LEGO DC Super-Villains

Genre: Open-World 3D Action-Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Split-Screen)

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Review:

LEGO DC Super-Villains is a family-friendly Open-World 3D Action-Platformer released in 2018 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This is the yet another entry in Traveller’s Tales’ long-running LEGO crossover franchise of family-friendly 3D Action-Platformers, with this game marking the fourth time the LEGO series has ventured into the world of DC Comics.

While the LEGO Batman games featured a combination of voice actors from various DC Comics adaptations (as well as a collection of veteran voice actors who were new to the franchise), DC Super-Villains leans harder than ever before into the DCAU versions of those characters, most notably with Joker and Batman being voiced by Mark Hamill and the late Kevin Conroy. However, plenty of other DCAU voice actors also reprise their roles here – Lex Luthor is once again played by Clancy Brown, Tara Strong reprises her role as Batgirl (and Harley Quinn and Raven), Jeffrey Combs as Scarecrow, Michael Ironside as Darkseid, the late Gilbert Gottfried as Mr. Mxyzptlk, and more. While not every voice in this game is a DCAU voice actor reprising their role, it’s quite a lot, and fans of that great series should take particular interest in this game.

Of course, then there’s this game’s unique angle, putting you specifically in the role of the villains for a change, which makes for a fun and unique spin on the usual superhero story. This also opens up an interesting gameplay opportunity, as one of the main mechanics in this game is that you are creating a central character of the story, “The Rookie”, who has the ability to absorb energy to gain new superpowers. This expands on the character customization previously seen in LEGO The Incredibles, not only allowing you more detailed customization of your character’s power set, but making the expansion of this power set a part of the gameplay, a really inspired idea.

It’s not the only unique idea that LEGO DC Super-Villains has, either. Some characters, like Joker, are able to gather goons to follow him, perform tasks, and so on. It’s not a huge change to the gameplay, but it’s a clever use of this game’s unique angle, all the same.

Beyond that, this is of course more of Traveller’s Tales’ usual LEGO 3D Action-Platformer stuff. Fight a bunch of enemies, destroy everything in the room, and use it to build something to help you solve “puzzles” to progress. Wash, rinse, repeat.

This game does thankfully allow players to access its Open-World content pretty early compared to most LEGO games, though it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The game’s map of Gotham and Metropolis is bursting with personality, but it also feels extremely cramped, especially when compared to some other Open Worlds in the LEGO franchise. It’s not terrible, but it definitely makes the world of these characters feel unusually small.

In terms of visuals, LEGO DC Super-Villains looks excellent, and is possibly the best-looking game up until this point in the series. As noted before, Gotham and Metropolis have an absolute ton of detail, with some really great lighting. I’ll also note that the way the game handles sound is particularly good here too, with voices echoing impressively when spoken in enclosed spaces. This is all backed by a cinematic soundtrack that sounds good, but isn’t especially memorable, save for the fantastic title theme, Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother.

Once again, I think LEGO DC Super-Villains is one of the best games up to this point in the series. Once again, this praise comes with caveats. And once again, one of those caveats is that if you long ago grew tired of the Traveller’s Tales LEGO formula, this game isn’t going to change your mind. On the other hand, if you enjoy this series, I think it’s fair to say that this was a new high for the series, which is somewhat redeeming, after the disappointment that was the last LEGO game in the DC universe, LEGO Batman 3. If you were like me and that game seemed like it was a misstep for the franchise, I think you should definitely give this game a chance.

tl;dr – LEGO DC Super-Villains is yet another game in Traveller’s Tales’ family-friendly franchise of LEGO Open-World 3D Action-Platformers, with this being the fourth major crossover into the DC Universe. The focus on the franchise’s villains really gives this game a unique story and tone, and the new character customization system is an absolute highlight of this game, making this one of the best LEGO games in the series thus far. This still isn’t likely to change your opinion if you previously lost interest in the Traveller’s Tales LEGO games, but if you still enjoy them you should consider this a must-have.

Grade: B+

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