Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the best Lego game yet

The Arkham series vibes were strong in the early Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight trailers. The Joker being dragged down the hallways of the asylum, the ability to glide around an open Gotham, and tons of collectibles are all things that excited fans of Rocksteady’s series. However, TT Games’ latest doesn’t forget what makes the series great, making it the most complete Lego game of all time.

The first hour of the game is a familiar affair. In a linear tutorial away from Gotham, you’re introduced to the first set of gadgets before the world opens up. You just have to get through it before the game begins to flex its muscles. We see TT Games’ own version of the Batman origin story, the discovery of Bruce Wayne’s Batcave, and even the painting of an old car to make the Batmobile, much to Alfred’s frustration. 

Once you land in Gotham, there’s so much to see and do. The world opens up slowly, but it’s easy to get lost in. With a grapple hook in hand, as arguably the closest analogue to the Arkham games, you can fly around the city to take out gangs of henchmen, unlock fast travel tunnels, and find all manner of collectibles.

Collectibles are rife, too. In just the early hours, you’ll find the likes of hidden crates containing Wayne-branded upgrade tokens, Riddler puzzles to solve, trophies to collect, ace cards to destroy, high-level coloured bricks, stud-filled crates, and so much more. The new Lego Batman is a collectible fan’s dream.

It helps that Legacy of the Dark Knight’s traversal is a massive improvement over previous Lego games, too. Once you unlock the Batmobile, glider, and grapple, it’s easy to speed around the city, either along the streets or across the rooftops. Nothing is out of reach, and it’s so much fun to find different ways of getting around obstacles. It makes combat even better, too, allowing you to zip up to any ledge before taking out an unsuspecting enemy.

The only area in which Legacy of the Dark Knight’s Gotham pales in comparison to other iterations is in its atmosphere. Much of it is simply down to the game being Lego; there’s only so much you can do to create a dark and moody style, with fog engulfing every street. Instead, it’s literally a model version of Gotham, with all the trappings of other open-world variations of it. This is Lego, though, so I guess it makes sense.

Away from the open world, Legacy of the Dark Knight’s main story is more cinematic and varied than the series has ever been. With various iconic villains to face and other heroes to play as, there’s always something new to do. Characters you’d never expect to be useful are fun to play as, with even Officer Gordon being able to fire foam at burst pipes and flaming pistons to open up new paths. 

There are car chases, searches for specific stuffed bears, large combat arenas, stealth-focused infiltrations, analysis minigames, and so much more. The combat is a real step up for the Lego series as well. It’s a lighter version of the Arkham series combat, feeling a little clunkier – or should I say, blockier. 

You dash between bad guys, punching them a few times before they explode into a flurry of studs. You need to counter regularly, use gadgets to chain combos further, jump over enemies with shields, and use finishing moves once the focus bar is full. It really is a recreation of Rocksteady’s iconic combat, just moving a little slower than you’re used to.

The finishers are my favorite, though. Batman, or any character for that matter, has a suite of fun moves that defeat enemies instantly. Appearing randomly as small cutscenes, you can tie balloons to enemies as they float off, perform the Undertaker’s tombstone piledriver move, or even use John Cena’s famous finisher. Someone at TT Games’ is a big wrestling fan, and I appreciate that they’ve given Batman the ability to finish enemies with some style.

Lego Batman’s license to be silly only increases the game’s variety. It allows TT Games to do things that no other Batman game could. Whether that be in the puzzles, the combat, the cutscenes, or aspects of the open world, you’ll see and do things you’ve never done before.

Characters get slapped with fish, make dumb jokes, and fall over just on the edges of the screen. The humor that the Lego games have been known for is well and truly present. If anything, the slapstick comedy has been turned up for Legacy of the Dark Knight. It’s everything you want from a Lego game, and there’s something for everyone. A fun open world to explore, thousands of collectibles to find, a enique Batman story, loads of characters to play as, and the stupid tone the games are synonymous with. I think this is the best that the Lego games have ever been.