Game Review · Purchased October 20, 2024 · $20.15 CAD via PSN
The Setup
Rocksteady’s live-service superhero shooter launched earlier in 2024 to a rocky reception, a genuine surprise given the studio’s beloved Batman: Arkham legacy, and by the time I picked it up in October at a steep post-launch discount, the game had already become something of a cautionary tale in the industry about chasing live-service trends with a studio and franchise built around single-player storytelling.
The Review
Coming in with lowered expectations and a heavily discounted price actually made for a more fair assessment than launch reviews probably allowed for: the core shooting and traversal mechanics are genuinely fine, even solid in short bursts, with each character controlling distinctly enough to matter. The problems reviewers and the community flagged at launch are still present though: a live-service structure bolted onto characters and a universe that fans wanted a proper single-player Arkham-style story from, and narrative choices (without spoiling specifics) that a large portion of the existing fanbase found genuinely unwelcome.
Playing this months after launch, once the initial backlash had already reshaped the wider conversation around the game, it was hard not to view it as a case study in mismatched expectations between what a studio’s fanbase wanted and what got built.
What I Liked
- Solid core shooting and traversal mechanics
- Distinct character playstyles
- At a steep discount, low financial risk to see the discourse firsthand
What I Didn’t
- Live-service structure clashes with what fans of the studio’s prior work actually wanted
- Narrative choices proved divisive within the existing fanbase
- Full launch price would be very hard to justify given the reception
The Verdict
Rating: 2/5
At the deep discount I paid, this was a reasonable curiosity purchase. At full launch price, this would be a hard no, and the wider gaming community’s reaction backs that up.
The Compulsive Canadian Gamer 