We’ve been waiting almost a decade for the next big game from the British team Rocksteady Studios. Back in 2015 when Arkham Knight was released, I really didn’t think we’d be looking at another “Batman” for so long. But a lot has changed in that time. The original founders of Rocksteady are gone, and with them a number of experienced colleagues. Instead of a proven formula, the authors came up with a live service cooperative event. The game has faced considerable doubt since its announcement, despite being supposed to be a spiritual successor and story continuation of the Arkham series. Add to this numerous delays, an unflattering response to closed tests, missing review keys before release or botched paid early access. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League did not enter the market in ideal shape. In the end, maybe it won’t be so bad after all. However, I’m not into singing either.
The story begins five years after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight. We move from Gotham to Metropolis. Superman’s “metropolis” became the epicenter of an attack by Brainiac and his hordes from space. But what is worst, the protectors of humanity and the Earth have become its most feared enemies. The superheroes turned against us after being brainwashed by Brainiac. The Justice League has disbanded. And so here comes Amanda Waller and her Task Force X. If the best won’t save us, the worst must. The main characters are Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot and King Shark. You can play as each of them, or just stay with one from start to finish. But nothing changes about your task. The subtitle of the game speaks quite clearly.
In the end, I found myself able to tune in to the specific humor and chemistry of the central foursome, whose interactions are somewhat reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy. Although it is still a rather infantile group.
If you like the world of DC Comics, you’re in for a treat. The novel is full of heroes and villains that you know well. The relationships between them also play an important role, which of course leads to various skirmishes in the dialogues. Especially in the beginning, the game is very chatty and the start is so much slower than it should be. I have to admit that even the main characters were not very likable to me at first, but I grew to like them over time. Even if the script is a bit abrasive in the beginning, it ends up being one of the better parts, in my opinion, when the events take a turn. It’s just a shame that the pace at the very end is perhaps too frantic and the finale of the story does not build up as I expected. The narrative is full of references to the Arkham series and earlier adventures, which will certainly strike a nostalgic chord. However, I would particularly like to point out the excellent cut scenes here, to which the game owes the fact that the script won me over. And in the end, I found myself able to tune in to the specific humor and chemistry of the central foursome, whose interactions are somewhat reminiscent of Guardians of the Galaxy. Although it is still a rather infantile group.
As mentioned, you have four heroes to choose from and optional co-op. It depends only on you, whether you start the game with friends or solo. I’m pleased to say that, just like Gotham Knights, there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying the title on your own. Maybe someone will argue that you are denying its meaning, but cooperation is simply neither mandatory nor indispensable. You can easily complete the story single-player and only play side missions or endgame online. It just depends on you. The difference with Gotham Knights is that there we had a maximum of two co-op and if you were playing alone, there was no AI sidekick to accompany you. Suicide Squad always has all four of them on the scene, and each live player will otherwise be replaced by the AI if you’re playing alone or in a smaller group. If you make the game single, you can switch between characters and of course you also manage the equipment of your colleagues. Alternatively, you leave the equipment on the machine. Outside of missions, characters can be switched at will. As a general rule, once the mission starts, you can’t change the hero. But there are also quests that recommend you use a certain member due to the circumstances. It is not mandatory, but during the quest he enjoys various bonuses.
Source: Rocksteady Studios
Of course, every hero is a little different. But the most different is the way of travel. Moving around the open city is one of the most fun parts of the game. I can imagine that many players will choose their favorite based on what type of travel they prefer. Of course, this does not mean that the characters would otherwise be the same, but in battle they already function similarly and differ more in equipment. Some weapons can be used by multiple members, but not everyone can take everything in your inventory. And here comes the biggest difference in my opinion compared to Gotham Knights and the Arkham series. Although Suicide Squad also uses melee weapons, it is first and foremost a shooter. Each character has two slots for firearms ranging from pistols to SMGs, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles and machine guns. You won’t find freeflow combat like in Arkham or stealth missions. Even though Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a direct continuation of the Arkham series and the game was made by the same team, WB Games Montréal’s Gotham Knights was closer to Arkham in terms of gameplay and combat, despite not sharing the same world with it.
With this transformation in mind, the game benefits from having pretty decent gunplay and the weapons are well handled. However, the fight itself isn’t particularly surprising. It doesn’t deviate from anything. The missions you complete are also very generic. You repeatedly perform the same or very similar tasks, whether in the main story or in side activities. Of course, the gray mediocrity is at least partially distinguished by the spectacular boss fights, but honestly, I think that although they seem narrative, their gameplay remained behind the best moments from Arkham. As you would expect from a live service game, it of course offers great options for settings, but also customization, equipment and upgrades. But that doesn’t make her anything special in my opinion. And that’s the problem with Suicide Squad. Rarely have I seen something really cool that I want to tell others about or share with friends.
Suicide Squad is ultimately quite fun to play at times, but it’s currently a very shallow game that doesn’t impress in terms of content considering the years of development.
Technically, Suicide Squad won’t offend, but they won’t excite either. The PS5 game offers no graphics modes, runs at 60 fps and is mostly stable. But I also came across situations where she got a little out of breath due to the large number of enemies on the screen. Aside from the initial connection issues in early access, connectivity was not a problem. Although I still think that the authors should have offered the possibility to play completely offline from the beginning. But I actually thought that Rocksteady would offer more graphics. Not that the game isn’t nice at all, but it shows off more in the cutscenes than when you’re just running around town or fighting enemies. When you look at the previous titles from the same studio, I was just hoping for a jump that the new one doesn’t bring. At least the music, dubbing and acting are of a high standard.
And that’s pretty much it. You might wonder if there aren’t other areas that deserve to be described. But therein lies the problem. There’s no point in going into too much detail at this point. Of course, there are plenty of points and activities on the city map. You will come across a number of characters who want something from you and promise you something in return. There are special challenges, shops, crafting, upgrades… But none of it is out of the ordinary. It would be like trying to explain to you what live service games and looter shooters are all about. It’s pointless to talk about missions that only have a few constantly repeating scenarios – rescue, escort, smash and so on and on. We’ll see what the next planned content changes. Suicide Squad is ultimately quite fun to play at times, but it’s currently a very shallow game that doesn’t impress in terms of content considering the years of development. It won’t surprise you with anything, it won’t deviate from the crowd of similar games. The license, the gunplay, the fun movement around the city, and the story are just enough to ultimately rank the game alongside Gotham Knights, although each title has different strengths and weaknesses. But the difference is that more was expected from Rocksteady.
2024-02-05 12:12:18
#Recenze #Suicide #Squad #Kill #Justice #League #Vortex
