LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight Review (PS5)

When making LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, I like to think developer TT Games agreed to one phrase, and one phrase alone: if it’s not fun, scrap it.

The veteran studio has created an experience with an uncompromising commitment to having a good time. Using the framework of the Batman universe and its deep lore, a campaign that works like a greatest hits album of the IP delivers constant enjoyment and new ways to interact with it.

This isn’t just an attempt at universal fun; it’s basically written into the terms and conditions of your purchase. You will have fun playing the new LEGO Batman game — it’s virtually impossible not to.

Hardcore fans of the DC superhero will get the biggest kick out of it, as the title borrows from Batman comic books, movies, and other video games to craft a referential story full of popular scenes and deep cuts.

It doesn’t adapt one particular plot from the franchise’s 87-year history; rather, it’s a celebration of Batman and a love letter to the universe. That’s not to say you need an in-depth understanding of the character to love Legacy of the Dark Knight, though.

I’ve played the Batman: Arkham trilogy, and I’ve seen The Dark Knight films as well as the more recent The Batman flick. My Batman knowledge is far from extensive, yet the game’s unwavering promise of fun won over any references I missed.

An open world Gotham City is the game’s centrepiece, and the story chapters span its many districts. Combined, the map exploration and narrative missions represent how TT Games has levelled up its LEGO efforts since 2022’s The Skywalker Saga.

It’s stripped things back in some ways and doubled down in others.

Instead of a 350+ character roster, there are just seven. Instead of throwaway combat, the fights of the Batman: Arkham trilogy have been lifted almost wholesale and placed in Legacy of the Dark Knight.

This is the most in-depth and expansive a LEGO title has ever been, as those seven playable characters are no longer simple skin swaps; they come with their own abilities and skill trees. These feed into the combat to provide each one a few exclusive moves alongside the universal combo builders and takedowns of the Batman: Arkham combat system.

In fact, that’s exactly what the game feels like a lot of the time: a Rocksteady game of the 2010s in LEGO brick form.

You explore the open world from its rooftops, gliding across the city and using the grapple gun to latch onto buildings and fling yourself forward. A range of vehicles can get you to objective markers faster, which feel just as responsive and nifty to control as the glide does.

The fairly sizable open world, split up across islands that unlock as you progress the campaign, is home to the LEGO game trademark: collectibles. I never went 10 seconds without pinging another one on my map, with hundreds spread across the map alongside side activities. They’re a fun distraction from the levels of the main quest and are bolstered by races, combat trials, and puzzles to maintain that fun and variety factor.

All of that comes together in the Batcave, where you can customise the place with the trinkets you’ve gathered up to that point and track what you still need to do. There are terminals for the many collectible suits, vehicles, a shop to spend your Studs, and more.

New and improved with better features, LEGO Batman is indeed the best brick game to date, but it retains what got it to this point.

Combat is one of those mechanics treated to an overhaul as it’s provided much more depth and made to play like a Batman: Arkham game. It’s all based on increasingly long combos: you dance about the arena and punch bad guys while avoiding damage. A meter eventually builds up to a takedown, then you repeat the sequence. It can feel quite button-mashy in the moment, but the satisfaction comes from building those lengthy combos to trigger more and more stylish takedowns.

Fights often frequent the campaign missions, broken up by a mixture of puzzles and entertaining cutscenes. It’s a joy to explore the Iceberg Lounge, Ace Chemical, and more all remade in brick form. The brain teasers help to slow down the action for a minute, the referential humour pays off with funny jokes and set-pieces, and the action provides a touch more difficulty than any past LEGO title.

The further in you get, however, the combat does begin to drag somewhat. The abilities of the characters you unlock all function the same during fights: they temporarily stun enemies. You won’t find any new battle techniques to utilise when playing as Catwoman compared to Robin or Jim Gordon — they all play and control the exact same. Its button-mashy nature does begin to grate, and I eventually found myself zoning out during combat and losing combos to stretches of boredom.

Still, for every combat scene I ultimately grew tired of, a comical cutscene a few minutes later picked my enthusiasm back up. There’s a charm and confidence about the experience; TT Games knows it’ll have another new and inventive level right around the corner.

It speaks to the fun factor I mentioned fuelling Legacy of the Dark Knight: it’s a constant pleasure to play. No matter what you’re looking for, be it the Batman story or the open world exploration or the collectibles hunt, you’re guaranteed a great time.

Although, I would maybe suggest waiting for a PS5 patch or two to land post-launch. I set my PS5 Pro to the Performance Mode (targeting 60 frames-per-second) for the playthrough and found it to be manageable but often jittery. There are no deep frame rate drops; the game is perfectly playable at launch.

However, oftentimes during busy sequences and combat scenarios, the action can stutter a little as the frame rate catches up. There’s also a Quality Mode offering better graphics, but a 30FPS target means you’ll be wrestling for frames even more.

Those aside, Gotham City looks stunning in LEGO brick form, no matter the mode, representing the best-looking TT Games joint to date. The way the open world is lit up at night is a treat, and so too are the many detailed interiors that make up the main story missions. Some of these places are only ever used once in the campaign, yet they come packed with Batman references and high-quality visuals.

I also came away impressed by the game’s PS5 DualSense controller support, which is more of a rarity in third-party titles. The haptic feedback is effective, and the adaptive triggers are utilised in neat little ways.