Traveler’s Tales is as soon as once more bringing a boatload of brick-breaking battles with bat-baddies to the streets of Gotham Metropolis. For 20 years, the studio has largely adopted the beloved and established system of adapting some of the greatest media franchises in the world and turning them into level-based action-adventures. However this time, TT appears to be discovering inspiration outdoors of its personal partitions, however elsewhere inside its Warner Bros. household, giving the individuals what they need: a brand new Batman Arkham recreation in all however identify.
Legacy of the Dark Knight is structured barely in another way from earlier LEGO video games. Not fairly an unique story, TT Video games has immersed itself in the world of the Bat by taking totally different strands of the hero’s most well-known tales from throughout comics and movies to craft a story by itself. You’ll get a younger Bruce Wayne origin story, which seems to take inspiration from Batman Begins, if the trailer is something to go by, however later meet a Joker born in a vat of corrosive supplies earlier than later morphing right into a model of Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning portrayal for a chapter or two.
I received to play by means of a full mission from early in the story, which took me to Ace Chemical compounds, a model styled closely on the manufacturing unit’s look from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. Nonetheless, the story going down inside these neo-gothic partitions takes a leaf straight from the pages of Ed Brubaker’s one-shot comedian The Man Who Laughs, as Batman is shipped to analyze Pink Hood. The context is ready up by means of acquainted slapstick LEGO silliness as the Bat is requested to trace down three separate shipments of teddy bears to be able to discover what nefarious use Hood has for them.
This opening takes place outdoors of the plant’s partitions and allowed me to experiment with the immediately recognisable fight suite. I punched grunts a couple of occasions till their plastic legs broke free from their torsos and countered each time they dared flash that little assault sign over the prime of their head. Followers of the Batman: Arkham video games will know precisely what I’m speaking about right here (in addition to anybody who performed the many, many motion video games Rocksteady’s system impressed), however from the little I skilled, I can’t see it getting rather more mechanically advanced from right here.
That apparent Arkham inspiration and need to convey it to an excellent wider viewers is one thing that Jonathan Smith, Head of Manufacturing and Strategic Director at TT Video games, willfully admitted to me: “You possibly can’t take into consideration being Batman in a online game with out appreciating the achievements of our buddies and colleagues at Rocksteady”, Smith mentioned. “In order we begin to consider what a wealthy, deep Batman fight expertise goes to be like, of course, we use that as an inspiration, however then we even have new approaches that we convey to that in phrases of accessibility”.
The punches, kicks, and throws could be rooted in the moveset first established in 2009’s Batman: Arkham Asylum, however it is a TT LEGO recreation interesting to gamers of all ages, so I can’t see intricate button combos changing into a key facet. Gradual-motion finishers add a way of model to proceedings, additional including to that acquainted Arkham stream. All in all, brawling felt good, if not as wholly satisfying as in Asylum and its sequels, maybe resulting from the incontrovertible fact that making contact in opposition to the artificial shine of LEGO bricks by no means absolutely delivers the meaty sensation that pounding flesh can (sure, I did imply to phrase it like that).
After all, as a lot as the Caped Crusader enjoys shattering cheekbones together with his blunt fists and padded knees, stealth has additionally been an enormous half of his video games. Once more, whereas it doesn’t really feel as sturdy in its design as the Arkham video games, Legacy of the Dark Knight does cater to the sneakier possibility. Excessive buildings and perches loom ominously above enemies, which will be zipped to with ease. From there, you should utilize a model of detective mode that acts extra like an space of impact pulse than a toggleable X-ray imaginative and prescient to select enemies beneath. Stealth takedowns can then be carried out in your chosen prey and are animated with trademark LEGO humour; as a substitute of a swift knockout blow, Batman will land on them with a minifig-shattering thud of his arse.
Whereas the fight is closely Arkham-coded, the the rest of the mission performs out like a basic TT journey. Platforming is built-in by means of shifting platforms and swinging hooks, as are puzzles that require you to change between characters (or get assist out of your co-op associate) to utlise their particular expertise. On this mission, I used to be joined by Jim Gordon, who comes filled with a foam-spraying gun that may hearth blobs of goo that can assist you previous obstacles. For instance, Ace Chemical compounds is unsurprisingly full of hazardous chemical compounds, some of which will be seen spurting out of damaged pipes and halting you in your path. A fast blast of the Commissioner’s cannon can quickly dispose of this mess, as when it hardens, it blocks up the gap in the pipe. Previous that, a door could also be locked, however because of an apparent grappling level, it may be yanked down utilizing Batman’s hook. It’s this swapping between batfriends and their expertise that has fashioned the foundation of LEGO video games since the first Star Wars adaptation again in 2005, and nonetheless holds a sure degree of attraction.
It does beg the query of how various missions might be this time round, although, and the vary of puzzles we’ll be confronted with. When making my method by means of Ace Chemical compounds, I didn’t fairly get the similar “metroidvania-esque” feeling I usually affiliate with LEGO video games — realizing there’ll be many secret areas inaccessible on a first-playthrough as they require skills you’ve not but unlocked. This is perhaps resulting from the incontrovertible fact that solely seven characters might be playable in Legacy of The Dark Knight, and thus the selection of powers and devices is vastly lowered — particularly in comparison with The Skywalker Saga’s roster of round 400. That treasure-hunting replayability issue is a large draw for some, so I concern a bit of if that is the case, however maybe that portion of the expertise is being reserved primarily for its open world.
I solely received to spend round 10 minutes in a small outside part of Gotham Metropolis, however discovered no scarcity of issues to stand up to. That Arkham muscle-memory kicked in as I grapple-hooked onto a close-by roof and launched into the air earlier than spreading my Batwings and assessing the crime-ridden alleys for exercise. In my brief time, I prevented a criminal offense in progress by thumping a couple of goons, accomplished a Riddler trophy puzzle, and tried a time trial in a Batmobile of my selecting — The Dark Knight’s Tumbler, 2022’s muscle-car like monster from The Batman, and accompanying Batcycle had been on provide. Character outfits are customisable, from golden age comedian interpretations to fashionable film appears. How these are unlocked is but unclear, however I wouldn’t be stunned if spending time gathering treasures dotted round the open world performs into this.
Preliminary impressions that Legacy of The Dark Knight is an Arkham recreation in a LEGO wrapping are pretty spot-on, then. I settled snugly into the middle-ground between dynamic fight and collectathon puzzling the collection has rooted itself so efficiently in for years. I’m left very hopeful from the hour or so I’ve spent with it up to now, and assume it may very well be the good factor to tide Arkham followers over till Rocksteady (or any individual else prepared to take up the mantle) solutions the name of the Batsignal.
Simon Cardy is a Senior Editor at IGN who can primarily be discovered skulking round open world video games, indulging in Korean cinema, or despairing at the state of Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Comply with him on Bluesky at @cardy.bsky.social.