Rocksteady Studios has graced the gaming community with the beloved Batman: Arkham series over the years, and it seems the team isn’t putting a stop to the superhero narrative anytime soon. Following a surprise poster drop teasing its next game Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League on 7 August, a brand-new announcement trailer has landed on the stage of the DC FanDome event, showing villainous badassery in all its flourish.
Starting off with a smoking, semi-destroyed Metropolis, the reel offers a quick glimpse at four Suicide Squad members: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark and Captain Boomerang, as they engage in good-natured banter with one another. A middle finger here, and tons of eccentricities there, the action then kicks in, showing each of them in their own element – Harley Quinn bashing enemies in the head with a swing of her bat, King Shark gunning everyone in his way with zero subtlety, and Captain Boomerang slinging his electrified, incendiary, and bladed boomerangs.
All of that does little to faze the Man of Steel, who lords over the group with an appearance at the end, showcasing his rage in the purest form by straight up killing a helicopter pilot with his heat vision. Welp.
Of course, hardened fans of the franchise would know that Superman (and most likely the rest of the Justice League) are just being mind-controlled by the extraterrestrial villain known as Brainiac, whose massive mothership can be seen towering over Metropolis at the start of the trailer. This sets the master manipulator up as the main villain of the game, though we’re always open to seeing more surprises in store for us when it finally launches.
The game is scheduled to release in 2022, and will feature both one- to four-player co-op and single-player modes. You can choose to play through the campaign alone or with your friends at any one point, with solo players having the chance to swap between different Suicide Squad members. As highlighted in the trailer, every one of them is equipped with a rich, personalised set of abilities that will require a bit of skill to master.
What’s most interesting, however, is how Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will fit into the Batman: Arkham series. A continuation of that universe, it’s set to usher in a hybrid of the core superhero empowerment DNA and new gameplay elements, including firearm mechanics and a fresh spin on the Suicide Squad lore.
In a world where the superhero trope is being ceaselessly developed, it’s great that we are finally getting a villain-centric narrative that will introduce a sense of novelty into the genre. As Rocksteady looks to put these beloved, misunderstood characters in dynamic situations to evoke an empathetic response, we look forward to understanding the squad’s eccentricities and personalities better. Oh, and the action, too, of course.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
