Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's Weird 'Solo Requirement' Makes More Sense Now

Game ZXC

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

By Brie Hoban

Published Jan 18, 2024

Highlights

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League faced backlash for being an always-online game, but the new Social Squad feature explains that requirement, as it allows players to replace CPU teammates with characters from other players.
The Social Squad feature solves the issue of gamer fatigue in live-service titles by allowing players to earn experience and loot without even playing, providing a passive means of progression.
Rocksteady Studios also announced the potential return of the Joker and confirmed that an offline single-player mode will be available for those who don't want to use the Social Squad feature.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has faced an uphill climb, ever since its announcement in 2020. Developed by Rocksteady Studios, the legendary team behind the Batman: Arkham series, fans had high hopes for the title, with many assuming that it would carry some significant narrative weight. However, the gaming community's perception soured when Suicide Squad was revealed to be a live-service, squad-based shooter. Chief among fans' complaints was the requirement for solo players always to be online, which would see them attempt to complete the title's campaign with three AI teammates. To the surprise of many, Rocksteady Studios recently revealed more information about Suicide Squad, introducing a feature that puts its "always online" requirement into greater context. Given this new information, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League's weird 'solo requirement' suddenly makes more sense.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was announced in August 2020, premiering its first trailer at DC FanDome. Originally slated for a May 2023 release date, after a quick initial delay, the title was further postponed to February 2024. While the game has been met with a wave of negativity since it was revealed to be a live-service title, it also features some unique draws for DC fans. Among the most significant of these upsides is Kevin Conroy’s final performance of Batman, a character he embodied across film, television, and the Batman: Arkham series. With Rocksteady’s most recent swathe of reveals, it appears a few more positives are being thrown into the mix.

A screenshot of Batman aiming a gun in red light in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

Suicide Squad Players Notice Interesting Batman Feature

Fans and and social media influencers who have already gotten to try out Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League notice an interesting Batman detail.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is due to release in just a few weeks. To clear the air and address some fan concerns, Rocksteady took to Discord last week for a Q&A with the community. The developer revealed information about a variety of areas, adding further context to the game’s structure, multiplayer requirements, and solo play. While addressing the concerns of solo players, and why the game requires an online connection at launch, Rocksteady revealed a significant, and helpful, new feature called the Social Squad.

Suicide Squad’s Social Squad feature allows fans to replace their CPU teammates with characters belonging to other players. Whichever characters are chosen carry over their full build, but, more importantly, they earn a certain percentage of the total loot and experience gained while in use. In this scenario, a friend could use a player’s character while they are offline, allowing both players to grind experience and gain loot. However, players seemingly aren’t restricted to choosing characters from their friend list. In theory, any player could simply borrow characters from the top of the leaderboard and wreak havoc on Brainiac’s forces for the duration of the title’s campaign.

While Suicide Squad's Social Squad feature provides much-needed context for its online requirements, it also aims to alleviate one of the live-service genre's biggest pain points. The genre is in a moment of transition, with highly-anticipated multiplayer titles being canceled left and right. One of the core reasons for this is gamer fatigue, due to the often ridiculous grind required to keep up with each respective live-service property. Social Squad allows players to not only play, earn, and grow more efficiently with other players' characters, but also provides a passive means through which to earn even more experience and loot.

Rocksteady's Q&A featured additional Suicide Squad reveals which seem to have provided a bit more excitement around the title, including the potential return of the Joker. Additionally, the developer reaffirmed that an offline single-player mode will launch sometime after release, for those who wish not to take advantage of the Social Squad feature. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League remains one of gaming's most talked-about titles, headed into its long-delayed debut. Fans who have stuck by the title thus far hope that its release will dissuade the negativity that has plagued its development.