Rocksteady Studios' upcoming title Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has a lot of promise, thanks to both the comic IP that the game is based off and the previous success of the developer with adapting DC properties. However, while leaning into the trends of the Arkhamverse will likely lead to success again, taking a look at what another studio under the same publisher has done in the past may be the best way forward.
At the moment, the most players know about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is that it will be a multiplayer game with parties of up to four players, and that they'll be going up against the Justice League. What fans don't quite know yet is exactly how fighting and hunting down the members of the DC heroes will work, and Monolith Studios' innovative nemesis system could be the best approach for finding them across Metropolis.
The nemesis system can work much more fluidly in a comic book inspired title like Suicide Squad than it did in the more violent, orc decapitating Shadow of Mordor that Monolith introduced the mechanic in. This is thanks in part to the way that superhero comics tend to find workarounds for major character deaths, by either having someone else take up the mantle of the killed hero, claiming they secretly didn't die, or alternate universe variants. Specifically in the case of Kill the Justice League, an easy way to keep these heroes alive even after being defeated could be to use the influence it appears that Brainiac has over the game's enemies, with them being freed and recaptured.
Keep the Open-World Fresh
One heavy benefit that this approach to gameplay can apply to Suicide Squad is what this could mean for the open-world of Metropolis and how players travel through it. Having surprise attacks looming at any second means that there are no mundane walks down any random street, as Superman or Batman can come swooping in and try picking off party members. This could become a lasting problem as the overpowered nature of Superman can make him specifically an unfightable presence that stalks the player throughout the game, until some condition is fulfilled to put him down for good.
Additionally, this could be a strong way to keep all of the Justice League characters in Suicide Squad relevant, by having even ones that are somewhat more comical in nature slowly grow as Brainiac learns more about the player characters. Characters like Plasticman can start adapting to different ways of being defeated, with the overarching narrative implying that Brainiac is reinforcing the heroes weaknesses every time he sends them out. This would not only keep the world fresh, as well as make each player's experience feel unique against any other player, and the same can be said for the playable characters themselves.
Make Each Playable Character Feel Unique
A major draw to the game is the way that Suicide Squad's four-player co-op is meant to work, giving a team of players the ability to travel across a huge open-world together. However, by assigning a nemesis system that is specified from character to character, or even assigned to the player's account, can make sure that each of these characters is a unique experience aside from their combat styles. Captain Boomerang might wind up with Green Arrow as a nemesis, or King Shark could get hunted repeatedly by the Flash, with that one character and playing being singled out by their nemesis.
This could make for gameplay differences that change depending on who in the party is able to play for any given section, or leaning in on how Suicide Squad is made of villains, using other players as bait. If a mission calls for fighting one specific hero, then whoever that hero is currently assigned to as a nemesis suddenly becomes a commodity, making team composition as important for who players fight as it is for how they fight. The end result could be a dynamic, open-world title like nothing players have really seen before, enhanced by the team and co-op mechanics and centered around the enemies remembering and hunting specific players.
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is currently in development by Rocksteady Studios.