Look, I’m all for a Suicide Squad game. Give me it all.
I think Warner Bros. made the right decision to make a Suicide Squad game and as I already said, I’m all for it.
This game is already plagued with poor feedback and it’s not even out yet. Is it justified? I mean, it’s hard to say. I agree with some of the complaints but I am also on the fence of; “let’s see what it’s like when it’s released“.
Right off the bat, we know the game will be a live service. For those unfamiliar with what a live-service game is, comparisons for this game in particular can be made to Destiny, The Division, Marvel’s Avengers, and Anthem. It’s a model that is incredibly difficult to execute properly because the entire idea of this type of model is consistent players. They’re often hit with a ton of microtransactions which, in fairness, from a business perspective makes sense because if they’re to continue maintaining the game, a steady stream of revenue is needed.
Other examples of live-service games include GTA V, Fortnite, Rocket League, Fall Guys, etc. In this article, I do want to focus on the comparisons earlier on such as Destiny, Avengers, and games in that category.
The fact this game is a live-service game has already caused panic among fans. Rocksteady is known for making some of the best superhero games of all time in the Arkham series. Even now, I saw a poll on X which had thousands of votes and the second Arkham game beat the latest Spider-Man 2. That’s how well Rocksteady did with their Batman games.
To then shift to this type of game feels like a slap in the face. It does. The game could be fantastic but they should’ve kept doing what they’re best at which is a single-player experience.
This also means the game is going to be bombarded with microtransactions. These will likely mostly be cosmetic and battle passes. Marvel’s Avengers tried this model and miserably failed. Anthem tried this model and miserably failed. It doesn’t matter how good the gameplay is, these models rarely work. If anything, the only game I can think of that’s had continued success is Destiny even with their ups and downs.
One of the things that makes DC stand out is their characters. There are so many different abilities. For example, Captain Boomerang. He’s using a gun in the trailers. King Shark is using a minigun as well. It’s disrespectful to those established characters that have their own abilities in the comics and are not really going to be utilized in the game (probably just abilities only). It feels like a discount Fortnite and it looks like it too. At least Avengers managed to ensure each character somewhat felt different albeit some of them did poorly. I mean, it’s like going into that game and Hulk is using a sniper or Hawkeye using an assault rifle instead of his bow.
Rocksteady took a step back after Arkham Knight and for 8 years this game has been in development and this is what they came up with? I’m honestly just thrown back. Right now the game looks awful. I’m happy to be proved wrong. The game’s due to be released on February 2nd, 2024 so I’ll see if Rocksteady can manage to make this experience amazing but so far, I just can’t see it. The game has done pretty much everything a lot of gamers hate in the modern gaming world which is something that never makes sense to me.
I talked about this in an article whereby I discussed if AAA developers truly care about their players (article here). I can’t fathom or even figure out why they thought this would be a good idea. Especially after the Marvel’s Avengers car crash.
I don’t doubt the game will probably have a great story. Marvel’s Avengers also had a very good story but the issue is with these types of games, the stories are usually short. Around 8-9 hours, if that. Then it’s onto the content you’re going to play religiously. With any live service game, you need an abundance of things to do to make it work so players don’t get bored. I just can’t see this having the amount of content Destiny has as a live-service game.
