Lego DC Super-Villains Review: Feels Good To Be Bad

Everyone, has a little bad inside them right? Well, the latest LEGO adventure allows you to embrace that side of life. ComiConverse reviews Lego DC Super-Villains on PS4 Pro

Lego DC Super-Villains Review: Feels Good To Be Bad

Credit: Warner Bros. Games

Players have the ability to create and play as an all-new Super-Villain throughout the game. Set in an expansive open world experience within the DC universe. It's up to you and a crazy group of misfits to uncover the intentions of earth's new wannabe superheroes.

LEGO’s gaming division has been an important part of the industry since “Lego Star Wars: The Video Game” blew us away in 2005 as it perfectly recreated events from the classic titles. Fans across the globe have loved each game in the long-running LEGO series, as they gave players the abilities to explore fictional worlds and use co-op teamwork. I for one adore these games, as they rely on puzzles which provide me with a good rest from the aggressive slew of shooters. Sadly, the recent games in the series have failed to meet exceptions with “Lego The Incredibles” coming across as a cheap movie cash in.

But last year’s “Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2”, felt like a step in the right direction giving players a ton of Marvel characters to run around with and defeat bad guys. It brought back the signature charm that was missing from the previous titles, pushing LEGO games forward and back into the limelight. But what’s next? Well, this time its the bad guys turn in “Lego DC Super-Villains”.

I am happy to confirm that Warner Bros. latest forays Lego DC Super-Villains is another solid adventure, which improves upon the predecessor’s features including an in-depth character creation tool and adds two-player cooperative multiplayer. While it doesn’t reinvent the series, shakes things up enough with the villain theme - setting it apart from the more heroic outings seen before.

Credit: Warner Bros. Games

The game's story centres around a group of DC Universe villains, fighting mysterious superheroes from another dimension - as these menaces threaten their way of life. At the beginning of Lego DC Super-Villains, players design their own little villain within ranks - and is set on a journey to rid the universe of powered superheroes. Warner Bros. Games have made a story which pits your created character in the main role - allowing for connected journeys that haven’t been included in LEGO titles. Seeing your little guy, fight to become the best villain. It's focus on your own virtual villain, fits at home with LEGO’s design mythology as it makes creation integral to gameplay. Working out better than being stuck with a premade avatar.

TT Games utilises their expertise in puzzles platforming, as the player will use each character's abilities to solve issues within levels. LEGO DC Super-Villains allows audiences to explore new worlds and existing places within a DC Universe: giving players a vast array of missions. The 170+ playable character roster is the biggest ever seen in a DC video game - and they all have varied individual powers. LEGO DC Super-Villains takes place over 20 story missions, which vary in quality and reward players while solving puzzles. Seeing these villains run amuck in their own universe, was impressive and paid homage to their rich history. TT Games made sure to utilise each of these iconic DC characters well.

The cast ranges from the legendary Joker and Lex Luthor to anti-heroes, like Mr. Freeze and Catwoman. The entire list of full super-villains is long and contains alternative character variants - allowing for more wacky costumes. TT Games went deep into the depths of DC Comic’s super-villain lineup, including obscure characters like Mercy and King Shark. You can even explore Gotham and Metropolis in an open-world style hub world - where users can progress story missions.

Verdict

The game’s 10-hour campaign is decent, which enough varied missions to keep little ones and DC Comics fans happy at launch (even though they don’t change up the series much). All of the traditional LEGO game open world elements, side quests and bosses return have started feeling dated but do their jobs well. Exploring Gotham and Motoroplis is fun during the first few hours, but end up feeling like padding outside of story missions. I enjoyed the idea of taking the gang around their cites and causing havoc.

LEGO DC Super-Villains might not deviate much from the already successful formula but adds enough content to justify the price tag. Characters are plentiful and allow for tons of replayability in the end. I look forward to the series future, despite this game feel too similar.