Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Preview - Dark Knight, Bright Future

Two weeks ago, WB Games flew me out to LA to play two hours of Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. As a long-time fan of the series (and a diehard Lego fan in general), I’ve been nothing short of ravenous to get my hands on it. Now that I have, I’m eagerly looking forward to the final release, especially since I gained a much clearer view of what this game actually is.

First, a disclaimer: I played Legacy of the Dark Knight in a beautifully designed event space decorated with actual props from Batman films, and WB Games paid for flights and lodging for the trip. Add in my childhood nostalgia, and there will certainly be some unconscious bias in this report; still, I’ll aim to keep my impressions as objective as possible.

Batman and Robin pose on a rooftop in a shot reminiscent of the intro to Batman: The Animated Series.

My gameplay demo began in a relatively early level. The story, which follows Batman’s journey from orphan to full-fledged leader of the Bat Family, combines notable sequences from across the character’s storied history in film, TV, and games. We’re shown a brief cinematic explaining that, prior to the gameplay we’re about to experience, Batman trained with the League of Shadows, à la Batman Begins. Now that he’s home in Gotham, he’s hunting down Carmine Falcone, but since the notorious crime boss also appears in 2022’s The Batman, the visuals have shifted, and we’re entering a version of the Iceberg Lounge based on that movie. Oddly, The Penguin is notably absent from the club he’s typically associated with.

If this first slice of the game tells me anything, it’s that, despite modern tweaks, Legacy of the Dark Knight is a Lego game through and through. Twin bouncers at the lounge’s entrance insist that this is a fish market, slapping Wayne in the face with a flounder. Later on, Batman and Jim Gordon dive deeper into the club and find an elaborate ball pit/bouncy house area. And after stumbling onto a dance floor, Batman insists the duo has to “blend in,” triggering a QTE dance sequence. Batman literally says, “This is how Batman begins… to dance!” It’s absolutely ridiculous, and I absolutely love it.

Jim Gordon and Batman, who are about to bust a move.

At the same time, the gameplay is thankfully modernized. Taking cues from Arkham games, Batman can grapple up ledges, counter punches, and stealthily take down foes. Combat feels especially great, and while it’s definitely a pared-down version of Rocksteady’s formula, it’s just complex enough to stay engaging. When I saw the option to press triangle to counter an attack, my muscle memory kicked in, and I felt right at home.

To reach Falcone, I solve simple puzzles, smash Lego objects to build new contraptions, and take out dozens of henchmen. At one point, I’m faced with tilting poles I need to stabilize to walk on, and while Batman has his trusty batarang, it can’t stop the machine: I need Jim Gordon’s help.

Curiously, the police officer wields a pink goo-shooting gun that can clog gears and leaky pipes, and it solves the problem here in no time, allowing me to progress deeper into the club. Each character in the game has their own gadgets, Gordon included, though the team clearly had to get the most creative with him. Still, he’s fun to play as, and other than his gadgets, he can do the same things as Batman, including grappling to higher ground and performing stealth takedowns.

On that note, while I appreciate its inclusion, stealth was the weakest element in the parts I played of Legacy of the Dark Knight. There’s no crouch button – characters merely hunch over when near unsuspecting enemies – and unless enemies were lined up and facing away from me (which did happen a few times), I was caught very quickly. Being seen and exiting stealth isn’t much of a setback, so it’s not that my experience was frustrating; I just wish the level was better crafted around the mechanic. I suspect it would work better in stages with more vertical designs, where Batman could drop in, knock a guy out, and retreat to the rafters, but I didn’t get to experience any areas like that.

Eventually, I reach Falcone, interrupting a meeting he’s having with the Red Hood. Unlike other scenes, this isn’t in any of the live-action movies; it instead combines several of them. Selina Kyle brings Falcone drinks, like in The Batman, but the Red Hood is a version of Jack Napier, from Batman (1989), speaking to Falcone as if he’s Napier’s movie boss, Carl Grissom. As Red Hood leaves, he declares, “This town deserves a better class of criminal,” which is a line from The Dark Knight. As relatively uneventful as the scene is, it’s a great example of how Legacy of the Dark Knight emulsifies its influences together into a new yet recognizable take on Batman’s lore.

Red Hood ultimately turns on Falcone, sending Red Hood-branded goons in to fight Falcone’s men, leaving Batman and Gordon to chase Falcone as he flees the building. At this point, I bump the difficulty up to Dark Knight, the game’s hardest mode, to see how tough it can get. It adds more enemies, increases the ratio of enemies armed with melee weapons and shields, and limits players to four hearts. I don’t die, but I play a little carelessly and do come close. I suspect it will be the go-to difficulty for most adults who choose to play the game, as I intend to do the same.

Batman and Gordon catch Falcone, and I’m switched over to a new save file, slightly later in the game. As chapter three begins, a montage shows how Gotham is changing: Batman is getting stronger and more seasoned, knocking out minor enemies like Condiment King and Kite Man; Jim Gordon is promoted; Harvey Dent wakes up bandaged in a hospital; and Dick Grayson flips on stage at the circus with his parents. Batman, now wearing his suit from Batman & Robin, meets Catwoman on a rooftop – they seem to already know each other, and he invites her to go to the circus with him.

