Rumors suggest that Traveller's Tales is currently hard at work on a fourth LEGO Batman game. The studio allegedly canceled a LEGO Disney project and has put all its focus on another adventure following the Caped Crusader. While this is great news for DC superhero fans, there is a high chance that its story will follow in its predecessors footsteps and be a LEGO Batman game in name only.
The LEGO Batman series has been pretty popular as it has given DC fans a way to play as some of their favorite heroes. However, only the first game is really a Batman-centric story. The other games in the series have put a much larger emphasis on the Justice League and have seemingly left the Batman mythos behind. It is nice to see other heroes get the spotlight, but the LEGO Batman series should be about The Dark Knight.
The LEGO Batman Series Feels More Like LEGO Justice League
LEGO Batman: The Videogame released in 2008, and it served as the first LEGO video game with an original story set within a pre-established IP. The story centered on Batman and Robin as they fought back against Batman's most dangerous foes in classic LEGO fashion. It had practically everything that a Batman fan would want in a co-op game like this, and it was made even better by the fact that players could play as the villains in a separate campaign. It did things that no LEGO game has really done since, and really helped show that Traveller's Tales knew how to do popular IPs justice.
LEGO Batman: The Videogame went on to spawn an entire LEGO subseries, but each game seemed to deviate farther away from the Batman-centric story of the first. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes introduced the rest of the Justice League, and it tasked players with stopping Lex Luthor and the Joker from taking over. While Batman and Robin were still present for much of the story, there were a lot more characters to juggle, especially Superman, and the focus was taken away from the Caped Crusader.
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham was probably the largest departure from the Batman-centric tale of the first game. This game took the Justice League into space to combat the villainous Brainiac as he attempted to shrink Earth. Since the story was more cosmic than its predecessors, the Lanterns were the focus this time around. Batman and Robin were still there, but they took a backseat to the spacefaring members of the Justice League.
LEGO Batman 4 Needs to Return to the Series' Roots
With every subsequent LEGO Batman game, it feels like the series is getting farther away from its roots. The subseries still has Batman in the title, and he is the main focus of the cover, but the story has pushed him off to the side. It has increasingly become a LEGO Justice League series rather than a LEGO Batman series, and the fourth game needs to change that.
LEGO Batman 4 should return the series to Gotham City and Batman lore. The Justice League can still be present within the story, but the focus should be on Batman's rogues gallery. This is supposed to be Batman's LEGO series, and the stories should represent that. If Traveller's Tales wants to continue to explore the Justice League then it should make a LEGO Justice League or LEGO DC Super Heroes series, and leave LEGO Batman for Batman-centric tales.
There has been no official confirmation of a LEGO Batman 4, but rumors are suggesting that is the next LEGO game from the studio. With the success of the last three, it makes sense that a fourth one would be on the horizon. While it will likely continue to explore the entire DC Universe, it really should return to its roots. Give Batman fans a true LEGO Batman game, and leave the DC Universe for another LEGO series.
LEGO Batman 4 is rumored to be in development.