LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight immediately caught the attention of fans when it was announced. A game that celebrated every iteration of Batman while offering a completely new LEGO experience made it clear this could be a massive win for everyone. The Direct was invited to preview and play two hours of the game, which releases on May 22, and needless to say, we were big fans.
While at the event, on top of hands-on time with the game, we also spoke with Cinematics Animation Director Bob Scott for LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. During our interview, the game developer shed some light on how they balanced which adaptations to pull from for the game and the audience they were making this experience for—and it's not just for little kids this time around.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight's Comic Influences & Respect of Its Audience
The Game Never Condescends to Its Player Base
While LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is mostly based on the films, despite that clear focus, Cinematics Animation Director Bob Scott confirmed that "there are big chunks of the comic book in the game:"
Bob Scott: There are big chunks of comic book in the game, but, you know, in the same way that one level is Arkham [Asylum], we have one level, you know, based on, we have the characters based on the animated TV show... Most of its [based on the] movie[s], there are sizable chunks dedicated to other media.
While there are comic book elements in the game, they're fairly limited and not as many as the riffs on the classic, widely known films. The thought process behind that chosen balance is that they were "conscious of [not losing] a casual fan," which led to "the major influences [being] the movies:"
Scott: One of the things we're conscious of is not to lose a casual fan... We didn't want to just appeal to die hard nerds. And so the major influences are the movies, obviously, and you know, the TV series, the bigger known IPs or parts of the IP... But we do go 'Batgirl: Year One,' we have Red Hood zero from 'Batman: Year Zero'...
One aspect that The Direct toyed with during our time with the game at the LEGO Batman: Legacy Knight event was the inclusion of Bruce's costume from the Absolute Batman comic run. That story sees the Batman mythos flipped on its head in a much more adult way, set in a twisted, darker version of Earth, with a heavy focus on big monsters and body horror.
When asked if there was any additional material from Absolute Batman in the game, Scott admitted that those stories are "just a bit too adult" for them, adding that "the majority of the content needs to stay LEGO friendly [and] appeal to a wide range of ages."
He clarified they "didn't make this for very young kids" but instead for "adults [and] children." Scott noted that even though LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight might avoid many adult themes, the story "doesn't condescend to children" and "involves beats that you don't normally see in a kids' game:"
Scott: 'The 'Absolute Batman' stuff is just a bit too adult, I think, for us... There are still things that are more adult as well; they're usually like touches or little Easter eggs. But the majority of the content needs to stay LEGO friendly [and] appeal to a wide range of ages... [However,] we didn't make this for very young kids. We've made it for adults [and] children. So there are layers to it. And also, it doesn't condescend to children. It's a story that involves beats that you don't normally see in a kids game... We basically tried to tell an engaging story that would keep everybody entertained.
The biggest draw for many with Legacy of the Dark Knight is how the game draws on decades of Batman projects, such as Nolan's Batman trilogy, Matt Reeves' Batman, and more, all blended into an expansive, original narrative. Given that it's made of countless adaptations, each with its own identity, how does this game maintain its own sense of identity and soul?
Scott said that he "think[s] that the LEGO IP helps to kind of put a veneer on the front, and it helps to unify everything:"
Scott: I think that the LEGO IP helps to kind of put a veneer on the front, and it helps to unify everything. It's so much better than we thought it would [be], and we leaned into humorous ways of integrating in certain parts. But also, we weren't scared of putting our own story beats into the story too, because the story was the most important thing. You know, we wanted to service the IPs and the characters and do that well, but if it wasn't a good story, nobody would want to play it. So there are elements that we have [that] we've made ourselves, and we wrote, and we never shied away from doing that.
When it comes to gameplay, one of the mainstay elements of the LEGO games is the massive catalog of characters you can play as. By the end of any given LEGO game, players usually have dozens of options to run around the story with.
However, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is switching it up on fans. This time, players only get to choose between seven characters: Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Jim Gordon, Catwoman, and Talia al Ghul (nine, if you include Joker and Harley Quinn, who will be joining in the game's already announced DLC).
So, why did the team behind the game choose to limit the characters players can control? Scott explained that they want each character to be "meaningful" and to offer a distinct experience for players as they take control:
Scott: We are keeping it slim. So we're keeping it how we have it, so that we can be meaningful, so we can concentrate on their gadgets [and] make them very different characters to players. They have different gadgets, different move sets, and different abilities. So it was the only way that we could do it meaningfully. But we also deliver the variety through all the skins and the outfits. There's a huge amount of those that you collect in the back day. And then you have the red brick customizers, so you can then customize the customized outfits...
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight releases on May 22 and will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It will also be playable on the Nintendo Switch 2 later this year.
LATEST NEWS
TRENDING