Catwoman convinces Bruce to make a pitstop (it’s a heist, which turns out to be a test from Sofia Falcone), and I get a minute to test her abilities. Catwoman’s gadgets are especially fun. Her iconic whip spins enemies around and is generally more useful in combat, but the real star is her ability “Call Kitty.” It summons a cat with a laser pointer, and the feline can crawl through small spaces, distract enemies, and even has a dedicated “meow” button. Adorable.

The duo makes their way to the circus to see the Flying Graysons, but bad news: Two-Face is there, and he’s holding the crowd hostage with a massive bomb. This scene is a clear reference to Batman Forever, with Catwoman taking over the role of Nicole Kidman’s Chase Meridian. She bows out just as the chaos starts, and Batman appears in the middle of the tent alongside a young Dick Grayson (who, spoiler alert, is about to become Robin). This level’s confined nature makes it feel more like a traditional Lego game, pulling me between pretty straightforward combat and puzzle-platforming segments.

Robin, whom I’m getting to try out for the first time, wields dual batons and feels mechanically distinct from Batman. His birdarangs have roughly the same effect as batarangs in their current form, but each has a distinct upgrade tree. Robin can (eventually) swing his staff at returning birdarangs to bat them back at enemies, and a later upgrade makes foes face the opposite direction, which is especially good if they’re armed.

Robin also has a cable launcher, which functions like a combination of Batman’s line launcher and Robin’s zip kick in the Arkham games. He can launch himself towards a foe, use it to create tightropes to solve puzzles, or tether enemies to nearby objects, the ground, or even other enemies to deal damage. The tightrope function comes in handy most often in this segment of gameplay, as Two-Face presents the soon-to-be dynamic duo with a series of platforming puzzles.

I defeat Two-Face, thanks to the help of Dick’s parents, and it seems like all is well in the world. That is, until Dick starts playing with a batarang – he tells Batman to reach out in case he ever needs a sidekick, but then Dick accidentally throws the batarang right at the cables holding his parents aloft. They plummet to the ground… but land on a hot dog cart, unscathed. In an odd moment, Dick says, “I think I’m probably fired,” and Batman agrees, deciding to take Dick under his wing. Dick then moves into Wayne Manor, leaving his parents behind. I’d be lying if I said I had any strong feelings over this change – in the context of a lighthearted game like this, it doesn’t really matter whether Dick’s parents are around – but it certainly stands out as the strangest alteration Legacy of the Dark Knight makes to Batman lore.

The final level I play is a battle against Poison Ivy, which takes place not long after the Two-Face encounter. The intro cutscene is inspired by Batman & Robin, but this Robin is seemingly younger than Chris O’Donnell’s live-action portrayal, so when Ivy puckers at the camera and mentions her lips are full of venom, Batman just says, “That’s really inappropriate, Dr. Isley.”

The following boss battle is the least interesting content of my playtime, but I do appreciate the efforts to keep the fight varied. There are two phases, a wide variety of attacks to dodge, and quick puzzles that call players to use one of Batman’s or Robin’s gadgets. The mission marks the conclusion of the game’s third chapter, and ends with a tease that The Dark Knight Rises-era Bane and Mr. Freeze are about to begin “Operation Deep Freeze.” Based on the context, I expect the story to combine elements from The Dark Knight Rises and Batman & Robin, and I am incredibly curious to see how they approach that crossover.

My last half hour with the game is spent exploring the Batcave and open-world Gotham, and both are highlights. The Batcave is huge and customizable. There are collectibles hidden throughout its several massive rooms. In addition to the option to alter the Bat symbol that hangs over the main area (I could alter the colors and pick one of five bat designs), you can swap out the furniture at a number of designated areas. Decorations range from simple options, like gadget displays and a bench press, to more extreme options like a hologram ring or a rock-climbing wall. It’s rare, even in movies and TV, for Batman to actually spend more than a minute or two in his iconic hideout, so I’m looking forward to familiarizing myself with every nook and cranny with this Lego version.

Finally, there’s Gotham City, where comparisons to the Batman: Arkham series have the most merit. Just the act of gliding through the city, hearing a nearby crime, and beating up some Two-Face goons made me nostalgic for my time in Rocksteady’s games. Even then, this version of Gotham feels more alive than most other video game depictions. The streets are full of pedestrians and civilians driving cars, buildings are plastered with references and humorous billboards, and the whole map is varied and interesting, with lots of distinct architecture and verticality.

With four islands to explore and a map chock-full of side content and collectibles (yes, that includes Riddler challenges), there’s no shortage of things to do. You can also summon a suite of vehicles at the touch of a button, and while they’re not quite as varied as the game’s 100 suits, there are cars, bikes, and Batmobiles from every era of the series’ history. I didn’t spend nearly as much time in Gotham as I wanted to, and when Legacy of the Dark Knight drops later this month, I see myself spending quite a long time prowling its rooftops and alleyways.

I’ve thought about playing Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight literally every day since coming home from my preview event. I’m excited to explore the world and chip away at the skill tree, but I’m mainly curious to see how they tie all the Batman stories together. Lego games work for me because they’re designed by genuine fans of the stories they adapt, and this is, so far, one of the best examples yet. As a fan myself, it’s nice to not only see one of my favorite characters lovingly adapted but to feel seen in the way the developers choose to depict him. When Legacy of the Dark Knight drops later this month, I plan to be first in line.