Suicide Squad Review

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is Rocksteady’s newest addition to the Arkham Universe which has been met with skepticism and criticism since it was originally announced. Many fans didn’t understand why a studio known for amazing single-player stories was being tasked with creating a live-service game. Tack on multiple delays to the title’s release and a lot of people were ready to write this one off. I went into the villainous voyage with an open mind, and I enjoyed it way more than I was expecting to! Is it Rocksteady’s best work? No. But I had a lot of fun playing it. Don’t judge a book by its cover, and let's dive into why suicide squad might be a pleasant surprise for you too.

Story

The story around Suicide Squad is straightforward, your job is to Kill the Justice League. I mean, it's in the title yet the story has already received a ton of backlash online. I think the biggest issue many fans are having is the expectation that we’re picking up the Batman: Arkham Knight story from where it left off. If you’re expecting a continuation to the depth and scope of the Arkham Series, you will not be a fan of this story. Suicide Squad takes a massive pivot to a more light-hearted, brash, provocative, and improv style that does fit the cast of characters well. Harley, Boomerang, King Shark, and Deadshot aren't your high moral, good samaritan vigilantes. They're some of the coldest, most wanted criminals on the planet. The banter, crude jokes, social awkwardness, stupid decisions, and general disregard for anyone but themselves fit the hodge-podge group of psychopaths well. There are definitely some jokes that didn’t land and sometimes made me cringe, but as a whole, the conversations between squad members and Justice League heroes made me chuckle more than roll my eyes.

The boss fights themselves were fun with unique mechanics you had to learn in order to defeat each of Braniac’s superpowered minions. While the boss-specific mechanics added fun layers to the combat, the bosses as a whole were pretty easy to defeat even on the hardest difficulty. You can go back and play the story missions on higher endgame difficulties once you complete the campaign, but I would have loved more of a challenge on the initial fight to really feel the strength of the Justice League.

For a live service game, the plot does a good job of keeping you interested even when some of the big moments felt predictable. While there weren’t any twists, I enjoyed the tug-of-war dynamic of obeying Waller’s commands, Squad members having their own motives with the justice league, and the ever-looming presence of Braniac breathing down your neck. It created great moments where the lines were blurred between good, evil, and just trying to survive. The multitude of dynamics kept the story moving well from beginning to end, even if things felt predictable. I completed the story portion of the game in about 12 hours which is definitely on the shorter side of a traditional campaign, but for a live service game, it felt like an ample amount of time before getting into the endgame content.

With how different Suicide Squad is from the Arkham series in regards to tone, story depth, art style, and structure; I am a bit surprised they included them in the same universe. It didn't deter my enjoyment of the campaign, but I think it can create extremely high false expectations for anyone coming in and expecting a true Arkham Series sequel. Some moments in the game don’t make sense within the canon of the DC universe, but the game sets such an un-serious tone that it doesn't feel egregious within the context of the game. But if you’re a big stickler about canon being by the book, then it might rub you the wrong way.

Combat & Gameplay

A groundbreaking story isn’t the driving force behind a live-service game, but tight, responsive, and fun gameplay is imperative to the game’s survival. Thankfully, the combat and traversal is where Suicide Squad shines. Each playable villain has their own set of traversal abilities that make each one feel unique. King Shark leaps and climbs like King Kong, Harley Quinn grapples like a psychotic Spiderman, Deadshot feels like Ironman with bad intentions, and Boomerang feels like a teleporting speedster. The traversal abilities are the biggest differentiators between the characters and do change how you engage in combat differently. Which I enjoyed. I liked that I could go from an in-your-face, brawling fighter in King Shark, and then switch to a ranged, eye-in-the-sky type of playstyle with Deadshot the very next mission. 

In regards to the combat, the differences are a little more subtle between each character because every weapon type is available to use for each squad member. Certain weapons like Snipers obviously felt better on the ranged characters but you’re able to equip your killers how you see fit. The gunplay and traversal options pair nicely with the guns feeling snappy, tight, and fun to use while you fling yourself across the map toward your next group of enemies. The gameplay loop of getting to where you need to be, destroying a cluster of enemies, identifying the next threat, and repeating seems simple but is a lot of damn good fun. The combat and gameplay provide depth in the form of afflictions like freeze, burn, electric, and venom. After recruiting some high-profile DC villains to join the fight, you’re able to apply these buffs to your guns and melee weapons to dominate the combat field. Each affliction has pros and cons that can influence what you choose depending on your play style or mission. For example, deep freeze will freeze enemies for 10 seconds and take bonus damage from firearms. However, frozen enemies become immune to critical damage and ammo drops. I enjoyed being able to mix and match these afflictions between your gun, melee, and grenade weapons because it meant I could be prepared for whatever chaos was thrown my way.

