The best Lego game in years dropped last month in “Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight,” a game that plays like a mix tape of the many iterations of Bruce Wayne and his alter ego that we have seen over the years. Instead of directly mimicking the Christopher Nolan or Tim Burton movies, or riffing off the comic books exclusively, the developers at Traveller’s Tales have created the ultimate Dark Knight mash-up.
There are elements of every single live-action version from Adam West through Robert Pattinson in “Legacy of the Dark Knight,” and these iconic portrayals have been filtered through gameplay that’s designed to recall the mechanics of the wildly popular “Arkham” games. The result is a truly joyous bit of fan service, one that juices the creative gameplay of Lego titles with hardcore-fan-level detail. Almost everything Batman is in here. Yes, even “Batman and Robin.”
At first, “Legacy of the Dark Knight” feels like it’s mimicking the Nolan trilogy, starting with Batman’s origin story and training/tutorial missions with the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul, played by Liam Neeson in “Batman Begins.” As your version of Bruce Wayne navigates Nanda Parbat alongside Talia al Ghul, you’re reminded of the basics of Lego games: Destroy everything, collect studs, customize your characters/locations, and do it again. Combat here echoes the “Arkham” games with a combination of punches, parries, and dodges that you’ll use throughout the game. You’re also introduced early to Batman’s gadgets, which will come in handy in puzzle solving and combat.
And then you get to Gotham, and what felt like a linear Nolan riff becomes an open-world party. Working with Alfred Pennyworth and Jim Gordon to start, Batman learns the lay of the Gotham land, including a mix of story missions and mini-games that are scattered across the landscape like Riddler puzzles, randomly generated crimes a la “Arkham,” trophies/chests to find, and much more. You can spend hours just exploring Gotham, although many of the “side missions” found within the setting do get a bit repetitive early on. There’s an argument that there’s too much to do in the world of “Legacy of the Dark Knight,” but you can always dive back into the story missions when the dozens of icons on your mini-map get overwhelming.
That’s where you’ll find a series of missions, broken up into chapters, that incorporate just about every Batman character that you can think of. The story starts with busting up Carmine Falcone’s criminal empire, which includes defeating the Red Hood Gang and one Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin. In this mission, you’ll meet Selina Kyle/Catwoman, who becomes a playable character with her own gadgets.
Every playable character in “Legacy” has different items that can be used to progress through story missions or might be needed to solve the puzzles scattered across Gotham. Over the course of the game, you’ll end up playing as Batman, Catwoman, Jim Gordon, Robin/Nightwing, Batgirl, and Talia, which might seem like a relatively small roster given how some Lego games thrive on numerous playable characters, but these aren’t just cosmetic swaps. Each one of the playable heroes in “Legacy” feels developed and essential to the overall plot.
As for supporting characters? How about almost all of them? Of course, Alfred and Lucius Fox play key roles, but it’s the way the rogues’ gallery is employed that makes “Legacy” so memorable, from Poison Ivy’s killer plants to Mr. Freeze’s icy lair. You’ll even take a trip to Arkham Asylum, battling enemies notable and minor. You’ll get Bane and Two-Face, but you’ll also have to tackle Condiment King and Kite Man. Bat-Mite runs stores throughout Gotham where you can buy items to personalize the Batcave and even new costumes for your heroes. Just the costumes alone hint at the depth of fan service here as you can play out your childhood fantasies as Batman Beyond, Batman ’66, Batman ’89, The Gray Ghost, or Vampire Batman. There are 43 costumes for Batman alone.
If it all sounds like a bit too much, you’re not entirely wrong. There are times when the excess of “Legacy of the Dark Knight” feels, well, excessive. When it becomes too much, the linear story progression holds together an otherwise chaotic experience. Although one should always remember the target audience for these games: kids and fans. The former love games with this kind of deep customization and an extreme number of collectibles to be found in the open world. They like games they can make their own, using them to express their creativity, which has always been essential to the Lego brand.
And as for the other group, fans of the Dark Knight can’t really complain about anything missing from this release. It’s an exhaustive journey through the legacy of one of comicdom’s most famous characters that manages to incorporate both Batdance and cries of “Martha!” It is playful, clever, and consistently something that (in an era of serious storytelling influencing the form) so many games forget to be: fun.
The Publisher provided a review copy of this title. It is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Windows, and will be released on Switch 2 on September 18.
