During Sony's most recent State of Play, Rocksteady finally revealed more information about the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and opinions on the reveal are pretty divided. While many fans enjoyed this new look at Suicide Squad, praising its fluid mix of traversal and combat mechanics, others wasted no time in expressing their dislike of the recent deep dive, with Suicide Squad's progression systems, repetitive-looking gameplay, and live-service elements all raising red flags for many fans.
The leaks from a few months ago are true, and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League does have an in-game store and a battle pass. On top of that, Rocksteady has also confirmed the presence of live-service eleents, with the studio claiming that it wishes to support the game after launch with additional content. Fans are right to be worried, as these progression systems could end up being a double-edged sword.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's Progression Is a Double-Edged Sword
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will see up to four players drop into Metropolis, each choosing one of the members of the team. The moment-to-moment gameplay will have players traversing around large open environments as they take down hordes of Brainiac's drones and complete specific objectives. During the deep dive, Rocksteady confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a looter-shooter in a similar vein to Destiny 2 or Borderlands, meaning that players will be constantly upgrading their weapons and gear throughout the story.
On one hand, it's very easy for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League to mess this up. Gotham Knights released to poor reviews toward the end of last year, and one of its biggest criticisms was its abundance of loot, overwhelming players at every turn with new pieces of gear, so much so that the grind becomes entirely meaningless. It's very easy for Suicide Squad to fall into the same trap, and when this game has been heavily marketed as a story-focused adventure for the last few years, it's no wonder that the addition of gear and loot has upset many fans.
Additionally, Rocksteady has confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will have a battle pass, though it will apparently only contain cosmetic items. While it won't affect gameplay, the mere inclusion of a battle pass is enough to turn off some fans, and its presence in a story-based game that presumably has a finite runtime doesn't make a lot of sense. Usually, battle passes are reserved for free-to-play multiplayer titles that are constantly updated every few weeks with new content, and it doesn't seem like Suicide Squad will fit that archetype at all.
That all being said, if Rocksteady can actually pull off its progression systems, then it could mean big things for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. In the gameplay deep dive, Rocksteady talked briefly about how diverse the game's loot pool was, with multiple different weapon types, and different gear sets based on iconic DC villains. If Suicide Squad's loot is more creative than just another gun with better numbers, it could go a long way in making the game feel engaging, encouraging repeat playthroughs as different characters. This would also make Suicide Squad's apparent post-launch content make a lot more sense, as if the game really nails its gear system, then players will be much more likely to want to keep playing after they roll credits.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launches on May 26, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.