Summary
Because of the success of games likeFortnite, many of the biggest video game companies are attempting to get a slice of the live-service pie. Even superhero games are trying to embrace the live service approach, with the likes ofMarvel’s AvengersandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebeing examples of the trend. And while both games have definitely been a bit controversial with their respective fan bases,Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas one important thing going for it.
SinceMarvel’s AvengersandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueare extremely similar premises, it is only natural that players would end up comparing the two. Both games have similar mission structures, mechanics, and approaches to post-launch content. However, they also drastically differ in their gameplay styles. They may both give players the fantasy of being popular comic book characters,butSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s approach feels a lot more fun and engaging.
Marvel’s Avengers Gameplay Felt Rather Stale
InMarvel’s Avengers, players were able to take control of Earth’s mightiest heroes. At launch, they could choose betweenTony Stark’s Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, and Ms. Marvel. That roster was then further expanded through post-launch content with the likes of Spider-Man, The Winter Soldier, and Black Panther. While all of these characters made for great additions, they also kind of felt a bit boring to play after a while.
One of the biggestfaults withMarvel’s Avengers' gameplaywas that all of these characters felt slow when moving around locations. Navigating open areas mostly just saw players run to their objective, take out foes, and then run somewhere else, with flight in particular feeling like a let down. The traversal mechanics were shaken up a bit based on what character players were controlling, yet no matter what character they chose, the mechanics all felt kind of clunky, and the combat encounters did little to really improve upon that.
It was fun to mess around with each ofMarvel’s Avengers' charactersat first, yet things would quickly become stale. Most combat encounters would often see players just spam the same attacks, wait for other attacks to recharge, and then continue to spam them. There was not much variety, and some characters were simply that interesting to play as, which made for a rather lackluster experience overall. There was still plenty of fun to be had here, but the core gameplay loop was missing something.
Even thoughSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguemay repeat some of those same mistakes, its gameplay feels a bit more engaging. One of the best parts of it comes in the form of the traversal mechanics that Rocksteady has crafted. Each of the characters traverses the world differently based on who they are as a person, with the opening segment teaching players just how that works.Harley Quinn swings from buildingslike Spider-Man, Deadshot gets to fly around with a jetpack, Captain Boomerang can play with the speed force, and King Shark has the ability to leap high into the sky. All of these mechanics allow players to zoom across Metropolis extremely fast, with speed being the difference maker.
These traversal mechanics make it a bit more fun to exploreSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s open-worldthan it was to explore zones inMarvel’s Avengers. On top of that, there seems to be slightly more variation in the combat encounters. While many of them often result in players killing the same exact enemies, they challenge players to do it a bit differently each time. Sometimes the only way to take them out is via grenades, while other times they must utilize their attunement abilities, and once in a while, players must focus on only getting critical strikes. Like with traversal, the quickness of combat is what keeps things fun, as clearing HIVEs and battling the same overly durable enemies sawMarvel’s Avengersget old quickly.
Additionally, the boss battles are a bit more interesting, mechanics like shield recharge make players think a bit more strategically, and the various enemies force players to utilize an assortment of different attacks if they want any chance at winning. Although the game may seem a lot likeMarvel’s Avengers, those differences make it feel like a stronger experience in the end.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League
WHERE TO PLAY
Play as the Suicide Squad to take down the World’s Greatest DC Super Heroes, The Justice League. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, is a genre-defying, action-adventure third-person shooter from Rocksteady Studios, creators of the critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham series.
