Review: LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham’s cardinal sin (aside from being identical to every LEGO game before it) is that is tries to do too much and in doing so really fails to do any one thing really well. It’s also much more of a Justice League game than a Batman one and so it often feels as though it’s suffering an identity crisis.

LEGO Batman 3 is the beginning of the wheels falling off the franchise after the 5 or 6 year stream of constant LEGO game releases. It’s still (somewhat) fun, but the formula is dated and the appeal has really started to fade. Not even my insatiable Bat-lust was enough to save the experience.

Like every other LEGO game ever, LEGO Batman 3 has you exploring linear levels, smashing everything in sight, collecting studs, using character specific powers and solving “puzzles.” Nothing has changed. Literally nothing. Go back and play LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, LEGO Harry Potter or any of the 8 billion other ones and you’ll find it plays exactly the same. Each LEGO release is essentially a skin pack with story DLC. It’s a testament to how enjoyable the past games have been that developer Traveller’s Tales has been able to churn out the same thing year in and year out. But with LEGO Batman 3 the lustre is fading and fast.

There are over 150 characters from the DC universe to play with, and while this initially sounds impressive — and the collection of characters is quite diverse — there are simply too many heroes on offer and it confuses the gameplay. To progress though LB3’s levels you’ll need to use the right skill with the right character at the right time. With so many characters it’s easy to forget who can do what and which skill is used for which shiny, coloured block. Multiple times I would reach a new section of a level only to be stuck for upwards of 10 minutes without any hint of how to proceed.

The game does a poor job of pointing you in the direction of progression (so poor that it doesn’t do it at all) so I would find myself cycling between the three of four characters assigned to that level testing out abilities until one finally worked. It’s clunky, frustrating and terribly designed.

Although their move sets are sorely lacking and the game suffers from having too much choice, the range of characters on offer should be celebrated. Alongside the main stars like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman you’ll find lesser known heroes like Plastic Man, the Atom, Bat-mite and more making appearances. It’s a wonderful nod the the history and back catalogue of DC. Fans will lap it up, while those who just want to see Batman and Superman again will find their needs serviced as well. Me? I love Bats, but LEGO Batman 3 really should have been called LEGO Justice League instead.

It’s barely a Batman game at all with the caped crusader absent from over half of the story. I get that LEGO Batman is an established name, but it just doesn’t fit this time around. Hence the previously mentioned identity crisis.

The story is classic Justice League — moreso Green Lantern — but DC once again shows how unwilling they are to let anything stand without attaching Batman’s name to the title. It’s weird to watch him go from the centre of one scene to supporting grump in the next and then entirely absent for huge chunks of time. When Batman and Robin do reappear it’s oddly jarring and I thought “Oh yeah, Batman is in this game.” Presumably to make up for the lack of Batman throughout the story, Traveller’s Tales has absolutely packed LB3 with Bat-stuff. You can explore the Batcave (complete with animatronic T-Rex and Ace the Bat-Hound), rescue Adam West during missions and look for all manner of hidden collectibles related to the Dark Knight.

These inclusions are nifty, but only serve as a reminder as to how out of place the focus on Batman is. They also feel forced and kind of undercooked. There’s so much to see and do, it’s just that most of it isn’t really all that worthwhile. More time spent on making the campaign more interesting, more playable and less of a grind would have been much appreciated.

It may sound like I’m all the way down on LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham and in general I am. This is pretty much the same LEGO game we’ve played countless times before and it’s high time the series took a break or started to give us something fresh. The story, voice acting and comedy of LEGO Batman 3 are top notch (as you’d expect) but everything else lets it down. The gameplay is old, tired and boring and the broken nature of much of the “puzzle solving” makes for an exercise in frustration.

I can guarantee that both DC and LEGO fans are sharpening their pitchforks right now, but LB3 has forced me to cobclude that LEGO games have outstayed their welcome. Gamers are up in arms about CoD and Assassin’s Creed’s apparently identical releases every year, but will turn a blind eye to even more egregious cloning when it comes to LEGO, simply because it gives them yummy nostalgia feelings. Not even Batman can save this one from mediocrity. Little kids will love it, but everyone else would be well advised to look elsewhere.

LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham was reviewed using a retail copy of the game on PS4, as provided by the publisher.