Fans of LEGO games and The Caped Crusader have had it pretty good since such games became popular and prevalent. There were three mainline, block-based, titles based around the iconic superhero that were released over the last couple of generations of consoles, along with some spinoffs that related to him or featured he and his allies/foes. Now, there’s another much talked-about addition to the series, with that being TT Games’ LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight.
A celebration of all things Batman, this latest foray into blocks and bat-a-range features familiar friends and foes. You’ll get to play as Robin, Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl and more, but the roster is limited unlike the games of yesteryear. That’s a good thing in my books.
Beginning at Wayne Manor, prior to the death of his parents, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight chronicles billionaire Bruce Wayne’s beginnings as a superhero. You’ll follow Alfred through the gardens, encounter the cave full of bats, and then train. The campaign essentially takes you through a number of Batman movies after that, with each one having around three main missions with smaller ones leading up to them.
When you’re not within a stage, you’ll explore a dark and sometimes rainy Gotham City by open world means. There’s a large map made up of different islands, which are connected, and then there’s the separate Batcave location. You can drive, glide (including along wind tunnels), and grapple your way from point to point, or you can unlock fast travel points by solving puzzles to unlock subway style travel.
The Batcave is customizable, meaning that you can destroy some clutter and then decorate it with trophies, or different types of decor that can be purchased. It also has different vehicles to buy, a computer to use and a large series of rooms featuring unlocked costumes.
When you’re out and about in Gotham, traffic will be something to deal with, as will random crimes which can be tackled or ignored. These generally involve fighting a group of enemies, stopping a runaway car or things like that. They do get repetitive, but I still found myself drawn to them, and feeling like I was being a jerk if I didn’t complete them.
Alongside those random crime events, which are broadcast over police radio, there’s a ton of stuff to do in the city. There are vehicular races, AR combat challenges, escaped animals to tag, Riddler puzzles to solve, and another type as well. On top of that, there are evil flowers to deal with, red bricks to find and more. If you’re a completionist, and someone who loves doing everything in these games, it’ll take you a while.
It’s possible to change your sidekick, but each chapter’s new missions tend to force you to stick with one. However, there was a time where I needed to change to Gordon to use his special gun. You see, Batman has his thrown projectiles, his grappling hook to pull things with and the ability to scan for clues or try to sequence chemicals through a simple minigame. Robin’s staff can be used to move sliding switches, and he can throw projectiles that can hit up to three targets at once. Meanwhile, Gordon has guns that can shoot a gum like substance to gum up motors and stop them, as well as a multiplying projectile gun that can be used to attack enemies. Some of these abilities can by upgraded, along with health, added moves and other unlocks.
Since LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight features three different difficulty levels, it’s possible to tailor the game more towards how you want to play it. The medium and easy ones give you around 8 hearts, but the hard one apparently gives you just three or four, like the old games. I played on ‘normal’ and was able to add two extra hearts through a skill unlock. These were made possible by opening WayneTech chests and finding chips.
More health will be helpful to players, because this title throws a lot more enemies at you. Fights can be comprised of a surprising number of foes, and they eventually come in various types. There are the basic grunts, ranged ones with guns to roll away from, henchmen carrying electric batons, baddies with rocket launchers and shielded ones who must be hit from behind. On top of those, there are a couple types of brutes, exploding penguins and some decent boss battles.
The combat is actually better than usual, and feels like the Arkham Games. The characters have basic attacks, and can then counter incoming ones by pressing Y when prompted. Furthermore, as one defeats baddies, they’ll fill a meter to unlock a special attack that is normally a one hit kill, unless it’s done against brutes or bosses. It still manages to take a good amount of their health out though.
The driving could be a bit better, but it’s pretty easy to control. There are numerous Batmobiles and motorcycles to ride, and there’s even a mission that features a chase and then some frustrating vehicle roof sections.
Presentation-wise, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a treat. It’s visually impressive, with good art design, beautiful visuals and effects like rain being visible on the shiny LEGO characters. It performed really well, despite a busy and chaotic city with an overwhelming amount of map icons and a good amount of civilians. However, I did experience one glitch, during the aforementioned chase stage, where an enemy I was supposed to knock out with a dart did not appear.
Everything is fully voiced, too, and the performances are quite great. This complements a soundtrack full of good music, boisterous sound effects and a true sense of Batman and Gotham City. It helps that things are well written, with the occasional good comedic part.
Although I’ve played through most of the LEGO games, I’ve never been crazy about them, or even a big fan. I found a lot of them to be too repetitive and overwhelming. Thankfully, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a polished, varied, engaging and enjoyable experience that kept me interested. I quite enjoyed it.
This review is based on the Xbox Series X version of the game, which we were provided with.