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Years ago, when I first heard the provocative title of Rocksteady’s follow-up to the Arkham games, I remember wondering what mental gymnastics awaited us in order not to kill off the much-loved central characters of the DC mythos, including the Batman version . the study had been so expertly developed on earlier titles. Credit where it’s due: Rocksteady followed through and Kill the Justice League does. Unfortunately, it also killed my interest or enthusiasm through a story that feels juvenile and insensitive along with repetitive and confusing gameplay. While many technical features work as intended, I walked away from each session feeling angry and sick, which aren’t feelings that will keep me coming back for endless hours of future adventures.
Suicide Squad is a high-octane action shooter where fast-paced urban traversal and gunfights are your constant companions. A crew of criminals, including Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang and King Shark, must fight their way through the devastated city of Metropolis, phasing out Earth’s heroes after they have been brainwashed by the evil Brainiac. Each of the four characters has their own variation on how they launch themselves around town and an upgrade path that allows for some specialization. Still, the basic idea is to pull triggers, throw grenades, and hit the alien invaders. Each style of acrobatic sailing takes a while to master, but eventually I enjoyed the feeling of speed and mobility. In combat, however, the constant up and down vertical effect is the first of many problems that make it difficult to keep track of what’s going on.
By default, an incredibly crowded HUD is almost mindlessly busy; the biggest challenge in major fights wasn’t the battle itself, but simply seeing what was going on and where certain enemies or targets were. The HUD can be customized and minimized, but you’re left with the opposite problem and too little information to complete tasks. Enemies have some functional variety, but lack visual distinction, which adds to a general sense of monotony where every mission type comes together in one chaotic smashfest. It’s all loud and unpleasant, but rarely exciting.
The frequent cutscenes show excellent animation and character illustration, especially showing some emotional facial expressions. Even with this advantage, the narrative fails on numerous levels. It’s hard to enjoy a story where I don’t like anyone, and even the anti-heroes and villains are constantly spewing bad words, talking trash, and calling each other names. Beyond this tonal disconnect, the narrative is strangely inconsistent and difficult to parse, often with the protagonists feeling almost like supporting characters in their own story, with little agency of their own.
Progressing through the game involves upgrading your equipment and character by completing side missions; many tasks set overly specific requirements that rob combat of variety, such as only critical hits or certain types of melee to deal damage. The more elaborate main missions (especially the ones to take out members of the League) are more engaging, but without exception are strangely anticlimactic and end with death scenes so bleak that any potential humor is wiped out.
Online co-op play works well. Especially after the conclusion of the short campaign, four friends could have a good time jumping and swinging around the city, blowing up the bad guys in repetitive but action-packed missions. Unfortunately, I never adjusted to the player’s investment loop. Many character upgrades are invisible beyond changes to things like percentage damage dealt or how long a power can last. Gear is more compelling, with some unique effects on top weapons, but it all starts to feel the same after a few hours. The rewards and post-campaign activities make a fervent effort to keep players engaged, but I found most of it to be new window dressing on existing mission types that I’ve faced many times before.
Suicide Squad is technically sound and the action can be fast, frenetic and sometimes fun. The game could be considered a deconstruction and satire of the superhero concept. But to me, it all seems petty, pessimistic and light-hearted. In other media, I’ve generally enjoyed the irreverence of Suicide Squad’s storytelling, but everything in this game feels less laugh-out-loud and more joyous. I suppose it can be fun to get mad at any sense of genuine heroism in a comic-inspired tale, but it can’t be much of a shock when some fans like me aren’t interested in the gory, gory results.
Source: gameinformer.com