Last month, DC Comics held its DC FanDome event. As the name would suggest, this virtual presentation is a showcase to celebrate the fans of DC comics, providing teases of the content to come in the future. This includes new information for TV shows, movies, and even video games based on the many properties at the company. In that last category, perhaps the most high-profile video game on the horizon is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a new triple-A title based on Task Force X.
First revealed at last year's DC FanDome, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League quickly generated a great deal of hype from fans of both comic books and video games, and for good reason. Suicide Squad has quickly become a popular IP from DC, thanks to both the David Ayer and James Gunn films from 2016 and this year respectively. Additionally, the developer Rocksteady is at the helm, a studio widely praised for its Batman Arkham franchise. However, the lack of gameplay for the title has raised some genuine concern from fans, especially this far along and with a promised release date of next year.
What Kind of Game is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
It may sound obvious to point out, but one of the most important aspects of any game's marketing is in communicating clearly what kind of game it will end up being. Establishing what genre, gameplay loop, and mechanics will be featured in the experience is key to attracting certain gamers, based on particular interests. Without this, both players who are and aren't interested will be equally confused by what the project is shaping up to be. Unfortunately, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is finding itself in this position at the moment with a lack of uninterrupted gameplay footage being shown to the public.
Leading up to this year's DC FanDome, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Rocksteady to pull back the curtain and show off its hard work on the game. While Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was present at the event with a fun new story trailer, some still couldn't help but feel it just wasn't enough considering how much time has passed. The game having just a general teaser last year is acceptable, and a new trailer is also fine, but some gameplay should have been released in tandem. By comparison, fellow DC game Gotham Knights was announced last year but still showed off a good chunk of gameplay at the same time, immediately giving an idea of how the game will play.
Lack of Clarity/Lengthy Development
This isn't to say that Rocksteady has been keeping players completely in the dark about the project. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been confirmed to be an open-world action game, featuring co-operative multiplayer elements. While that's all well and good, this description can also fit nearly every single big-budget game nowadays from Outriders to Back 4 Blood. It's important for Rocksteady to demonstrate how its game stands out from an already crowded pack.
This is why actually seeing the game in action, even for just a few minutes, would help clear up a lot of the mystery surrounding the project so far. Rocksteady hasn't released a game since 2015's Batman: Arkham Knight, showing that quite some time has passed for the studio to pour work into a new title. With all of this time having passed and showing off so little, can understandably cause concern. Players may jump to conclusions that the lack of proper footage is the studio withholding information because the project is not shaping up as well as hoped.
Marvel's Avengers, a fellow comic book game, kept details quiet for almost two years after its announcement and even after this was still lacking in transparency in the months leading up to release. Gamers were unsure whether this would be a story-focused title like Marvel's Spider-Man or a more multiplayer, live service-based experience. In the end, it was a bit of both, but Square Enix should have explained this better from the start. It would be wise for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to avoid this same fate, and avoid confusion before it becomes available.
Expectations from Rocksteady
Lastly, there comes a certain level of expectations from Rocksteady as a developer. Despite having humble beginnings, the studio exploded as a big name in 2009 with Batman: Arkham Asylum, single-handedly reviving the comic book genre in gaming. Over the next few years, it followed up with Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight, creating what could arguably be one of the most polished trilogies in the video game industry.
With such a pedigree under its belt, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League already has sky-high expectations from critics and fans before it is even released. Rocksteady has proven to be a great developer of action games, as well as having a solid understanding of DC comics, two aspects which Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League embodies as well. To be clear, things could be going wonderfully for the game, shaping up beautifully behind the scenes. However, the general public doesn't know this and relies on the studio to communicate that. It would be wise that sooner, rather than later, Rocksteady shows off some gameplay before the title's estimated 2022 release date.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is scheduled to release in 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.