Lego DC Super-Villains NYCC Preview
The movie Suicide Squad has had a lot of things said about it—one of the few positives is that it was proof of the unwavering popularity of DC’s villains. The gallery of who’s who in the DC Universe is arguably the best and widest variety of sinister tricksters out there. So, a great way to showcase that is by making these serial killers and dastardly villains adorable Lego figures and send them on a grand adventure in Lego DC Super-Villains!
While this may sound slightly sarcastic, I have two nephews who love playing the Lego games and a Lego DC Super-Villains is a perfect addition to the series. While the gameplay of the games hasn’t changed much, being button mash combat and team puzzle solving, the game endures because it’s so much damn fun! The reason I bring my nephews into this conversation is that while the gameplay is fun and easy, the puzzles are just complicated enough that every so often, they’d have to call their uncle to help them solve one of the more complicated puzzles and then I’d have to hang out for a few hours to make sure they didn’t get stuck again. This is a long winded way of saying I’ve loved the goofy, fun, and kind of ridiculous game series for some time and I couldn’t be happier to get to play as my favourite criminal masterminds.
While it would be easy to fall back on a tried and true method, Super-Villains decides to take a new approach to the game, adding some extra RPG elements and allowing you to create your own character. Now, I don’t know about you, but character creators are my jam – I’ll spend an hour before I even get to the attributes. Also, I don’t know if you’ve ever played Lego before, but putting crazy stuff together is most of the fun. So, the addition of making my own super villain who can absorb and learn new powers is great, just like everyone’s favourite bot, Amazo.
This slight addition to the game made everything so much more engaging. Even though I had to quickly move through the character create, there was an absolute bounty of options with many more available to unlock throughout the game. One of the nice touches that I thought was just a cherry on top of things was that you get to even customize the powers you unlock. Do you want that energy beam to come out of your hands or eyes? How do you want it to look? What colour? Do you have stand a certain way while doing it? While it may not sound like a lot, it was an in depth way for to bound to my character even more since, you know, he’s a Lego and all.
Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge all of the other characters who are there. The sections I was able to play featured Luthor, Mercy, Solomon Grundy, and Cheeta, while another section featured the ultimate crime duo of Harley Quinn and the Joker. While most favourites are seemingly playable, I was assured there would be some surprise appearances later in the game and the turn up of one of DC’s greatest villains ever.
The Lego series is obviously aimed at a younger demographic in its safe, slapstick violence and its adorable aesthetic. However, there was a line at NYCC to get a turn at the Super-Villain entry to the series and there were only a handful of children. Mostly, it was people like myself who were eager to scoop up the controller and see what was new and exciting from DC and Lego. Turns out the answer is: a lot! I just hope my nephews aren’t old enough to figure out those extra difficult puzzles on their own.
