Few superheroes are as immortalised into games as often as Batman, and whilst the LEGO series has often brought its own take on the Dark Night’s escapades, here TT Games are bringing something relatively distinct. Blending its trademark humour and accessibility, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is also set to introduce deeper gameplay mechanics, broader narrative scope, and increased difficulty, taking clear inspiration from Batman’s more established video game portrayals. With an expansive open world and a personalisable hub area, Legacy of the Dark Knight is shaping up to be the most ambitious LEGO game yet.
An Era-Spanning Batman Adventure
Legacy of the Dark Knight doesn’t just cover a single interpretation of Batman. Instead, it spans multiple eras, charting The Dark Knight’s decades-long history, combining tone, aesthetic, and influence into one cohesive package. Whether you’re a fan of Batman’s classic portrayals or his modern gothic takes, LEGO: Batman aims to celebrate the Dark Knight’s legacy in a way few titles across a range of media formats have attempted before.
A Story Connecting Batman’s Eras
Rather than just stitching Batman’s numerous guises together in a compendium of stories, Legacy of the Dark Knight will connect Batman’s long history into a single narrative. You’ll follow Bruce Wayne’s origins, from honing his early craft with Ra’s al Ghul to his present-day role as Gotham City’s protector. LEGO Batman will draw influence from comics, movies, books, TV shows, and other media to bring you something that’s both familiar and new.
Open World Gotham City
The core of LEGO: Batman’s experience is a fully explorable, open world Gotham. This sprawling city is packed with activities, diversions, and secrets. You’re free to explore at your own pace between story missions, discovering side missions, uncovering collectibles, and absorbing environmental detail to flesh out the game’s already comprehensive story.
Dynamic Crimes
Gotham City doesn’t sit still while you’re gliding between objectives. According to TT Games, the crux of your diversions is dynamic crime fighting; you’ll be able to intervene and stop crimes as they’re happening across grime-ridden streets and rooftops. Bring in a diverse range of criminals, from street thugs to calculating super-villains, then these emergent events make the city feel suitably dangerous whilst feeding into your progression and rewards.
Playable Characters Beyond Batman
The Dark Knight is, of course, the game’s star, but throughout this plastic-brick adventure Batman won’t be operating alone. Characters like Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul are all playable, joining the fray as certain points in the era-spanning narrative. They’ll each bring their own abilities, gadgets, and progression systems, deepening gameplay, keeping it fresh, and allowing missions to be approached in different ways. Even including the DLC-only Joker and Harley Quinn – more on these two later – LEGO Batman’s streamlined cast represents a character-focused deviation from earlier LEGO games which typically feature a much broader ensemble.
Advanced Combat System (for a LEGO game)
Compared to previous LEGO titles, combat in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight has been significantly expanded. It’s still accessible to younger players, of course, but there’s also scope for complex combo chains, counters, and dangerous enemy varieties that’ll require you lean on various skillsets to succeed. The influence from Rocksteady’s acclaimed Arkham series is clear, there’s weight in brawling here befitting Batman’s non-LEGO incarnations.
Higher Difficulty Tier
If you’re looking for a more of a challenge, LEGO Batman introduces an additional difficulty setting, ramping up enemy aggression and damage. This so-called Dark Knight mode makes encounters more demanding, limits lives, increases enemy density, and makes boss battles tougher. And here’s the thing: this isn’t just increasing difficulty for the sake of it; its intention, perhaps, is to encourage you to engage with the game’s more advanced combat systems.
Stealth Gameplay
While LEGO games are usually brick-breaking action-focused, Legacy of the Dark Knight introduces a strong emphasis on stealth-led gameplay. Again, taking cues from Rocksteady’s Arkham series, in LEGO Batman you can take advantage of surreptitious vantage points, dimly-lit hiding spots, and silent takedowns to thin out enemy numbers covertly. This is another element befitting of Batman’s characteristics, playing out here in more deliberate actions and stately-paced encounters. Combat, then, won’t be just about charging head-first into the arena; operating as a predator from the shadows will be equally as viable.
Build and Expand Your Own Personal Batcave
The Batcave in Legacy of the Dark Knight functions as the game’s central hub. You’ll begin by excavating its space beneath the foundations of Wayne Manor, and over time you’ll expand and customise it, unlocking new areas, furniture, and decorative features. From showcasing trophies and past-successes to installing arcade machines, alongside a wealth of suits, training equipment, and a garage of Batmobiles, the Batcave will be a reflection of your journey through Batman’s legacy.
Batsuits and Collectibles
Collectibles will play a huge role in LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, with Batsuits being amongst the most exciting rewards. As you’d expect with an era-spanning story, the Batsuits you can collect in-game draw inspiration from the Batman’s entire spectrum. And another thing: these suits don’t just provide cosmetic appeal but often come with unique abilities. Including capes, cowls, and costumes from every Batman incarnation, this vast wardrobe should appeal to completionists and Batman purists alike.
The Batcomputer
The Batcave’s functional nucleus is the Batcomputer, serving as your interface for tracking progress. Missions, case files, replays, and more are all accessible, helping you stay organised as the game’s narrative evolves and your objective checklist expands. At this terminal, you can also trail ongoing crime, monitor Waynetech chip collectibles, purchase characters, and watch story scenes; it’s essentially the backbone to the entire experience.
Gadget and Skill Upgrades
Another thing the Batcomputer provides is a link to the Batcave’s workbench, whereby you can upgrade your tools, skills, and gadgets to tailor your playstyle. What’s more, it isn’t just the performance of Batman’s Batarang and Batclaw you’ll be boosting, but the workbench also gives you the ability to enhance your allies’ gear too.
Batmobiles Bring Vehicular Variety
No Batman game is complete without the Batmobile, and here, in Legacy of the Dark Knight, you’ll have access to multiple versions of Batman’s iconic vehicle, inspired once again by every era. From Adam West’s 1960s jet-age lowrider to Robert Pattinson’s armoured muscle car, through the militaristic Tumbler of Christopher Nolan’s movie trilogy and Tim Burton’s Gothic-style turbine-equipped four-wheeler, plus a two-wheel Batcycle, you’ve a Batmobile for every plausible scenario. With Batman’s vehicle playing an active role in missions and exploration, you’ll want to choose the right blend of speed, agility, and brawn to tackle objectives that are designed around vehicular gameplay.
Mayhem Mode Features The Joke and Harley Quinn
We said we’d get to them. The Legacy of the Dark Knight introduces an all-new mode which lets you step into the shoes of arguably Batman’s most iconic foes: The Joker. By his side, and also controllable, is Harley Quinn, and together the pair reap havoc and destruction across Gotham City. Mayhem Mode is set to bring a fun change of pace from the main campaign, though it’s worth pointing out that this mode is initially tied to the game’s Deluxe Edition. A wider DLC release is planned for later in the year.
PC Requirements
To play through LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight without issue, you’ll need at a minimum an Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU and GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or equivalent GPU. For the smoothest, highest fidelity performance possible, however, the game’s Steam page details an Intel Core i7-12700L or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X processor and GeForce RTX 3080 or AMD Ryzen 7 7700X GPU. Whatever your setup, you’re going to need 16GB RAM and 50GB storage space.
