Players are waving goodbye to Marvel’s Avengers and leaving Gotham Knights behind. Served up with the same trappings of a live service game, DC Comics fans are approaching Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League with caution. However, developer Rocksteady Studios already has a sturdy track record when it comes to keeping their Arkhamverse titles afloat. That’s why Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League is in good hands.
DC Comics fans are used to taking hits to the gut at this point. On the movie front, most die-hard Zack Snyder enthusiasts have made peace with his exile from the DCU; others are giving James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios a chance to thrive. Console players are still reeling from the division of Gotham Knights, but this writer believes WB Games Montréal cooked up something special for the Bat Family’s co-op outing.
Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League can do the same for Task Force X well after the game has launched too. Yes, even though the Suicide Kill the Justice League release date is still on the horizon, I believe Rocksteady Games is capable of ensuring its live service model has the legs to succeed with superb DLC – because they’ve already done it with the Batman Arkham games.
Arkham Knight’s DLC, titled the Season of Infamy, saw familiar foes return to Gotham City with a vengeance. Yet, their familiarity also ushered in a deeper resonance with their motives and the intricacy of Batman’s world. The Mr Freeze centric In From The Cold built off the beautiful-yet-bittersweet Arkham Origins DLC expansion Cold, Cold Heart with a poignant emotional core and satisfying missions. While the Suicide Squad might not be aiming for any lofty tear-jerking moments, Rocksteady has and can still hit the mark with reliable story expansions.
Though the game’s leaks might spell worry for avid DC Comics readers, the outlandish and ballsy nature of the Suicide Squad’s adventures is ripe for several batches of thrilling DLC. Rocksteady Studios is already assuring players that new missions and characters are slated to drop post-launch, with no price tag attached to their implementation.
A similar approach was adopted by Marvel’s Avengers and initially served the game well, but Kill the Justice League has key features to prevent it from meeting a similar demise. One of those vital ingredients is crossplay – a feature that Gotham Knights is in dire need of. Bringing together PS5 and Xbox players makes Suicide Squad DLC an even more attractive prospect.
From a pure character perspective, the potential for zany roster combinations excites me greatly. Why not have an absolutely cracked Deadshot build paired with a suitable and potential Red Hood addition? The rich history behind the Suicide Squad’s everchanging roster lends itself to a juicy deployment of obscure or fan favourite characters. Dropping into battle as Mike Sekowsky’s variant of Manhunter could add a unique flavour to proceedings.
Many fans will have noted the game’s firearm-heavy roster. However, the Suicide Squad has seen many superpowered members over the years. It doesn’t have to be a bullet-sponge bonanza forever. There’s even the chance to bring in the hierarchy king himself, Black Adam. I’d rather see Deathstroke or Black Manta get their moment in the spotlight though. Deathstroke zipping around and slicing up foes in an open-world Metropolis? I’m in.
Arkham City, Origins and Knight all reintroduced essential Bat Family characters, giving them individual side missions or full-blown story endeavours to dive into. There’s pressure on DC Comics, now more than ever, to meet the expectations of fans following a tricky decade of multimedia successes and failures. I certainly don’t want Kill the Justice League to roll out its imperative DLC story beats through a motion comic or half-baked cutscenes in the vein of Marvel’s Avengers. Like Batgirl’s Arkham Knight DLC or Robin defending Wayne Manor in extra challenge missions, Rocksteady has the opportunity to make each new character drop an event in itself.
Of course, the jury is still out on whether Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League will defy its early list of detractors. But Rocksteady Studios has yet to miss the mark and I hope Kill the Justice League is another addition to its impressive resume. Your move, Rocksteady.