Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

 Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has finally been released on all platforms, and today we're delving into a detailed review of everything the game has to offer. Amidst varied opinions and the fresh identity presented by Rocksteady Studios (the developer behind the Batman: Arkham series), the anticipation for the studio's new project after 8 years since the release of Arkham Knight is significant. Here is a comprehensive review of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.The announcement of both Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad games in 2020 was an unexpected shock for me. WB's clear shift towards utilizing its owned properties to deliver diverse gaming experiences was evident, but upon closer inspection, these games seemed to be crafted with the primary goal of capitalizing on the recognizable names of the characters featured in them.

Ultimately, the concept of a game centered around the Suicide Squad characters appeared more enticing than a cooperative multiplayer game with lesser-known characters.Let's be clear from the start; I don't inherently dislike service-based games, and I acknowledge that many start modestly and later prove themselves. However, I am against the trend some game companies follow of creating a service-oriented game from scratch, exploiting the established reputation of their studios and the iconic characters roped into these projects with a seemingly murky future.

I know this from previous experiences, with games I eagerly anticipated only to be disappointed, such as Crystal Dynamics' Marvel's Avengers and Bioware's Anthem, among others. Suicide Squad doesn't deviate much from this trend, and here are several reasons why. Let's dive into the details.

GAME STORY :

The game's story revolves around the invasion of the Earth by the enemy Braniac. With his ability to control the minds of his adversaries, he seeks to harness their powers for his own agenda. This is precisely what he has done to the Justice League, a group of superheroes dedicated to protecting the Earth from external threats. Braniac's goal is to manipulate them into building an army for him, comprised of similarly subjugated humans, in order to transform Earth into a new version of his ravaged home planet, "Kolu."

A team of "the most dangerous criminals" is assembled into a secret, unethical special forces squad directly under the command of the President of the United States. Led by the ruthless operative Amanda Waller, the squad consists of four of the nation's worst criminals. The reason behind their selection is their expendability, as they are deemed replaceable. They are coerced to work for the secretive agency "Argus" by having bombs implanted in their heads, set to detonate in case of disobedience to Waller's orders or her death. This plot closely mirrors the narratives of the respective character films released in 2016 and 2021. However, the key difference is that this time, the threat lies with the Justice League, making it a more compelling premise than the movies, to be honest.

The game's story unfolds over a span of 10-15 hours, and in its first half, things seemed promising, with a well-crafted narrative and engaging character dialogues throughout. The buildup to battles against the Justice League (boss fights) was thrilling, heightening the anticipation for these encounters, especially the initial meetings with each leader. I believe the first encounters with Batman and Green Lantern are among the best moments presented in Rocksteady's games overall.

However, my issue arose in the final third of the story events, described simply as "rushed." This flaw is not uncommon in story-driven games, but what could make it more bearable or at least diminish its impact is if the gameplay is enjoyable and diverse enough to carry my experience through to the end and beyond. Unfortunately, this did not happen here. In a service-based game supposed to last thousands of hours, I began to feel boredom after just 10 hours.

There are positive aspects to the story, such as the exceptional cinematic storytelling that learned significantly from the mistakes of Gotham Knights. The narrative this time around is excellent, and the cinematic sequences boast the expected Rocksteady quality. The dynamic relationships and constant banter between characters result in numerous amusing moments. Facial expressions have also been meticulously crafted to convey characters' emotions and thoughts effectively. Personally, I was impressed with the portrayals of Harley Quinn and King Shark, to the extent that I'd argue this version of Harley Quinn is superior to Margot Robbie's rendition.

The development studio made a significant mistake in tying the game to the Arkham series and making it a continuation of events. They treated Batman and the legacy of the fantastic series they had built with a considerable degree of disregard and inconsistency. Batman in the game appears as an observer in battles, participating only when the Suicide Squad, comprised of four characters of limited intelligence, reaches his doorstep. During those moments alone does he engage in combat. I never felt any real or perceived threat from the Justice League characters, except perhaps Superman, even though the same development studio excelled in presenting Batman in its previous games.

Gameplay Style :

My biggest issues with the game revolve around the gameplay. Despite being enjoyable at certain moments, I can't help but point out that its foundation has significant and fundamental flaws that make it challenging to build a successful experience on. I mean, who came up with the idea of having a game with four main characters, each armed with firearms? What's even stranger is that even the extraterrestrial enemies use firearms, lacking any innovative abilities whatsoever. This design choice has been frustrating for me since the game was announced, and it remains frustrating after playing it, as it indeed proves to be one of the major drawbacks of the entire experience.

