Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League joins a worryingly growing list of the pitfalls of a bad live service game – a fact made worse by its release after several notable duds like Avengers, Anthem, and Redfall, among others.
Despite the anticipation and backing from Warner Bros. Discovery, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s launch and subsequent performance have been underwhelming, both in terms of player engagement and financial success. This unfortunate but also expected outcome proves the dangers of transitioning to a live service model despite earlier warnings. In today’s market, players have become weary of grind-heavy games that lack narrative depth and finality.
Perhaps to no one’s surprise, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has fallen short of its publisher’s expectations. Comparatively, its peak player count on platforms like Steam dropped rapidly post-launch, indicating a lack of sustained interest. This is particularly disheartening given the legacy of Rocksteady Studios, known for its creation of the critically acclaimed Batman Arkham series. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was expected to build on this legacy, fleshing out the narrative once told through three award-winning titles. Instead, it has found itself struggling to captivate players in the same way.
Critically, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been met with mixed reviews. While some praise its visual fidelity and character writing, others criticize its mission design, narrative, and the obviously forced implementation of live service elements. The game’s attempt to merge intense, DC canon-compliant storytelling with the chaotic nature of a looter-shooter genre has been cited as a jarring mismatch, failing to resonate with long-time fans of Rocksteady’s previous works.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League‘s premise, which involves taking on Brainiac and a villainous Justice League, is barely believable and executed poorly. Not to mention, the game ignored the narrative potential of exploring the aftermath of defeating the iconic heroes, leaving it to feel disconnected from its source material’s depth and complexity. Moreover, the decision to launch as a live service game has drawn criticism for diluting the gaming experience, focused more on repetitive gameplay loops than on delivering a compelling story or meaningful character development.
Perhaps Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League could’ve stood a better shot as a single-player title. Instead of promising four seasons worth of post-launch content, Rocksteady could’ve released a complete experience at launch. If this had happened, Rocksteady’s biggest failure would’ve fared better even if it likely still wouldn’t have gone on to win critical acclaim unlike its predecessors. The makings of a solid title are there and those who bought the game appears to have enjoyed it, with many users happily leaving positive if glowing reviews of their relatively brief time in the game.
Most of the criticism lobbied against Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League stem from a growing disenchantment with the live service model, especially when it appears to prioritize monetization over player experience.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League serves as a cautionary tale of how even the most promising titles can falter when they stray too far from the elements that initially made their franchises beloved.
As players seek out experiences that offer engaging narratives and rewarding gameplay, the game adds to the pile of cautionary tales for the industry to reassess their approach towards live service games, particularly for franchises with rich storytelling traditions.
Only time will tell if Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League can recover or if we’ll ever get a chance to see it as a complete game but with less than 500 players on Steam, time isn’t on Rocksteady’s side.
Warner Bros. Games subsidiary, Monolith Productions, is currently working on a single-player Wonder Woman game. Fingers crossed, it will steer clear of live service elements.
