Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Review — Great Idea, Poor Execution

Suicide Squad Complete Review

Summary

• Game Name: Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
• Release Date: February 2, 2024
• Developer: Rocksteady Studios
• Publisher: Warner Bros. Games
• Available Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
• Game Genre: Action, Third-Person Shooter, Open World
• Game Context: A new installment in the Batman: Arkham universe, where Task Force X (Suicide Squad) must face a Justice League controlled by Brainiac.

Story and Narrative

The story sets up an interesting premise: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark are sent to Metropolis to take down a Justice League corrupted by Brainiac. At first, this didn’t sound like a bad idea. Initially, many fans just disliked the concept of hurting their favorite heroes, but honestly, a game that always repeats the “save the day” formula can get stale so the idea wasn’t bad. Execution, however, is another matter. The narrative has entertaining moments and the signature Suicide Squad humor, but at times it feels wasted. Character development is inconsistent, and while there are well-done scenes, the game’s tone doesn’t always match the gravity of the situation. To give you an idea, sometimes it feels like the game is trying to copy Marvel-style jokes, and instead of being funny, it turns awkward and pointless. I laughed a couple of times, but overall, the four main characters come across as clumsy people you’d never believe capable of taking down the Justice League. Their skills don’t stand out enough, so they constantly rely on advanced technology and help from other characters to succeed.

The game’s beginning is terrible. Honestly, the first minutes make you doubt your purchase, even thinking this might be as bad as 2020’s Avengers game. It improves a little afterward, but don’t expect much of a change. The idea of defeating heroes works in theory, but the situations where you actually beat them are completely unbelievable. The characters may get a chuckle out of you once in a while, but you never connect with them not with the main cast, nor with the supporting characters.

The main villain, Brainiac, who controls the heroes, is beyond disappointing, to the point you wonder how he could possibly control the Justice League in the first place. He beats them but not the Suicide Squad? Ironic, isn’t it? To top it off, spoiler alert: at the end, the game suddenly throws in the concept of multiverses and reveals there are 13 Brainiacs. You defeat the one in your universe in a lame way, and then they tell you: “Good job, now go eliminate the other 12.” Unbelievable. And don’t get me started on Wonder Woman’s role: she contributes absolutely nothing. She’s thrown in just to check the box of including the most famous heroes, but her presence is irrelevant and annoying.

A common complaint among players is the drastic change compared to the Batman Arkham games. The story doesn’t come close to that same level of impact and leaves Rocksteady, the developer, in a bad spot — going from such success to this disappointment. Still, it’s not the worst story in gaming history, but the main reason someone might finish the campaign is the inclusion of iconic characters that at least provide memorable moments, whether good or bad, for DC Comics fans or simply for those who think, “Well, I bought the game, might as well finish it.” Overall, the script doesn’t stand out and leaves you feeling it could’ve been much better. According to PS5 stats, only about 15% of players finish the story.

Gameplay

The game is a third-person shooter focused on fast mobility and frenetic combat. Each character has their own playstyle: Deadshot uses long-range weapons, King Shark is a melee tank, Harley Quinn is agile with her grappling hook, and Captain Boomerang mixes speed with short-range attacks. Personally, I always used Deadshot not because he was better, but because all the characters felt the same to me. You don’t really feel much difference when switching characters, and the process of switching is annoying. Unlike other games where you can swap quickly from the menu, here you need to completely exit out.

The game starts with a tutorial, and I have to say: if the developers thought they’d impress players with the tutorial, it was a huge mistake. It’s one of the worst openings I have ever played. According to PS5 stats, more than 45% of players quit the game during the tutorial. It immediately drives players away because you think: “If this is the beginning, is this all I will be doing for the next hours?” And what happens? People uninstall the game.

Gameplay is dynamic, but it becomes repetitive very quickly. Personally, it started feeling repetitive after about three hours. There’s a lot of action, but missions follow the same pattern: clear waves of enemies and complete secondary objectives. This loop continues throughout the whole game. The mobility is fun, but the gunplay lacks depth.

