Arkham Combat and Dense Gotham Make for a Triumphant Return
The biggest compliment that I can give LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is that it reminds me how much I love Batman. I mean, I knew I liked Batman, but I don’t think I appreciated just how much.
It must have been a joy to make. The creators have surveyed the entire Batman canon, from films to TV, comic books to video games, toys to memes, and stolen what they want. You can almost imagine the ideation whiteboards: what if we take the Detective Mode from Arkham Asylum and the city from Arkham City, create a patchwork story from all of our favourite Batman movies, and then peppered it with references from every last corner of the internet? LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight could have been a hodgepodge, a kind of Harvey Dent of the LEGO catalogue, but it’s not. It’s a fabulous whole.
The Reduced Batman Company
The solo campaign is emblematic of that hodgepodging, but with just enough newness and smoothing down of edges. Batman Begins kicks things off, taking you from the Waynes’ death to the League of Shadows (bad Liam Neeson impression included). Then it’s a winding path through the origins of the Joker (fusing Jack Nicholson to some comic book stuff), some bits from The Dark Knight, Batman Returns, and even the Schumacher Batmans. There are so many references and deep-cuts (some of which whooshed over my head) that it can feel non-stop. Even other movies, like American Psycho and Back to the Future, get their moment.
In a slight deviation from the other LEGO games, you’re not picking up an endless carousel of characters to play as. Batman is mostly ever-present, but the sidekicks change. You can play as Talia al Ghul, Batgirl, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and a few more, but that cast is small. It’s a controversial change, but one that works: each character gets to have a distinct identity with abilities that no-one else shares. Some are better than others, but we enjoyed Robin’s nimbleness, Gordon’s gluegun and Catwoman’s cat. It also means that you’re not swapping constantly between characters: Free Play has largely been jettisoned so that you can complete everything within a level – all minikit-like collectibles, all red bricks – on the first go. It’s slightly kinder to your time as a result.
But that’s not to say that the game has shrunk. The campaign is still a solid twenty-or-so-hours long before you even get stuck into the open-Gotham stuff. There are still plenty of outfits to find – it’s just that they’re cherry-picked from Batman’s past, and fit snugly onto the characters we’ve already mentioned.
They Think I’m Hiding in the Shadows, But I am the Shadows
Playing the campaign also introduces you to some clear departures for a game in the LEGO series, but extra-familiar in terms of the Arkham games. That’s combat, stealth and a city that’s dense with secrets.
A lot has been written about the combat, and how it apes the reactive combat in the Arkham games. It should be said, though, that the difficulty is dialled way down. You have some long, obvious cues for each attack, even on the higher of the three difficulties. That generosity, alongside the heaps of immunity frames, means that LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight can toss LOADS of enemies at you at once. I was taken aback by how many enemies you face, and how often. But button-bashing with some contextual attacks will get you through.
I love how the stealth from the Arkham games is retained. You can dangle from gargoyles and ledges to drop onto unsuspecting goons. You can take out entire areas without reinforcements by approaching each of them from the back. The grapple-gun allows you to swing from vantage point to vantage point, and the enemies are stupid enough to not spot you as you do.
Vehicles are in, and they’re less mandatory as Arkham Knight. The characters have huge amounts of mobility on their own, so – aside from some Chase HQ sections – you can choose how you get about. I appreciated that, as I was the only one in the family who could really control the vehicles well. They’re a little sensitive and prone to jackknifing into dead-ends.
Duh-nuh-duh-nuh-duuuuuh, Batman!
While we’re on the subject of co-op, I am loving how rough edges from the older games have been filed off. Cutscenes tend not to interrupt both players any more. It’s entirely possible for only one player to have to wait as something blows up or falls off a mountain. There are fewer co-op funnels, forcing you to be together, too.
We haven’t even gotten to Gotham yet. There’s a slight negative here, in that Gotham’s trademark grimness begins to get a little wearing, but otherwise the city is a joy. It’s a constant hubbub, tempting you with a ridiculous number of collectibles and missions, which in turn give you currency for a cosmetic shop, hosted by Bat-Mite; Waynetech caches that let you earn a skill tree of unlocks (none of the unlocks feel quite as transformative as they should be); and my favourite, the Riddler Roms, where you get a smidge of puzzling in amongst the exploration.
There’s an unheralded influence behind the city in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. It reminds me so much of LEGO City Undercover, one of the best but least referenced LEGO games. Its influence is there in the constant tug between a single-player campaign and a city that tempts with optional missions. It’s there in the police radio, announcing that an old lady’s purse has been stolen or a wanted poster has been put up. Gotham and the campaign are carefully integrated, but also fighting for your attention.
Aren’t you a Little Short for a Batman?
I’ve heard criticisms about the length of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, particularly with that steep price tag, but I don’t subscribe to that opinion. Totalling it up, there’s probably twenty hours for the story player, forty hours for a decent completion (getting all the core unlocks and playing all substantial content) and sixty hours plus for wiping it all clean. That may not scale LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga’s heights, but it’s significant. It’s also polished*, presented beautifully, and surprisingly cinematic.
(*Okay, it wouldn’t be a LEGO game without some moments of getting stuck in the corners of the game world, or falling through floors.)
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight flings open its wings and encompasses every last corner of the Batman universe. If you can think of a joke at Batman’s expense – a rubber nipple, a Michael Caine tweet, an egregious Dr Freeze line – it’s here, absorbed into the whole like Clayface.
Batman’s Greatest
But it’s more than just a Greatest Hits of Batman. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight builds on strong LEGO foundations by incorporating the Arkham games and LEGO City Undercover. It’s become more sprawling and more engaging through combat, stealth and driving. But its accessibility has not been lost: anyone can dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, not just adults.
It’s testament to LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight that I completed it and immediately started re-reading Batman comics and searching out new ones. There’s so much passion for the subject that it becomes contagious. A bit like laughing gas.
Important Links
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Is Now Available – And Gotham Has Never Been Bigger – https://www.thexboxhub.com/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-is-now-available/
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is an Epic Open-World Adventure Coming in 2026 – https://www.thexboxhub.com/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-is-an-epic-open-world-adventure-coming-in-2026/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight/9PFKP8Z66G1J/0010
There’s a Deluxe Edition too – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/lego-batman-legacy-of-the-dark-knight-deluxe-edition/9PM8J14QJ4DR/0010
