Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguehas a lot to live up to with enormous shoes to fill in the Arkhamverse. Rocksteady can be trusted on the merit of its previous games to develop a special narrative within its DC mythology, but fans are more concerned about how much of an emphasis its multiplayer shooter gameplay will take priority over narrative this time around.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueshould not need to concern itself overwhelmingly with nostalgia bait, though it would be neat to see the series’ namesake get a better outing than it did inBatman: Arkham Knight.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis right to transition the Arkhamverse from Gotham City to Metropolis for refreshing scenery in a glistening capital, as well as its detachment from being solely connected to Batman.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueis still a sequel toBatman: Arkham Knight, but Rocksteady has turned a new leaf and opened the door to the rest of the DC universe this way. Still, fans know the game will at least open with an inmate recruitment scene at Arkham Asylum, andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueshould use that time to revel in its franchise roots.
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Batman: Arkham Knightand its in-universe tetralogywould essentially be nothing without Arkham Asylum as its foundation. This institution for the criminally unwell is an iconic landmark thatBatman: Arkham Asylumtruly elaborated upon and made a madhouse of Gothic-horror architecture, which gave it an unnerving and moody tone.
Choosing not to feature Gotham City in gameplay must have been a divisive choice, but it turned out for the better since it madeBatman: Arkham Asylumwholly distinct. EachBatman: Arkhamgame is then a huge departure from that atmosphere, especially narratively.Batman: Arkham City’s titular compoundwanted to be its own Arkham Asylum but in a city, for example, whileBatman: Arkham Knight’s antagonist has a connection to Arkham Asylum that is squandered.
Indeed, it is fun if not predictable to learn that the Arkham Knight is Jason Todd, and the fact that he had been kept at Arkham should have made Rocksteady’s trilogy much more impactful because of that connection. Instead, because there were no hints of Todd being at the asylum before or during the events ofBatman: Arkham Asylum, this falls flat. Likewise, Batman is actually taken to Arkham Asylum at the end ofBatman: Arkham Knight, but it is only seen in a brief cutscene, let alone a quick, hallucinatory sequence wherethe Arkhamverse Joker is playablethrough his POV.
Kill the Justice League Should Open with a Big Arkham Asylum Sequence
Batman: Arkham Knightarguably did not do enough to honor its franchise roots or tie Arkham Asylum into its narrative sufficiently, butSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguecould. Much of the game will have nothing to do with Arkham Asylum itself, though it could spend a considerable amount of time in the institution as an opening sequence that could explicitlyreferenceBatman: Arkham Asylum.
Harley Quinn could be transported through an Arkham Asylum cell block on a gurney while accompanied by Arkham security, for example, taking the place of Joker. If this sequence played out in gameplay where fans could move the camera around and look out at the familiar interiors, that would be a special nod for fans until Harley and the rest of Task Force X have bombs implanted in their necks and are shipped off to Metropolis.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguereleases on July 17, 2025, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
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