Rocksteady is preparing to return to the Batman: Arkham series with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and all eyes are on it to see if it can deliver an exciting DC title after the disappointing Gotham Knights. It seems like the recent DC titles have been a bit lackluster, and fans are worried that Rocksteady will continue this trend. DC in general seems to be in a bit of a tough spot, as the DCEU is headed for a reboot and the IP has been largely absent from the AAA space. DC fans just want a win, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League needs to be that win.
Rocksteady is no stranger to the DC universe, as it crafted the acclaimed Batman: Arkham series. Suicide Squad will take a very different approach with brand-new characters, but it will hopefully be a return to form for DC games. The IP is on thin ice right now after Gotham Knights, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has the chance to pull people back if it does not repeat the pitfalls of its predecessors.
Suicide Squad Needs a Great Comic Book Story
In recent years, it feels like a lot of comic book games have put the focus on other elements rather than the story. Marvel's Avengers focused on live-service elements and Gotham Knights seemed to put more emphasis on co-op gameplay. Both games had a story, but the games were more interested in giving players a series of repetitive missions. Without an intriguing story, players are not able to connect with these heroes or feel like them. The constant rinse-and-repeat mission structure can make many players bored and gives them little reason to follow the story to its conclusion.
One of the most important parts of a game like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the adventure that it brings the player on. Some of the most popular comic book games have strong stories following iconic superheroes, and Rocksteady needs to make sure that this title offers that. The look and feel of the characters needs to be accurate, and the story needs to be engaging. It needs to transport players to its world, and make them never want to leave.
Suicide Squad Needs a Strong Launch
Some AAA titles these days are plagued with bugs, performance issues, or an overall lackluster launch experience, which leave many players disappointed with the game they have been waiting to get their hands. Leaving a bad first impression can harm a game's reputation forever. Gotham Knights suffered from many day one technical issues, and one of the biggest issues was its performance. Before launch, WB Games Montreal announced that Gotham Knights would only run at 30 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which angered many fans as most current-gen games run at 60 FPS. Fans would get even more disappointed when they discovered demanding hardware requirements and other launch issues. Many players were met with crashes, failure to launch, numerous bugs, and an assortment of performance issues.
If Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League wants to have any chance at pulling DC fans back then it needs to have a strong launch. Many players have repeatedly been scorned by launch issues, and it has made some avoid game launches altogether. Rocksteady's return to the Arkham series needs to make a strong first impression. It has already wrangled a terrible launche thanks to Batman: Arkham Knight, and it cannot repeat that. The game needs to come out of the gate swinging and deliver a strong, stable experience for DC fans to enjoy.
Suicide Squad Needs to Do the DC Characters Justice
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is adapting iconic comic book characters with years worth of story, and that can be pretty difficult. Fans have ideas about how the characters should look and act, so Rocksteady needs to make sure to match that as best it can. While differing interpretations of characters are nothing new, playing in an iconic sandbox like DC brings with it an extra level of expectations. Sometimes these expectations can be a bit hard to meet, but the studio needs to at least make sure that it does the franchise justice.
No comic book project is safe from comparisons, and fans will always have their favorite iteration that other iterations could never match. Marvel Studios' Ms. Marvel got significant criticism for Kamala Khan's power changes, Marvel's Avengers was criticized for the bland look of its iconic heroes, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is already being criticized for making Superman evil. These criticisms surround comic book projects, but most of them are not detrimental to the project if it at least does the characters' justice within an intriguing story.
Kill the Justice League Needs to be Fun
At the end of the day, the most important aspect of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is its fun factor. Rocksteady needs to make sure that the game is fun and engaging to play. It can have the best comic book story ever with some of the most fully realized characters out there, but no one will touch it if it isn't fun. Too many superhero games suffer through repetitive missions and gameplay loops that make them feel like a slog. Players will just turn off the title if it is boring, and Rocksteady needs to do all it can to avoid this.
If Rocksteady is able to deliver a fun engaging comic book adventure with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League then DC fans may flock to it. The studio has shown it knows how to tell a DC story with Batman, and fans are hoping it can replicate that success with a new set of characters. It will hopefully be the win that DC is looking for, otherwise it may join the growing pile of disappointing AAA superhero games.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launches May 26, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
