Ok Boomer(ang).
It’s been a rocky start for Rocksteady’sSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
More recently, an alpha tech test took place in December but spoilery footageswiftly leaked.
“It’s always disappointing when you have leaks.
And we know that it’s a very unique game.
Rocksteady was also aware of what the reaction to the State of Play would be.
“But at the same time, we know that we have a really good game on our hands.
“Also we recognised and realised that it didn’t showcase as well as we wanted to.
Did it affect morale at the studio?
We thought it was unfortunate.
We wanted it to be received better.
But at the same time, we’re sort of going ‘Yeah, let’s show them!
It’s gonna be great!'”
Suicide Squad certainly does carry that Rocksteady DNA.
It’s a continuation of the Arkham-verse, with the same characters, artstyle, and overall moody tone.
This isn’t the exploration and melee-combat gameplay of before.
Is it a live service game?
“Really what we wanted to make with this game was build a community around it.
If you don’t want to, you could play it solo, all the way through.”
First, though, players will need to choose one of four characters to control.
That’s why each of the four villains has an ability taken from their hero counterpart.
Boomerang can use Flash’s Speed Force, for instance, while Harley Quinn uses Batman’s grappling hook.
Traversal mechanics therefore played a part in the decision-making too.
“And then finally, King Shark: who doesn’t want a shark in the group?”
Indeed, traversal is a major distinction between each character and a key factor in a player’s choice.
During our hands-on preview we tested all four characters in an introductory segment before settling on one.
His moveset felt the most intuitive to me.
Other players may disagree.
King Shark leaps Hulk-like over great distances and uses heavy weapons.
Harley Quinn, for me, was the most fiddly.
“So they should feel unique to play.
Individually the characters do feel distinct, but there’s also little sense of teamwork between them.
It’s just four players attempting to dominate the battlefield individually.
The open world also compares unfavourably to Spider-Man 2.
By the time you’ve found enemies to shoot, your teammates probably got there first.
At its core, though, Suicide Squad does offer some enjoyably scrappy combat.
It’s a shame traversal doesn’t quite match - at least, not without practice.
Narrative is also where Rocksteady excels.
