Is Everything Awesome with the New ‘Lego Batman’ Game? We Review

Calling Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight the closest thing to an Arkham game is not hyperbole. While some Lego games have been geared towards a younger audience, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is essentially a love-letter to longtime and modern Batman audiences, full of references, interesting and constantly evolving gameplay, and a fun open-world Gotham. However, Legacy of the Dark Knight is so akin to the Arkham games that it’s essentially ‘more’ of that, for better and worse, depending on how you feel about the series.

So, I’ve alluded to it, but it’s necessary for the outset to say that this is a bigger, bolder, and more expansive open-world game than any Lego game before it. If you can imagine Arkham Knight, but with a very polished Lego mod on it, making everything blocky, colourful, and packed to the brim with humour, that’s what you get with Legacy of the Dark Knight.

Story-wise, the game features an ‘original’ Batman story, but throws together parts of all the existing Batman properties to tell it. Matt Reeves’ 2022 The Batman acts as a framework, but The Dark Knight trilogy, Tim Burton’s Batman flicks, Zack Snyder’s BvS vision, and even Joel Schumacher’s flicks are utilised, along with, of course, the comic books. What you get is a moment-to-moment easter egg experience where hardcore Batman fans will be constantly giggling, smiling, and pointing along to the iconic lines, scenes, and nods that the game is jam-packed with.

Seeing these same scenes in a Lego filter is always enjoyable, but the best bit is that the now-trademark Lego humour is intertwined through all the moments. Lego games always try to pair you with other characters (which is conducive to co-op), but what it also does is give Batman a character to riff with. Listening to the banter between Batman and Catwoman, or Batman and Jim Gordon, throughout levels is part of the fun and something that’s obviously missing from the solitude of the Arkham games.

The story also takes you to all the iconic Batman locations you’d expect, and treats those levels as playgrounds. Whether it’s ACME Chemicals or the Penguin’s hideout in the zoo, every mission is full of combat (using Arkham‘s free-flow combat system), fun physics-based puzzles, and some light platforming. The hit, parry, and dodge-heavy combat system works well in the Lego aesthetic, swapping the classic brutal Batman moves for comedic takedowns and some goofy moments, which really ties in with the overall tone of the game.

A nice twist to the gameplay is that each character you’re partnered with for missions provides their own abilities. Jim Gordon has a foam gun to seal off pipes, while Catwoman has a whip to spin objects, for example. As the game progresses, you can switch between all the characters at any time, which makes solving puzzles a little more enjoyable and combat a bit more interesting.

As mentioned, Legacy of the Dark Knight really is part new game, part homage to the history of Batman through all media. Collectable suits, vehicles, Bat Cave items, and a whole plethora of findable goodies will keep you busy in Gotham, on top of the fact that there are the beloved Riddler challenges scattered throughout the city, too.

If you’re not a fan of the pre-existing Batman games and that ‘Everything is Awesome’ humour brand of the Lego franchise, this won’t be for you. However, it’s extremely unlikely that such a human exists. For everyone else, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a great time that’ll deliver some memorable moments while also being a more ‘relaxing’ gaming experience to break up the twitch shooters and overwhelming RPG mechanics overblown in today’s gaming market.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is available on Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.