For better or for worse, These afflictions also play a factor in the gameplay mechanics of certain missions. The mission structures are pretty basic with escort, point holding like domination, rescue, tower defense, and kill confirmed style layouts. I think these mission styles fit the gameplay loop nicely because they all tap into the traversal and fast-paced nature of the combat well. However, my only complaint is that some of the mission modifiers can make the gameplay feel sluggish. The one that comes to mind the most is only being able to deal damage using countershots. Most of the combat modifiers are centric around the afflictions and choosing the right one, but with counter shots; you’re just waiting on the enemy to make a move. The game thrives and feels soooo damn good when your traversal is flowing, your cooldowns are popping, and you feel like a maestro of death flying through the air. That sense of murderous flow comes to a halt with the counter shots because you can’t counter their basic moves. It results in a slow and clunky experience that becomes all the more noticeable because of how good the combat feels outside of this situation.. Outside of the counter-shot modifier, I really enjoy the gameplay and how Suicide Squad feels when everything hits the fan, especially when playing with friends. Fighting baddies in the solo experience is satisfying, but the AI companions can be a little unpredictable or flat-out not very helpful. Most of the time I saw them just following me around, and they didn't really get in the way. But being able to play with friends and have the ability to divide and conquer while peeling if friends need help really took the gameplay to the next level.

For a live-service game, the combat and mission structure is engaging and repeatable in a fun way. Grinding is an inevitable part of the live service model and putting the repetitive time in feels good with Suicide Squad. The best comparison I can think of is The Division and Sunset Overdrive having a baby. For me, that makes for a good-looking baby.

Endgame

The Endgame portion of live service games is arguably more important than the story because a boring endgame can be a death sentence for any promising title. While season 1 is not out at the writing of this review, i want to touch on the structure they have in place that does feel promising for the future roadmap of the game. Without giving away spoilers, the end of the campaign delivers closure while also creating enough ripples to keep the player excited about what could unfold in the future. As for the endgame mechanics, there are 10 mastery difficulties that you can grind your way through as you get better gear and complete harder missions. The scaled-up missions involve tougher and more frequent enemies, resistance to afflictions, and other buffs like exploding upon death. The missions themselves are familiar mechanics from what you've played so far, but the difficulty scaling does add to the chaos and requires proper target prioritization to succeed.

The other aspect of the endgame that I think Rocksteady nailed was the looting system. 95% of your loot is earned through completing the mission. I liked this because it puts a sole focus on combat when the objective is live and you’re not stopping what you’re doing to pick up gear items. Instead, you get 1-3 gear items at the end of the mission that range from weapons to character-specific gear. Three times max might not sound like much but I enjoyed the consistent drip of content instead of feeling like I'm overwhelmed with items I'm going to dismantle for parts anyways. As you progress to the higher difficulties, the gear drops become stronger while also providing additional buffs and stats that can be modified. The crafting and modding system is straightforward with weapon creation stemming from resources you gain from completing missions. You can overhaul the stats completely rolling for new specs, or you can modify one specific stat to try and create your god roll weapons. It's a familiar looter-shooter mechanic that doesn't feel overcomplicated while also giving players plenty of customization options to sink their teeth into.

The player’s happiness with the endgame content of live service games will always ebb and flow based on the most recent content drop. I can’t speak on how great Season 1 will be and a full impression of that content will go up in a review on a later date, but Rocksteady has created a solid foundation for their roadmap of future content to succeed. Now it's on them to execute that roadmap and give players a reason to keep coming back for more!

Final Thoughts

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is one of the most interesting games of 2024 so far. With the delays, drama, and questionable pivots to a live service game, it's understandable if your mind is made up before you ever touch this game. If you’re expecting an Arkham-level story with meticulously fleshed-out characters and a true single-player experience, this game is NOT FOR YOU. If the word live service makes your head twitch a little bit, you’ll want to pass on this as well. If you can’t bear to see your favorite justice league hero be painted in a different light, don’t bother with this one. However, if you’re looking for a fun, high-energy game with satisfying gameplay, addicting traversal, and more loot than Santa can fit on his sleigh, then Suicide Squad will be right up your alley. It doesn’t have the best story, but it was playful with some memorable set-piece moments that didn’t take itself too seriously. The missions aren’t groundbreaking, but you’ll find yourself loving the combat and traversal. It isn’t the first and won’t be the last live service game we see, but there’s real staying power potential here. If you embrace Suicide Squad for what it is, and not what you think it should have been; then you’re going to have a great time. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is guaranteed to make you feel some kind of way, but even with its flaws; the fun factor elevates it all to an 8 out of 10.