Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (Xbox One/SX)

Spielerisch und storytechnisch kann Suicide Squad mitunter glänzen, beim Pacing steht dem Spiel hingegen manchmal seine eigene Struktur im Weg.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League ist ein neuer Weg für das Arkham-Studio. Es versucht einen Spagat zwischen cool inszenierten Story-Stücken und durchdachtem Live-Service-Spiel zu sein, was beides leider nicht aufgeht. Langweilige Missionen, immer gleiche Abläufe und ein Online-Zwang trüben den Spaß ungemein. Da können auch auch das durchaus befriedigende Shooter-Gameplay und die interessante Prämisse nicht viel retten.

Kill the Justice League is the epitome of, “it gets good X hours in.” It’ll suck at first, then it’ll show you it’s capable of at least some moments of awesomeness. Fans of the DC universe may find a little more value in it, especially if you value narrative over gameplay, but Rocksteady’s latest is simply okay – nothing more or less.

And yet, thanks to repetitive mission structure, wildly messy visual noise, server issues, frequent combat and movement hindrances, and a setting void of personality, it's still well below the quality this studio has shown it's capable of. I consider Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to be the best this melding of heroes and loot grinds has produced so far, but it's a low bar and proof that 'best' doesn't necessarily mean 'good.'

Suicide Squad is technically sound, and the action can be fast, frantic, and occasionally fun. The game could be considered a deconstruction and satirizing of the superhero concept. But for me, the whole thing feels mean-spirited, pessimistic, and glib. In other media, I’ve generally liked the irreverence of the Suicide Squad tales, but everything in this game feels less about laughs and more just joyless. I suppose it can be fun to piss all over any sense of genuine heroism in a comic book-inspired tale, but it can’t come as a great shock when some fans like myself just aren’t interested in the bloody and smug results.

I’m willing to stick around for the long run, seeing what future months and maybe years of content bring to the game, and whether it’s a better end product as a result. But Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League feels like a game that missed the live-service boat entirely, and now pays the price as audiences no longer crave that long-tail approach. Only time will tell whether or not that gambit pays off, but for now, it’s a game of two separate forces, Rocksteady’s ethos and live-service obligations, both pulling in opposite directions.

Rocksteady's talent is so evident in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it almost overcomes the terrible decision to try and make it.