization mechanics expected nowadays. A straightforward cosmetics-only battle pass allows those willing to pay the chance to unlock extra character and weapon skins outside the ample options earned through normal play. Compared to the egregious advantages offered by some live-service peers, Suicide Squad’s stays in harmless territory.

Coordinating ability combos and competing for effusive glory should satisfy bloodthirsty teammates. And ongoing content plans provide reassuring support that Metropolis’ future remains bright.

Sights and Sounds From the Frontlines

Suicide Squad frequently astonishes thanks to splendid presentation, ensuring Metropolis’ downfall dazzles as much as the Justice League itself. Rocksteady’s cinematic prowess shines through lavish character close-ups overflowing with emotional range. Squint and you’ll swear you’re watching a big budget movie, not polygons puppeteered by code. The visual storytelling equally impresses during frenzied shootouts where combat fluidity joins sharp resolution even under duress.

While humanoid models and materials astonish, creature design ranges more routinely. Iconic DC beasts like Parademons make welcome appearances, but most original beings lack intricacy. Still, what the common infantry may lack in looks they make up for in tactical diversity. Medics, engineers, and commanders all force players to vigilantly cycle through offensive strategy, even if landing headshots becomes rote.

Matching the onscreen action, foley work and thunderous sound design will tickle your home theater setup. The full audio spectrum fills out Metropolis’ war-torn landscape, from gentle winds to earth-shattering punches careening into buildings. Top tier voice talent like returning veterans Tara Strong and Debra Wilson sink their teeth into the salty script. And though the soundtrack stays subtly low key, it punctuates encounters with propulsive urgency or heroic horns as appropriate.

With vivid colors, vivacious models, boisterous sounds and slick performance even on base consoles, Suicide Squad sells its blockbuster ambition at almost every angle. Some corners may be creatively cut to maintain smooth gameplay, but the presentation rarely rests on its laurels.

Growing Pains Persist

Given Suicide Squad’s always-online requirement, a smooth launch proved imperative to positive player experiences. Unfortunately, significant server issues on day one resulted in almost ten hours of downtime as users struggled to connect. Such a critical failure managing core infrastructure suggests the developers underestimated the necessary capacity for their player base.

Thankfully, an offline mode is slated to release post-launch, reducing reliance on backend connectivity. But it remains unclear exactly how much content will be accessible once offline, given live elements bake deeply into progression systems. Players can only hope for a robust amount of playable content rather than a sliver.

Beyond online woes, reports indicate relatively stable client-side performance otherwise. Some noted occasional crashing back to the menu screen during lengthy play sessions, but nothing prolific or game-breaking. Hit detection and movement responsiveness also avoid common pitfalls that plague other live service titles sailing out the gate.

Of course, one can expect the typical helping of visual glitches, awkward physics and scripting quirks often peppered throughout ambitious open world titles. But again, Suicide Squad dodges anything severely impacting the meaty missions themselves even 30+ hours past launch.

Overall the technical mishaps seem the unfortunate product of modern game development’s messy triage rather than negligence. We remain confident Rocksteady will smooth the stability cracks over time given their sterling track record. Once connection conundrums settle, this shapes up as one of the cleaner feeling service-style launches in recent memory.

Yay Or Nay: The Squad Awaits Your Order

Rocksteady’s risky genre leap results in a solid superhero spectacle, if not one matching the storytelling heights of the heralded Arkham franchise. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League most assuredly brings the bombastic gameplay to match its explosive name. The cooperative combat weaves gunplay, melee and movement into kinetic carnage, especially when facing off against iconic League members. Its collection of DC B-listers likewise charm throughout the dozen hour campaign, trading laughs as frequently as bullets. Yet derivative mission design and technically troubled launch hold it back from truly astonishing.

Those less obsessed with ongoing live service engagement may come away slightly underwhelmed. The repetitive objectives linking story beats lean hard into bang over variety. But fans of the format’s grind will find plenty to occupy their post-game time while awaiting meaty updates. And serious comic devotees shouldn’t hesitate to witness Suicide Squad’s subversively heroic moments across Metropolis’ striking landscapes.

In a time when service-minded spectacles often fizzle weeks later, Rocksteady’s latest shows outstanding potential for deity-defying escapades in the months ahead. Will Suicide Squad evolve into a GaaS great over periodic content drops? That awaits to be seen. For now, DC diehards can rest easy knowing Task Force X stands worthy of the Arkhamverse’s living legacy – even if their ultimate fate teeters towards villainy rather than valor.

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