PLOT: Inspired by decades of Batman media, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a new open-world action-adventure video game that invites players to explore Bruce Wayne’s epic journey as he becomes Gotham City’s hero.
REVIEW: Putting a lighter spin on Batman’s adventures has always been LEGO and TT Games’ specialty when making LEGO Batman games. Still, this time, with LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the studio has nearly perfected the build-a-brick formula, resulting in something genuinely funny, creative, and a joy to play for hours on end. To begin, Gotham City is bigger than ever (or at least to my memory of the other LEGO Batman games), with iconic locations, villain strongholds, and boss battles feeling more authentic and creative than ever. The linear levels are full of surprises, making the game’s collect-a-thon nature a blast as you explore, discover, and investigate brightly-colored and complex environments in search of justice.
Each of the game’s six chapters takes inspiration from a legendary Batman film or television era, from Matt Reeves’ The Batman to Batman: The Animated Series and beyond. My favorite aspect of this structure is that none of them is a one-to-one recreation of the source material. You’ll recognize classic scenes and whole bits of dialogue, but it’s all been remixed into something new, keeping you guessing which direction the presentation will take next. It’s as if you dumped all your Batman LEGO sets on the floor and randomly pulled from the pile instead of following the instruction manual. I found a lot of joy in not knowing where the game would go next, and although I’m well-versed in Batman’s film and comic book history, the game kept me guessing, with surprises coming right up until the end. LEGO and TT Games smartly present the lore and humor throughout the experience, showing that they’ve discovered what works and what doesn’t since 2014’s LEGO Batman: Beyond Gotham or 2018’s LEGO DC Super-Villains.
While the main story never fails to entertain, it can come off as a little jarring as you move from one chapter to the next. As you’re cycling through different Bat-eras, times change, as do some of the characters. For example, Robin eventually evolves into Nightwing throughout the adventure. While comic readers might know the stress this causes to Batman and Dick’s relationship, players unfamiliar with the narrative rift could feel a little lost as to why the dynamic duo is suddenly acting a bit snippy toward one another. The missing bricks are there if you know where to look, but the game is too busy creating a sense of urgency and introducing new villains and set pieces to give you all the dirt.
There are roughly 20 linear missions in which Batman fights, detects, and solves crimes alongside a partner. While Batman has his standard Batarangs and Bat-Grapple, his companions come equipped with a variety of talents, weapons, and gadgets that enable creative puzzle-solving and environmental exploration. If you stick to the story missions, the game moves pretty fast, and you can switch between characters on the fly, allowing you to solve overworld puzzles as you find them, and there are many of those. Like, a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. Straight up, I can’t wait to dive back in after beating the game, solving riddles, eradicating violent plants, competing in races, getting into brawls, and much, much more.
Another significant feature of the new game is its combat approach. Joining the talented team at TT Games for Legacy of the Dark Knight are select individuals from Rocksteady, the developers behind the beloved Batman Arkham Trilogy. While not as complex as the Arkham games, the combat in Legacy of the Dark Knight flows much like Rocksteady’s Arkham trilogy, with characters entering flow states as they gravitate from one enemy to another, countering attacks, and adding flourishes with onomatopoeia like ZAP! BAM! BOOM! POW! If you encounter a large group of enemies, your combo counter can keep going, taking you beyond the 100s for a massive score multiplier and cinematic feel that looks and feels great. The combat encounters can get stale if you’re not creative, so be sure to use your gadgets and weapons to mix things up.
Another area where the game could have used a bit more polish is during the exploration of Gotham City. The game provides you with map markers, but without a mini-map to help navigate the intricate streets, you could find yourself missing turns or confused as to where the correct bridge or off-ramp is to the area you’re trying to reach. I futz around in the menus, but didn’t see anything to help with this issue. That said, I found my way relatively quickly. It helps that you can barrel through anything that stands in your way without consequence. Sure, companion characters will mock your driving, but it’s a small price to pay for sending citizens, vehicles, and hot dog carts flying while collecting those sweet LEGO bits along the way.
I played through the game on a PlayStation 5, and absolutely loved TT Games’ attention to the Dual Sense controller’s capabilities. The game designers used the rumble, force feedback, and speaker system to great effect, especially during driving sequences. I could feel Batman shifting gears while getting the Batmobile moving, a satisfying chunk each time the vehicle increased in speed or decelerated for tighter turns. You also feel and hear feedback when picking up specific LEGO pieces. Each time I picked one up, my controller responded with a gratifying sound or a finely tuned vibration.
Earlier, I said LEGO Batman: The Dark Knight is a near-perfect build-a-brick adventure. I say this because I did encounter some glitches in the game. A few times throughout my 20+ hours with the game, characters would repeat dialogue, sometimes referring to a pivotal story moment that had already passed. It doesn’t hinder gameplay in any way; it’s just silly and can get patched out in future updates. Other glitches I encountered were cameras getting stuck and characters stuttering through objects. Again, nothing that broke the game. It’s the kind of glitch where you laugh at it and move on, a brief “Woof” escaping your lips.
I also want to say how incredible the game looks. The team at TT Games realizes everything from Gotham City to the Batcave and beyond with care and insane attention to detail. For a dark, scary place, Gotham City is vibrant with colors, life, and humor. The game is overflowing with Easter eggs for casual and hardcore fans. I literally lost count of how many times I pointed at the screen like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme while feeling like Steve Rogers, saying, “I understood that reference.” Oh, and the collectibles. There are so many of them! The amount of costumes (which look incredible, by the way) you can collect is staggering, especially the fibrous nature of the capes. I finished with roughly 51% of the collectibles found, and genuinely can’t wait to go back and 100% the game. I want to see everything.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a lovingly crafted ode to the Caped Crusader that’s fun for players of all ages. It makes a concentrated effort to beef up the combat, though encounters can still feel one-note if you’re not using every toy in the box to keep things feeling creative and engaging. The linear levels offer tons of fun, but it’s the open-world Gotham City collect-a-thon that’s the true star of the show. You’ll spend hours getting lost in a nostalgia-driven series of nods to Batman’s history, obvious throwbacks, deep cuts, and all. It’s easily one of the best Batman games ever made, and it’s so much more than a nostalgia grab for the Batman LEGO games of old. It’s the definitive LEGO Batman adventure every fan of the Dark Knight needs to play.
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