LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight [Review]

How can a city like Gotham, that is almost always portrayed at night, have so many colorful elements in it? It is really one of the strongest achievements of the Batman franchise as a whole, the iconic alleyways and the people that inhabit such a comically memorable place. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a triumph in understanding exactly that, not only because of the references it constantly makes, but for its heartfelt original story that perfectly matches camp with found family.

The beginning is somewhat linear, with intense hand-holding and tutorials that worried me for a bit for what was to come, and while it is true that every new mechanic is introduced in a way that stops the flow of the game, this issue bugged me more in this opening act than anywhere else. I've played the whole game as Batman and a friend played as the Supporting Character, on couch co-op, and the game almost always went out of its way to have a reason to display two characters at the same time.

It was mildly frustrating to be limited to 30 FPS on split screen, even on the PS5 Pro, but it is undeniable that this game is a looker. After some stages, the open world is finally presented, and there are many elements that are surprisingly detailed. The way that light and water interact with the plastic and fabric-like surfaces is really impressive and reminded me of the LEGO Batman Movie, but in real time.

Technically speaking, the game is rather solid, with high quality models for even the smallest pedestrian. Nothing in the life simulation is really complex, but there will always be people walking around and cars travelling through Gotham's dark and wet streets. Some NPCs actually react in funny and unexpected ways and, although there are some repetitions of chatter, the city is believable and fun to explore.

It was super impressive that both players on couch co-op could do different activities at the same time, and there were moments that we divided and conquered some objectives and the more menial collectibles that we could do on our own. And yet, the game constantly incentivizes cooperation on its problem solving for the many activities available, so while we could be apart to do some collecting, we needed to be together to solve the city's biggest mysteries and rewards. There's also some randomized events that can happen here or there, but these were always rather weak, and it was actually annoying to hear the same lines every time for the same "live" activities.

The main story makes references and even repeat some scenes from all over Batman's many adapted works and comic books, but retains its original story and canon for most of its characters, including Bruce. Because of it, there is something for everyone, while feeling fresh even for people that are constantly surrounded by Batman media. Customization wise, there's a costume for basically every era of Batman, and while he was the character that had the most costumes, everyone else was also well served with some and their recolors.

Each character has three or four unique abilities to use that are both relevant in battle and in the exploration. Unfortunately, the way that the characters travel around the city is pretty similar -- everyone 'glides' and uses grappling hooks just like Batman, and that made playing as him a bit less unique than it should've been. It is also weird to look at characters like Jim Gordon and Catwoman gliding around with wings.

There's a huge amount of activities to do. Each neighborhood has a set of similar stuff like hidden caches, collectibles that can be placed on the Batcave, races, challenges and more. Not all of it is unlocked from the start, and the game actually paces its activities quite well, not offering everything at once. The rewards for doing them is basically another costume, and just two of them had a more interesting story attached to it – and these were the best side-activities to do in the game: the case of Waylon Jones and the Falcone Fortunes.

As the game progresses, more technical problems appear other than the 30 FPS cap of the split screen, like some bugs when interacting with the world, cutscenes not playing properly and wrongly marked side activities, that show as available where they aren't. Still, the level of detail is constantly stellar, with impressively done LEGO creations and materials that convincingly creates a toy-like Gotham.

The main scenario is actually hilarious, with references and jokes from absolutely everywhere. After two people were forcefully dressed as the Joker, the third one screams: "having three Jokers seems like a bad idea". When we finally find Deadshot, he asked if we were some kind of Suicide Squad. The jokes were almost always great, the constant puns, though, not as much.

The combat is a bit button mashy and it didn't integrate cooperation as well as the other aspects of the game did, so unfortunately the battles weren't as fun as everything else. They're not bad, but are undeniably repetitive, and most stages rely a lot on combat. The stealth, though, is surprisingly fun, and doing stealth with a friend was always fulfilling, even if easy. Overall, the combat, stealth, and puzzles are easy, with the latter two being more inventive and unexpected.

Ultimately, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight felt both like an homage and its own thing, with great characters, story, pacing, and an immense attention to detail. The combat can be boring and button mashy, but the game still ends up being a great time to play with a friend.

8/10