Everything we know about Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League

It took a long time from the game’s reveal to get a release window, but Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is now set to come out sometime in 2022. While that information is better than nothing, that is still a very large window which may imply that a delay could push it into the following year of 2023. We wouldn’t expect that based on how far along the game looks, but you never really know how projects are going behind the scenes. We also need to consider that the other WB DC game Gotham Knights was delayed into 2022 as well. Odds are WB would want to space these two titles out as much as possible, so Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League probably won’t arrive any earlier than the fall of 2022.

While we might still be waiting on when we can play Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, we at least know how we will be able to play it. This title is confirmed for all current-gen systems, those being the Xbox Series X and S, PS5, and PC.

The newest trailer for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League came at the 2021 Game Awards. This trailer was just shy of three minutes but was our first real look at the game in action. We open on Captain Boomerang recording a video of himself taunting the squad’s current target, The Flash, before he is interrupted by the man himself. Other heroes mentioned included Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern.

After a cut we learn from Deadshot that The Flash is, for reasons unknown, is either working for or under the control of the villain Brainiac. After the orders to kill him are repeated, the squad leaps into action in a montage showing how each member will move through the city and fight the mutated techno monsters. Eventually, they encounter Flash again and engage in combat. We get a close look at his face, which shows glowing red eyes and dark veins showing through his cheeks, heavily implying some form of mind control.

The trailer rolls on with a ton more gameplay footage, which we will cover in the next section, before one last encounter with The Flash. This time he runs circles around the squad, literally, to create a massive tornado. It ends with Captain Boomerang about to throw a boomerang at Flash who is somehow charging up some kind of energy ball between his hands. After a cut, it appears like the Suicide Squad won until a giant explosion of light cuts their celebration off.

Taking a step back for those who might be confused, what even is the Suicide Squad? Well, in this game specifically, they are a group composed of DC villains such as Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark, who are contracted by a woman named Amanda Waller. Their mission? Well, kill the Justice League, obviously. So far, we know this version of the Justice League will at least be composed of Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and The Flash, if the names Captain Boomerang threw out are any indication. Other possible members, based on other iterations of the superhero team, could include Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Cyborg, and more. Naturally, we don’t expect them all to appear, but there may be a few surprises.

We can also reasonably expect Batman to be in this game as well since Rocksteady has confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will take place in the same universe as their Arkham series. Without spoiling Arkham Knight, though, that would all depend on when this game takes place in that series.

The big baddy, though, definitely seems to be Brainiac. Not only does he seem to have somehow taken control of the Justice League members, but the entire city the game takes place in as well, with giant mechanical creatures and structures all over.

Not to be confused with Gotham Knights, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an open-world game where you can play on your own, or with three friends in co-op. If played alone, you will pick one of the Squad to control directly with the ability to jump between them at will, and anyone not being controlled will have an A.I. take over. It will be set in the open world of Metropolis, which you will be able to explore in a variety of ways.

With there being four main characters, each one has its own spin on how they will play. At the core, it appears that the basics of gameplay will be an expanded version of what we got with the Arkham series. We see tons of flashy attacks, grapples, and special moves unique to each character, as well as a more robust system of ranged options and different modes of traversal.

King Shark, for example, can make giant leaps, sprint straight up walls somewhat like The Hulk or Spider-Man, and has hand-to-hand strikes, grabs, a pair of hook weapons, plus a mini-gun for ranged attacks. Deadshot, on the other hand, moves around via his jetpack, fires with automatic and explosive weapons, and can get slightly up close with his gauntlet guns. We don’t know if the rhythmic-based combat that made the Arkham games so satisfying will return, or if it will be more of a traditional third-person action game.

The structure of the game, outside of it being an open world, also remains a question mark. We hope that it would allow players to pick and choose which member of the Justice League we wanted to pursue, though probably keeping Superman locked off until last, and maybe even accidentally running into a member when we weren’t expecting it. Reclaiming the city from Brainiac’s control is another system we highly suspect. Liberating areas from the strange fodder creatures we see and weakening his grip on the city may play a role in freeing the League from his control.

Nothing has been shown or mentioned about any RPG systems either, but it feels like something Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will incorporate in some way. Similar to how you could upgrade Batman with new gadgets and moves, we would love some way to make our members of the Squad evolve over the course of playing.

Yes, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is built to be a single-player and co-op experience. This is a first for Rocksteady but makes sense given the team-based nature of the game. You can play with up to three of your friends together, each taking a different member into battle. What we don’t know is how they will handle progression. This has been tricky for developers as of late so we just hope that it isn’t another situation where only the host player makes or keeps progress, but we will have to wait on the specifics on this one.

No DLC plans have been made, but Rocksteady games, especially Arkham Knight, have been packed with DLC content. They tend to combine adding story-based additions, even focusing on brand new characters like Catwoman, as well as more gameplay-centered ones like challenge missions. Both of these feel right at home in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Personally, aside from basic challenge-type stuff, adding in another member of the Justice League to hunt down would be a great way to add to this game post-launch, if not another member of the Suicide Squad itself.

We’re still fuzzy on just how far away Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is from release, so no pre-order options are up as of yet. There’s little doubt in our minds that this game will come in a variety of editions when it is finally given a release date, at which point we’ll run through all those versions so you can pick the best one for you.

Editors’ Recommendations