Sony's recent State of Play showed a bunch of new things to the public, one of which being a first real look at Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's rather Anthem-like gameplay. Rocksteady Studios' first real game since Batman: Arkham VR, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is set in the same universe as the Batman: Arkham games, albeit with a new set of playable characters. What makes this game distinct from the studio's past works is that instead of Batman's grim outlook on Gotham City, players will be able to see the city of Metropolis through the crazed eyes of Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang.
Not everyone was ecstatic about how the game will supposedly play. While the Batman: Arkham games were tight-knit single-player adventures, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League looks to be a cooperative looter shooter with some story elements thrown in it for good measure. While it isn't fair to judge the game until it releases, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League looks to share a lot in common with Bioware and EA's previous project, Anthem.
Live Service Defines Suicide Squad
Both Anthem and Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League incorporate a loot-based system that will have players grinding for better gear and weapons. The color rarity system popularized by the looter-shooter genre includes gear that inflicts status effects on enemies and increases or decreases certain attributes of characters. Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League also looks like it will include different special abilities per Suicide Squad member to make them feel unique, much like Anthem's Javelins.
Something Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has that Anthem doesn't is a seasonal battle pass. Rocksteady Studios has gone on record by saying that the game's battle pass will only include cosmetic items such as a Superman-themed skin for King Shark, and will reportedly give its buyers no gameplay advantages whatsoever. While lacking a battle pass, Bioware's IP did have a store where players could purchase Javelin cosmetics and emotes with either in-game currency or real money.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League And Anthem Have Similar Gameplay Elements
While the live service elements are the most obvious similarities between the two games, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's first gameplay showcase is eerily similar to Anthem. No matter which member of the Suicide Squad player choose, it looks like all of them will use some sort of high-speed traversal mechanic similar to Anthem. Deadshot uses his jetpack to get around, King Shark utilizes his immense strength to leap over buildings in a single bound, Captain Boomerang uses a stolen Speed Force gauntlet to zip across long distances, and Harley Quin has a grappling hook.
What's more, combat in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League looks to be mostly composed of third-person shooting. The gameplay video showed the Suicide Squad firing guns like miniguns, pistols, and assault rifles on the ground and in the air before switching to shotguns and melee weapons to clean up survivors at close range. These weapons were used to defeat Braniac's minions as well as deal damage to a bunch of purple weak points on tougher enemies. While these foes and objectives are made to suit the world of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, they could have just as easily been in Anthem's universe, which also had its fair share of cannon fodder enemies and glowing weak points.
It is too early to tell if Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will meet the same fate as Anthem. Rocksteady Studios' reputation for making high-quality titles hasn't been sullied yet, and the developers may have poured their hearts into the project to create something fans of looter shooters and the DC universe will love. Still, as it stands, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League may have too much in common with other live-service looter shooters to stand out.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release on May 26, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
