LEGO DC Super-Villains Review – Joker and the Thief

LEGO DC Super-Villains Review

It’s been another busy year for the team at TT Games with three LEGO games released in 2018. A while back we reviewed LEGO The Incredibles and before the end of the year, we’ll see the re-release of the first two LEGO Harry Potter games. However, today we turn our attention on the latest LEGO flavour of the month, a comic book inspired adventure featuring the villains from the vast DC universe, LEGO DC Super-Villains.

LEGO DC Super-Villains begins with Commissioner James Gordon enlisting the help of super-villain and prison inmate Lex Luthor to track down a brand new super-villain… you. As Gordon places your dossier in front of Lex, you’ll be transported to a create-a-character menu to design a super-villain to your own evil specifications. My super-villain, Bad Mr. Sausage, wore a Batman-like suit with a blue cape. He had the speed of a speedster, much like Reverse Flash, and his melee weapon of choice – a sausage. Lex Luther ends up escaping with some other DC rogues and recruits Bad Mr. Sausage. Shortly after, Lex and his team of rogues square off against the Justice League in an epic battle. Then, direct from Earth 3, the Justice Syndicate appear and capture the Justice League. While the world thinks the Justice Syndicate are just filling in for the Justice League – little do they know the Syndicate have plans to take over the world. Of course, Lex Luthor, Joker and the rest of the super-villains aren’t going to just sit around while these Earth 3 villains run rampant – if anyone’s going to take over the world, it’s the super-villains!

Feels Good to be the Bad Guy

LEGO DC Super-Villains plays exactly as you’d expect from a LEGO game. You’ll jump, build, and punch your way through level after level using a variety of DC super-villains. And there are a ton of super-villains – well over 150 unlockable characters, each with their own unique attacks and abilities. I imagine even the most hardcore comic book fans would be hard-pressed not to find their favourite bad guy here. The game features a pretty large open-world hub, spanning from Gotham to Metropolis (and a few other areas I don’t want to spoil here). Beyond the hub, you’ll play through twenty different levels taking players all over the DC universe – including locations like the Green Lantern’s homeworld Oa. The sheer amount of content jam-packed into LEGO DC Super-Villains is incredible.

The game’s audio is some of the best I’ve heard in a LEGO game. The music, especially travelling through the open world hub, is pretty spectacular. As you make your way through the grungy and dark Gotham, the music is a sort of Jazz Noir, like you’d find in gritty crime movies. But then as you make your way into Metropolis, the music changes to a more lively tune that meshes with the beautiful looking city. I also loved the inclusion of the song “Joker and the Thief” by Wolfmother, which plays on the title screen and in the Legion of Doom headquarters. But where the game’s audio really shines is the work of the voice actors portraying the vast assortment of DC characters. You’ve literally got a who’s who of video game voice acting here, with the likes of Jennifer Hale, Nolan North, and so on. Fans of CW’s DC Arrowverse shows will be thrilled to know that John Barrowman reprises his Malcolm Merlyn role and Brandon Routh reprises his role as The Atom. I just wish they could have gotten Wentworth Miller to reprise his brilliant portrayal of Captain Cold. Batman fans will instantly recognize Tara Strong, Kevin Conroy, and Mark Hamill reprising their iconic roles as Harley Quinn, Batman, and the Joker. There are more awesome voice-acting surprises from some previous DC cartoons, but I don’t want to spoil them all here.

Even Villains Need a Friend

Multiplayer is back, allowing two local players to play simultaneously. I loved the fact that in the vast open world, players could split up and do their own thing – but I did notice a bit of slowdown every now and then. There were a couple times that the split screen really hindered our ability to see much of the action – but that’s really just a minor grievance. It’s a bit disappointing that there’s no online option here and I’m hoping future LEGO games start incorporating online co-op, maybe even allowing for more than two players to play at the same time.

LEGO DC Super-Villains is a fantastic LEGO game. Sure, the game has a few issues. The load times are a bit absurd, but only when you first start the game. I experienced a few glitches where the game wouldn’t let us proceed, forcing us to restart entire levels. And the gameplay is essentially the same as any other LEGO game, which can get a bit tiresome. On the flip side, the story is absolutely brilliant with some genuinely funny moments and a plot that cleverly incorporates a vast amount of DC characters. The voice acting is some of the best you’ll find in a video game. The game is jam-packed with content – twenty big levels, a large open-world hub, and plenty of characters to unlock. The multiplayer is pretty good, but I’m hoping TT Games considers online co-op in future games. If you’re a fan of previous LEGO games or a DC comics fan – I highly recommend getting LEGO DC Super-Villains.

***LEGO DC Super-Villains Xbox One key was provided by publisher***