Injustice 2 Review – Bigger, Bolder, and Badder Than the Original

Injustice 2 Review

Injustice 2, with its large cast of superheroes, takes what was great from Injustice: Gods Among Us and expands the game, making it even better. NetherRealm Studios gives fans, both of DC and of the fighting genre, a massive game to behold, with amazing graphics, characters to cheer for and others to hate, and a fantastic narrative. While there are a few small issues within the game itself, one thing is for sure, they don’t take away from all of the joy you’ll feel kicking Brainiac’s ass.

Without a doubt, the story of Injustice 2 is a bit simpler than that of its predecessor, however, it shifts focus quite frequently, giving players a lot of variety. Within the first hour, you will get to play with a handful of different characters, including Batman, Harley Quinn, the Green Arrow and the Black Canary. The story takes place where Injustice: Gods Among Us leaves off, following the events of a world ruled by an evil Superman. With Superman behind bars, Batman and his team, are struggling to bring peace to the world after the chaos. Of course, this cannot be a smooth transition, as the world transcends into darkness once again with the introduction of the supervillain ‘army’ known as the Society, as well as Superman’s nemesis Brainiac.

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“From stunning visuals and sound, to an outstanding cast of characters and a bunch of customization, this game exceeds expectations in nearly every aspect.”

Batman and the cast of heroes are having trouble seeing eye to eye on how best to approach the situation, each with different ideas of what justice should be and what it looks like. There is an overwhelming sense of sadness from a majority of the characters, as they all long for things to go back to how they were. Amongst the sadness, the heroes need to stay strong if they hope to defeat the evil that threatens to take over the world once again! Aside from the underlying themes within Injustice 2, there is an action-packed story with epic battles and amazing cutscenes to get excited about. The story narrative itself is interesting, giving fans a lot of insight into the motivations of the characters, for both the heroes and the villains alike. The story takes about 5-6 hours to play through, however, this completely depends on your skill level and there are a few different narrative branches, allowing for multiple endings. It is definitely worth another playthrough to see what changes occur when you make different choices!

While the story remains fresh, showing off a large variety of possibilities, there is definitely a downside to adding a bunch of characters to the mix. As I mentioned earlier, within the first hour alone you play as a few different characters and while this is beyond fun, it is also frustrating when trying to learn how each character plays. Each hero has a ton of combinations to learn, and they are not all the same. A combination for Batman may not exist for Harley Quinn, or the Flash and vice versa. This really quick game pacing just doesn’t translate very well when trying to master each of the characters abilities. Although this does not take away from the story very much, especially for a button masher, it can definitely be more than overwhelming for someone new to the series.

Much too often, games of the fighting genre fail to give players a meaty game, with more content than just the single player story. Like most games in the fighting genre, Injustice 2 gives players the opportunity to bring their skill to competitive multiplayer matches. But there is something different to be found in this multiplayer realm aside from the usual 1 on 1 matches we’re used to seeing. While these 1 vs 1 matches are available, you are also able to get a team together to face off against enemy AI. On top of this, Injustice 2 also features a completely new game mode, called the Multiverse. This multiverse mode, aptly named for its ability to look at alternate worlds within the different parallel universes, allows players to find problems within these worlds, using brother eye technology, and respond in kind to the crises. By fighting the villains and putting a stop the destruction they are causing, players earn mother boxes, from bronze to gold, as well as currency. This game mode allows infinite opportunities to gain different customization for your characters, as well as the opportunity to level them up. This multiverse mode holds limited time events, much like that of Destiny, and this game mode really adds a ton of replayability to the game following the completion of the story.

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“There is nothing else that quite compares to the excitement and joy you feel after stringing a bunch of moves together, making an epic combination, and kicking the big-bad to smithereens!”

On top of the different game modes that not only add to the replayability of Injustice 2, there is also a bunch of customization options thanks to the new gear system. There are over 20 shaders for each character, allowing for fresh and sometimes spunky looks for each of them. There is also a large variety of gear to be earned through the completion of the story, multiplayer matches and the multiverse. This gear allows players to increase the different aspects of their characters, adding extra points to their strength or defense for example. This gear system is a perfect way to reward players for their dedication to the game, much like that which can be found in recent Call of Duty games, and it’s definitely a fantastic addition to the game. There is just one little problem with this gear system: gear that is rewarded does not necessarily mean that it can be equipped. Let me explain. During the course of the story, players will earn epic gear that can only be used is the character is level 20. This might seem fair enough, however, it takes quite a long time to get a character to level 20, meaning that the gear earned in the first chapter of the game, cannot be equipped until way down the line. It seems like this may have been a bit of an oversight, and quite frankly it is annoying.

The controls of Injustice 2 are very similar to the original game, however, the movements and combinations are smoother and the mechanics of the game are better overall. Much like NetherRealms other popular game, Mortal Kombat, Injustice 2 has complicated controls, with a vast amount of combinations for each of the characters available. There is nothing else that quite compares to the excitement and joy you feel after stringing a bunch of moves together, making an epic combination, and kicking the big-bad to smithereens. While the controls of the game are complicated, the more you play, the easier they become. And for anyone who may be new to the game, there is a lengthy tutorial to play through which will help master these controls as well. The AI within the game seems to be just the right difficulty, getting a bit harder to beat as the story continues. The villains you face in chapter 10 are definitely harder than chapter 1. These computer characters act in ways they should, and they add to the story without a doubt.

One thing that should not be overlooked is just how great the graphics for Injustice 2 are. The lighting is fantastic, the colors pop and visually everything looks very crisp. The characters look as closely to the movies as they possibly can and sound just as great. The voice acting is fantastic as well, and the way the narrative is told by the different characters definitely kept me both engaged and entertained. The sound is great, allowing the cinematic experiences take hold of you, and definitely shape the tone of the game every step of the way.

Overall, there is nothing that can really take away from the experience that is Injustice 2. From stunning visuals and sound to an outstanding cast of characters and a bunch of customization, this game exceeds expectations in nearly every aspect. The cutscenes make Injustice 2 a standout in its genre and are definitely where the narrative and graphics shine. With everything that Injustice 2 brings to the table, it is one of the best we’ve seen from the fighting genre in years!

*** PS4 code provided by the publisher ***