Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight releases this week on Friday 22nd May (tomorrow, 19th May, for Deluxe Edition owners), and a recurring talking point around the game has been how alike it feels to play as the celebrated Batman Arkham games developed by Rocksteady Studios. Turns out there’s a good reason for that: Rocksteady helped make it.
The game’s credits (via VGC) reveal that Rocksteady had around 24 developers work on Legacy of the Dark Knight, including a producer, designer, several programmers and artists. Moreover, Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights studio Warner Bros. Games Montréal also helped make this latest Lego Batman game.
As someone who’s still in the early hours of Legacy of the Dark Knight (I miraculously found an early copy for sale on a shop shelf!), I can confirm that Lego Batman does feel at times like the spiritual successor to the Arkham series many of us have been waiting for. Beyond the obvious influences on combat and stealth, the scope and atmosphere of its open world also land remarkably close to the overall vibe Rocksteady achieved with Arkham Knight. In many ways, it’s an improvement over Gotham Knights despite its sillier, more family-friendly approach.
Christian Dolan seemed to agree in Eurogamer’s four-star review of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight: “This is a Lego take on Rocksteady’s Arkham games more than anything. It captures both the bumper-based ‘rush-up-and-glide around an urban open world’ approach, and the glorious Freeflow combat system, which is delivered here with a wonderfully brisk blend of countering, dodging, and charging up ultimates.”
Indeed, one of the attractions to an Arkham enjoyer like myself is that Legacy of the Dark Knight seems to evolve those games’ combat system into something more accessible. This gameplay system also contributes to Legacy of the Dark Knight feeling like one of the most involved Lego games I’ve played; it’s an evolution for that franchise as well.
TT Games’ Lego expertise has provided a much needed and welcome change of fortunes for Warner Bros. DC superhero games after the flop that was Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
