Excited to learn more about Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League? It’s fair to say that if you’re a DC fan, there are a couple of big games to look forward to in the not too distant future. Announced all the way back at the DC Fandome presentation in 2020, we’ve got two major DC games still on the way. Gotham Knights (opens in new tab) will be following the Bat Family after Batman’s death, while Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League will have us tagging along villains who also may want Bats dead. It’s hard being Bruce Wayne.
Kill The Justice League is still a little while away after a delay landed it in 2023. We’ve still got some interview, trailers, and info to look at though, and it looks as action packed as any of Rocksteady’s previous DC games. So, let’s cover everything we know so far about Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League.
When is the Suicide Squad release date?
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League was delayed in early 2022 and Rocksteady announced it’ll release sometime in 2023 (opens in new tab). We’re still waiting for a specific date, however the developers have announced at least a Spring launch window.
Kill The Justice League was originally announced for 2022, while WB’s other DC game Gotham Knights was planned for 2021. Knights was delayed to October 2022 and seems to be on track for release (opens in new tab) then.
Here are the Suicide Squad trailers we’ve seen so far
The first cinematic teaser trailer (opens in new tab) for Suicide Squad peppers in a decent amount of background on the dynamics of the gang, the terms of Task Force X, and the villains of the game. As you can guess, the villains are the protagonists in this story and the usual heroes are the villains instead.
The second trailer (opens in new tab) still doesn’t feature any gameplay. It’s a story trailer that hints at a lot of Arkham game callbacks. You can spot King Shark putting on the bowler hat the Riddler wore in Arkham City and Harley Quinn firing Batman’s grapnel gun. Poison Ivy and Penguin appear to both be along for this story as well. Aside from that, trailer two mostly recaps the story setup we’d seen originally: the Justice League has gone rogue somehow and our band of four villains is out to kill them under the direction of Amanda Waller.
Finally, at The Game Awards we saw a gameplay trailer (opens in new tab). Some pretty brutal attacks—King Shark just bites a guy’s head off—were combined with slick movement as the characters fought running battles across the rooftops of Metropolis. The mid-fight barks sound a little awkward, though.
What is Kill The Justice League’s gameplay like?
In an interview following the reveal trailer (opens in new tab), Rocksteady creative director Sefton Hill says that Kill The Justice League is a hybrid between their prior Arkham games and some “powerful, awesome gunplay.”
Rocksteady’s Hill also references weapons that you’ll develop over the course of the game, which may refer to a system for upgrading or customizing each villain’s signature weapons.
Rocksteady has also confirmed that Metropolis is an open world. Hill calls it the “fifth character” of the game, the way that they approached Gotham in past games.
What’s the Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League story?
Kill The Justice League is part of the Arkhamverse, meaning it carries forward the story of Arkham Knight. Batman’s out of the picture (but don’t get this confused with Gotham Knights (opens in new tab)) and the story is picking up in Metropolis instead of Gotham.
We don’t know much about what’s going on in Metropolis from the reveal trailer, but it seems to be quite a mess. To top it off, it looks like Superman’s gone rogue. Based on the game’s title, he’s probably not the only one.
During the trailer, the Squad gets tactical directions from their boss, task force founder Amanda Waller. If you’re not familiar with the Suicide Squad already, their incentive to stay in line, and in the line of fire, are deadly nano-bombs injected into their heads when Waller conscripts them into the crew.
Which characters are on the Suicide Squad?
Officially known as Task Force X, the Suicide Squad sends dangerous super villain convicts on equally dangerous missions in return for reduced prison sentences. The government black-ops squad has had a number of members in the DC extended universe. Kill The Justice League will star four of the bunch: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang.
What we’ve seen so far isn’t a gameplay trailer by any means, but you can spot plenty of bits that tell us how each of the Squad will likely play. Harley Quinn uses a baseball bat at melee range but can move around quickly with two grapple shots. Deadshot has an arsenal of several guns that he can fire while flying around with a jetpack. Captain Boomerang has, obviously, a boomerang. It appears to double as a weapon and personal teleportation device. He’s also got a small shotgun.
Then there’s King Shark. He has huge teeth, huge arms, and a handheld turret—truly a horrifying combination of threats.
So who are the actual villains?
Well, Superman is definitely one of them. There are likely other Justice League rogues making trouble in Metropolis as well. From what we can tell, it seems like Brainiac is actually the one pulling the strings. One of his abilities is mentally possessing others, so it may be that he’s found a way to put the entire Justice League under his influence.
Suicide Squad’s campaign can be singleplayer or co-op
The Suicide Squad works as a unit but you as a player can work alone if you choose. Rocksteady says that if you choose to play solo, the other three members of the squad will be handled by AI playing alongside you. You can pick a favorite team member to stick with, but you’re also free to hop into the shoes of any team member at any time.
If you want to have friends drop in, they can take on the role of the other squad members for a total of four players in co-op. Rocksteady says that it’s a seamless experience, meaning you can have friends join or drop out as needed and won’t be forced to commit to solo or co-op during the campaign.