I can't find any explanation for this design choice other than serving the purpose of making the game a serviceable one, implementable with a progression system based on completing the maximum number of missions (Grind) to obtain better gear. The problem is that the capabilities of these characters are only utilized in limited moves obtained through the skill tree. Apart from that, it's just a third-person shooter game relying on the strength of your weapon rather than the character you control.

There's also a significant lack of structural diversity. From the promotional material, I envisioned each character having a unique structure, like Deadshot being the professional sniper with abilities and tools to support that, King Shark being the most aggressive character, and Harley being the one relying more on acrobatics and bombs. But that didn't happen. All the tools are common among all characters, and they all have the same impact. This was particularly frustrating given that the characters have significant potential that could have been better utilized. The physical structure of the four characters, for instance, is vastly different, but this had no effect on the gameplay.

On the positive side, the navigation system has been crafted and designed to be enjoyable. Each character steals a tool from the Justice League for use in navigation, except for King Shark, who has innate high jumping abilities, reminiscent of the navigation in Hulk games on PS2. I enjoyed playing with characters like Deadshot (who navigates with a jetpack) and King Shark, followed by the other characters, Harley (navigates like Batman), and Boomerang (navigates like Flash).

The map is divided into story missions and "support" missions, all of which are somewhat similar in design. There are missions where you rescue trapped people and put them in a vehicle driven by one of your assistant characters to help them escape. Then there are missions where you are required to control specific points for a set amount of time and defend them against enemies. There are also missions that require you to eliminate enemies in specific designated areas. The city's design significantly contributes to making the battles dynamic, featuring a vertical, multi-level layout, and enemies are always randomly distributed in environments, forcing you to constantly jump and move between surfaces and buildings. However, the lack of enemy variety, almost no new types introduced from start to finish, aside from one type with Flash-like abilities, diminishes the overall experience.

There are four types of enemies: regular, armored, giant enemies with specific weak points, and snipers who can shoot from a distance. All these types don't force you to change your fighting style or how to deal with them, as they are all very similar in their movement style and artificial intelligence, not attempting to surprise you in any way. When the game attempts to provide a higher difficulty level, it simply throws large numbers of them at you or makes each enemy receive a large number of shots to be eliminated. This is a common practice in service games, but having it here, amid other more severe drawbacks, makes it unbearable.

Boss battles, which were supposed to be the focal point of the game, were disappointing. Ultimately, you face a group of superheroes armed with firearms. Regardless of the power of those firearms, they are ultimately confined to shooting and firing. This becomes monotonous after the first two hours, especially as the weapons change only in their strength. Because the weapon types themselves are poor and scarce, lacking any creative design or mechanism. I only liked the boss battles visually, but in terms of design, they are just ordinary battles you'd find in shooting games belonging to the PS3 and Xbox 360 era, and it's not acceptable to see such design in 2024.

As for the skill tree, it was among the worst I've seen in the gaming industry in general. It was limited to maximizing the effects of hits, improving the quality of shields and the speed of acquiring them, which is called Buffs and cannot be considered a real upgrade because it only adds a few new moves entirely. Regarding side content, The Riddler character makes a return, but this time his tasks are time-based races inside green rings, where the goal is to finish them in a set time and get a rating. The design is modest, and you'll feel bored with the task after the second mission. There are also puzzles presented by the Riddler, and all you have to do is solve them by looking at the object representing the solution and scanning it. I found this activity to be more enjoyable, but it doesn't give you any extra points or any incentive to complete it.

Suicide Squad Multi-player Mode :

I enjoyed playing the game more when playing solo, despite the game allowing you to play with three of your friends. I wanted to immerse myself in the story and dialogues, focusing on them without side conversations with friends. I also wanted the ability to switch between characters, which is not possible during multiplayer. You can only switch characters at the beginning of the session, then you have to complete it with the same character. Joining and leaving multiplayer, and menu design, were good, but we faced several connection problems during multiplayer that significantly affected the experience despite having a strong internet connection.The game offers the ability to retain progress for all participants in a multiplayer session, not just the host, in addition to keeping the gear and points you've earned. However, if you enter a game session late in the story, it can be annoying because you might be at a lower level that doesn't qualify you to play smoothly. The game requires continuous upgrading of your gear and character. For this reason alone, playing multiplayer with friends is essential, as playing with random people may not be enjoyable. On the other hand, don't expect any type of collaboration with friends because mission design does not attempt to exploit that in any way. There are no missions encouraging tactical cooperation or communication with other players.

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