The game supports solo play or co-op with up to 4 players, which is a plus. However, the AI of computer-controlled teammates is poor, hurting the experience if you play alone.

They even included Riddler missions during the alien invasion, where he sets puzzles for the Justice League across the map. Honestly, it made no sense to me. The weapons aren’t very diverse either, and all four characters can use the same ones, which makes the game feel generic. You’re offered four characters, but they all feel the same. The worst part is map traversal, which is frustrating and slow. Luckily, the map isn’t too big, but still — Deadshot’s jetpack overheats after three seconds, Harley’s grappling is clunky, Shark’s jumps are slow, and Boomerang teleports with aiming. With each one, moving around becomes tedious.

Boss fights are terribly designed, not just narratively but also in gameplay. You fight 5 bosses, and all the battles are bad. SPOILER: The Flash — generic and boring; Green Lantern — shoot his constructs; Batman — an incredibly annoying part where he throws gas and you must ventilate the room before fighting; Superman — just shoot him until he falls because you suddenly have his weakness equipped; and Brainiac the worst, basically a copy-paste of the Flash fight. Each fight has its gimmick, but none feel memorable in a good way.

Graphics and Visual Design

The game looks good, with detailed character designs and a vibrant Metropolis. However, the art direction is somewhat generic and doesn’t stand out like Gotham did in the Arkham saga. Visual effects for powers and explosions are well done, but enemy designs are bland. Honestly, all the aliens looked the same to me: small, medium, and large.

The design of the Squad’s costumes and aesthetic is appealing, and there are plenty of cosmetic customization options, which is a positive. However, the city feels empty and lifeless. Personally, I had no motivation to explore. All you find are buildings and aliens everywhere a soulless world.

Sound and Music

The soundtrack works but isn’t particularly memorable. Sound effects are solid, especially for gunfire and explosions. Voice acting in English is strong overall, though some lines feel forced.

Combat sound effects help immersion, but musically, there’s nothing special. Don’t expect an iconic score like the Arkham games.

Difficulty and Accessibility

The game offers different difficulty settings, but most missions aren’t very challenging. Combat is chaotic, but enemy design rarely requires complex strategies. On easy, there’s basically no challenge. On higher difficulties, the game simply throws absurd amounts of enemies at you, and even if you dodge, you’ll always take some damage.

Accessibility options include some control and visual adjustments, but there aren’t many advanced features which is unacceptable.

Additional Content

The game was designed as a live-service title, meaning it will get updates with new characters and missions. But this also means microtransactions and a battle pass, which many players dislike. Personally, I think this was the first and biggest reason for the game’s failure.

At launch, the endgame content was limited, and it felt like the game was built so players would invest more time in future events and expansions. The offline portion felt lazy. Character customization is broad, but many skins and cosmetics are locked behind paywalls a common downside of live-service games.

Value for Money

The launch price was $69.99 USD, which is very steep considering the heavy presence of microtransactions and paid content from day one.

While the story and gameplay can entertain you for a while, the service-based model and repetitive missions make the price excessive. For some players, it’s better to wait for discounts or additional content. My advice is don’t pay more than $15 USD. I got it through PS Plus, and if I had paid full price, I would regret it.

Trophies / Achievements

• Platinum obtained: No.
• Trophies earned: 32%
• Estimated time: 30–40 hours
• Platinum difficulty: 5/10. Getting the platinum requires completing a lot of side missions and repetitive content, which becomes tedious over time. It’s not hard, but it demands patience with repetition — something I wouldn’t commit to for this game.

Conclusion

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is entertaining in gameplay at times, with an interesting premise, but it fails to reach its full potential. Repetitive missions and the heavy focus on microtransactions drag down the overall experience.

If you’re a fan of the Suicide Squad or enjoy third-person shooters, it might be worth trying, especially in co-op with friends. However, its live-service model and lack of depth in key areas make it far from a must-buy at launch or even at discount. This is the kind of game that will shut down its servers in a short time.

My final rating for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is: 2.5 out of 5.0

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