Suicide Squad Disappoints; Players Point Out Formulaic Gameplay
Yesterday's presentation of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League met with a cold reception. Fans complain about the lack of variety in gameplay and the heavy emphasis on live-service elements.
The most important material presented last night at the State of Play show was an extensive gameplay from Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, the next project from Rocksteady, studio known for Batman: Arkham Asylum, Arkham City and Arkham Knight. Unfortunately the presentation did not met with a warm reception.
Formulaic gameplay
- On YouTube the video showing gameplay has as many as 11 thousand negative reactions, and only 4.4 thousand positive ones.
- Looking at it objectively, the game is nice, and the gameplay seems polished. It's not about these aspects of Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League, however, the players are complaining.
- Fans are annoyed by the fact that it's a shooter. This makes sense in the case of Deadshot, but the rest of the team - Harley Quinn, King Shark and Captain Boomerang in the comics - they don't use firearms very often. Gamers raise that Rocksteady wasted the opportunity to offer a varied combat system and instead all characters use slightly altered move copies.
- Gamers comment:
"Yes, Captain Boomerang and his signature weapon: the shotgun!"
"I don't understand why they all fly and shoot? Why wasn't every character made super-unique? Why does King Shark shoot guns instead of blasting through enemies like a battering ram?"
"Four different characters, but they all behave exactly the same."
- Players also complain that the weapon sounds are too quiet, making them seem weak, which is a big problem considering how heavily gun-oriented the gameplay is.
Fans don't want a live-service game
- Even worse, gamers received a video showing behind-the-scenes of the game. It garnered 4,000 negative reactions on YouTube, and four times less positive ones.
- The poor reception of the second video is due to the fact that it leaves no illusion that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a live-service game. The developers mention a season pass and show the progression system, based on a hodgepodge of various stats and bonuses.
- Even though the season pass is supposed to be limited to cosmetic items only, its appearance still made the players very nervous.
"What I saw was "a live-service game with RPG elements, gear-based progression, an in-game store and battlepass" (...) It's basically everything I hate about games. Greedy, stodgy, soulless."
"Season pass in a full-fledged single-player game. This game is the new Marvel's Avengers, and we all know how that turned out."
"Rest in peace Rocksteady.... you will always remain in our hearts!"
- An additional cause for concern is the fact that even while playing alone Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will require an Internet connection.
Objective look
Looking objectively, the game doesn't look so bad. The project promises to be an interesting shooter focused on cooperative mode. The problem is that many gamers are already tired of the live-service model, and to this Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League doesn't seem to live up to the potential offered by the characters it features. Adding to the problem is the fact that the Arkham brand is still very strong and its fans were expecting something very different from the first new game from Rocksteady in eight years.
Recall that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is heading for PC, Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, and will be released on May 26 this year
