Lego DC Super-Villains Review (PS4)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Lego DC Super-Villains
  • Platform: Playstation 4
  • Show system requirements
  • Reviewed on:
Escape prison

After exhausting many different fictional universe of characters, adventures, and themes, the Lego series from TT Games has decided to take a new route while revisiting the DC comic book realm with Lego DC Super-Villains.

Much like its name suggests, instead of playing once more with heroes such as Superman or Batman, this time around we’re building our brick-based contraptions with the villains of the universe, from infamous ones like Joker or Lex Luthor, to somewhat less flashy baddies, like Captain Cold or Heatwave.

Does this trip to the dark side manage to reach new heights or should we bring in the heroes to save the game? Let’s find out.

Smash bricks
Use powers
Assemble new things
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Story

In classic villain style, the game opens with a prison break orchestrated by evil mastermind Lex Luthor, which also neatly introduces the main player-controlled protagonist, a new baddie who goes along for the ride and holds some mysterious new abilities.

Of course, as always, the Justice League soon steps in to apprehend the villainous group but, soon after you start slugging it out with the likes of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, or Flash, a new group enters the fray, in the form of the Justice Syndicate from Earth 3.

While things seem alright, as the new group boasts similarly powered individuals like Ultraman, Owlman, or Johnny Quick, they soon take a turn for the worse. The Syndicate isn’t focused on justice but on crime, and attack by surprise the actual heroes. Seeing as how their own universe has now been left in the clutches of even more villainous beings, it’s up to the regular super-villains to hatch a plan and bring back their old rivals.

The plot is quite interesting and filled with the trademark comical scenes that made all previous games so popular. While of course you engage in plenty of evil behavior, from beating up cops, stealing cars, or other such things, you do have a noble goal, albeit unorthodox ways of reaching it.

A good amount of time is spent with the more popular baddies but even smaller ones, such as Captain Boomerang, get their chances to shine, both through gameplay as well as the actual story. You’ll also get to interact with characters like Batgirl, Nightwing, or the Teen Titans, so it’s not all about the bad guys and gals.

Meet the heroes
Harley in action
Recruit henchmen
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Gameplay and Multiplayer

Lego DC Super-Villains doesn’t try to reinvent the formula, which can be a good thing if you’re looking for familiar mechanics and features. Like recent titles, it boasts an open world, composed of the dark and gloomy Gotham, the bright and shiny Metropolis, as well as an assortment of accompanying territories, from jails and asylums, to even Smallville and, of course, the headquarters of the Legion of Doom.

You once again traverse different environments and stages by smashing scenery for essential Lego bricks and then build them back up with new functionality to aid in your exploration. Plenty of puzzles are also scattered along the way, with some being more interesting than others. Even so, the barrier of entry is pretty low, so that gamers of all ages can approach this title.

The boss fights are a bit more challenging, with a lot of different patterns, abilities, and hectic situations being thrown at you. There’s still no penalty for running out of lives, however, so you can experiment until you find the winning combinations.

The actual villains all have interesting powers, although some repeat themselves, especially among the ice-based baddies like Captain Cold and Killer Frost. Even so, the roster of characters offers a huge array of people. In most stages you’ll have your own original character, that can be customized in a myriad of ways, as well as a few other villains, and you can jump between them depending on the puzzles and enemies you face.

In between story missions, you can also engage in quite a few interesting activities throughout the open world, not to mention starting up the aforementioned missions with new characters in order to unlock hidden areas and get all possible collectibles, of which there are a huge amount.

Of course, besides running around on your own in this adventure, you can enlist the aid of a friend through the local cooperative mode, allowing for more personalized hijinks as you aid or hamper each other’s efforts.

Drive around with friends
Explore classic locations
Go on missions
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Visuals and Sound

The game boasts some great visuals, using the Lego style to create great looking scenery and plenty of complex environments. It may sometime feel like too much is going on but, after a few levels, you’ll soon start to spot what can and cannot be used in your journey. The character design is top notch as most villains made a great transition to the blocky forms seen in the game.

Voice acting is superb, with stars such as Mark Hamill or Michael Ironside reprising their signature roles of Joker and Darkseid, respectively, while the rest of the cast do a fantastic job of bringing to life the myriad of characters seen and heard throughout the story.


The Good

  • Interesting story with plenty of hilarious moments
  • Lots of different characters with great powers
  • Fantastic voice acting
  • Many activities and things to do in its open world

The Bad

  • Some puzzles aren't that intuitive
  • Some levels have confusing design

Conclusion

Overall, while it’s still mostly the same as previous titles in the Lego series, Lego DC Super-Villains offers some much needed twist in terms of story, shining a light on the life of the bad guys and girls in the comic book universe.

Add in the superb voice acting, the many different powers that you get to wield as the villains, as well as the huge amount of activities scattered throughout its open world and you’re bound to have a good time being bad.

story 8
gameplay 8
concept 9
graphics 9
audio 10
multiplayer 8
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 
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Lego DC Super-Villains Screenshots (27 Images)

Escape prison
Smash bricksUse powersAssemble new thingsGo outside
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