Lego DC Super-Villains - A Wicked Hands On Demo

Published: October 10, 2018 12:00 PM /

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lego dc super-villains demo techraptor

When we swung by New York Comic Con this weekend, we got to try out a hands on demo of the upcoming game Lego DC Super-Villains. So, it’s been more than a few years —how does the franchise hold up after Lego Batman 3?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZNtWULQ31g

The most unique thing about the game is that right off the bat you get to customize your own character. And rather than just being side quest fun like in previous Lego games, this time your character is actually integrated into the plot. The long term effects obviously weren’t shown in just the demo, but you just happen to be present when Lex Luthor and Mercy break out of Stryker’s Island prison and are taken along as the affectionately nicknamed “rookie.” With a unique ability to grow and learn new powers as the game goes on, it’s a fresh mechanic for the fourth entry in a series that has already expanded enormously beyond its first incarnation.

My personal super-villain fought using dual wield ice cream lollies and looked like he’d taken his outfit in a thrift store drive by. I’m not kidding, the two legs of his trousers didn’t even match, and it looked hysterically appropriate for a Lego game. The powers that you choose initially aren’t of utmost importance, as what you learn along the way is far more useful, at least for the demo portion.

The array of characters used was fun. From A-list baddies like Lex Luthor, Joker, and Harley Quinn, to lesser known villains like Solomon Grundy and Mercy, to those who fall into a weird in-between stage of notoriety like Cheetah and Metallo, there was a variety of characters and abilities to use. Much as I love Batman, it was refreshing to start off with a completely different character set, and I’m eager to see how the storyline plays out with the Justice Syndicate in the game.

Other than your customizable character and the fact that you’re breaking out of prison for the first level, there weren’t really any innovative gameplay changes seen from previous games. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Lego has repeatedly proved that they’ve hit upon a winning formula, but shaking it up more often can help the franchise from going stale.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Lego DC Super-villains demo, and I’m eager to see what the full game has to offer and how it uses new mechanics and carries over ones from previous games. Plus, as a comics nerd, it’s worth playing for the Justice Syndicate alone!

Lego DC Super-Villains will be released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 16th in North America and will release worldwide on October 19th.

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Courtney
| Former Staff Writer

Courtney Ehrenholfer is an aspiring novelist and screenwriter, and current journalist who greatly enjoys video games, especially those of the point and… More about Courtney