LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

Genre: 3D Action-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

LEGO Batman 3 is a family-friendly 3D Action-Platformer released in 2014 on PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Wii U, with a similar but different game bearing the same title released on PlayStation Vita and Nintendo 3DS, and then ported to mobile devices in 2015. After the second LEGO Batman game made the Traveller’s Tales LEGO series’ first strides into the world of Open-World games, the third installment… takes a big leap backwards and decides to aim for a strictly linear campaign. In a series that by this point was frequently the target of complaints that it has been growing stagnant, this move was quite brave and bold…ly stupid.

Yeah, I don’t know what on Earth they were thinking with this game, unless they were aiming to disappoint. Look, I’m not saying that Open-World games are inherently better than non Open-World games, but if you’re going to ditch one of the more interesting and ambitious elements of the franchise, you had better have something to put in its place, and this game really doesn’t. This really is just “more of the same… but less”.

At the very least, this game does pack a new story featuring its amusing take on DC comics’ legendary characters, with an eclectic mix of voice actors from various media. Clancy Brown once again reprises his role as Lex Luthor from the DCAU, along with the late Gilbert Gottfried as Mr. Mxyzptlk, you have Stephen Amell reprising his Green Arrow role from the CW show, and you even have Kevin Smith and the late Adam West playing… themselves. And then of course you have industry veterans like Troy Baker, Nolan North, Dee Bradley Baker, Tara Strong, and Kari Wahlgren filling out the rest of the voice cast. It’s an eclectic bunch, but a strong one. And fitting that eclectic tone, you have a variety of familiar themes here, with the early levels featuring both the Tim Burton Batman film score and the theme to the Adam West TV series. Fans of the DC universe will undoubtedly have a fun time catching all the references this game makes.

Everyone else? Meh.

The 3D visuals here are passable, but smaller in scope than many of the earlier LEGO games, including LEGO Batman 2. The gameplay, likewise, is passable, but does nothing new or interesting for anyone who has played any of the gazillion other Traveller’s Tales LEGO games to come before and after this. Smash stuff, fight easily-dispatched mooks, solve exceedingly simple puzzles, wash rinse repeat…

I hate to sound so negative here. LEGO Batman 3 is fine, and anyone looking for a family-friendly co-op game should find this sufficient. It’s just that there are plenty of other games that play just like this one does, and have much more to offer, and the fact that one of those games is this game’s predecessor really sucks any enthusiasm out of what this game might have to offer. As such, while you may enjoy it, there are plenty of other better games I recommend you play before getting this.

tl;dr – LEGO Batman 3 is yet another game to feature Traveller’s Tales family-friendly LEGO game 3D Action-Platformer formula, and it shockingly decides to walk back the ambitious Open World elements introduced in LEGO Batman 2. The result is a game that’s perfectly playable, but feels like a huge step backwards for the series, and presents something that truly does feel like “more of the same” at a time when this franchise really needed to innovate and break out of its rut. Disappointing.

Grade: C

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