After The Skywalker Saga delighted me with its retelling of all nine movies of the galaxy far, far away, I was wondering where TT Games would go next. Seems they wanted to play in Gotham again, but this time with an adventure that honoured the Batman legacy. With a name of LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, what would you expect? Blending everything together to create an original story of Batman’s time as the caped crusader.

Starting off with a young Bruce Wayne on the way to see a movie, he wants to get into costume. The pieces of which are scattered across the garden. This introduces the basics of movement and showing straight away the detect ability. This neat little action will reveal targets that need to be destroyed along with other objectives. Later on, it also comes in handy for revealing enemies who are hidden. The trip out ends with his parents being killed.

Years later, in seeing Gotham is still rampant with crime, Bruce wants to do something about it. And so, along with Talia, he learns from Ra’s Al Ghul how to fight. All of the combat is learnt here, with the standard attack, dodge roll, and counter being the main forms of attack. Stealth is a big part of the combat system, with a takedown possible as long as an enemy hasn’t seen me. It’s a lot of fun hopping down onto an unsuspecting goon then grappling away again before anyone else is alerted.

Should the enemy be alerted, it’s simply a case of utilising all the combat options to defeat them all before moving on. There’s a varied amount of enemy types, such as those who use shields to block attacks from the front. Though it is mostly a button masher, the varied enemy types make sure it isn’t always mindless. This prologue also provides the first boss fight of the game, testing my ability to use the combat against a foe who has multiple attack patterns.

Once that fight is dealt with, Bruce’s time away from Gotham is at an end. Back at Wayne Manor, he gets the idea to become Batman while exploring the cave system underneath. In a nice mirroring of the opening sequence, that discovery is pretty much a reflection of the passage of time. What once was a grand garden is now severely run down. In a way, reflecting Bruce’s own darker demeanour.

That’s not to say there’s no humour to this story, as all that classic LEGO wit is still here. Seen in full across that prologue, and into the rest of the story. Now as Batman, it is time to take to the streets to deal out some justice, where the first ally of Jim Gordon is met. Each chapter introduces a new ally, with some fun ways of meeting them. While the basic moveset of each is the same, including grappling and gliding when they get unlocked, each character has two unique gadgets at their disposal.

Gadgets can be upgraded through WayneTech, which are found in Caches both in levels and around the open world. Those upgrades improve their functionality in combat, such as slamming an enemy into the ground after hopping over them. Batman has a larger number of upgrades that can be bought, but the other characters still have useful upgrades to aid in combat. General upgrades through skill bricks to boost combat and exploration effectiveness also exist.

Out in the open world, the exploration is great. At first, there’s only the small Tricorner Area to explore, with more of Gotham becoming available as the story progresses. The Batmobile can be instantly called while down on the streets. Or, the much better way of exploring is using the grapple to zoom up vertically then gliding around. Nearly every edge is a grapple point, with a good range to it, making for a fun way of traversing Gotham.

The open world is ripe for exploration, with many things to find and solve. There’s races and combat trials, Riddler Puzzles, and fast travel points to open. Even away from finding things, Gotham is simply a nice place to wander around. Seeing the citizens walking the streets, complaining about the rain. Or making a comment about Batman or his companion. It’s an enjoyable city to hang out in.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a great game. There’s plenty for fans of Batman to enjoy, with many villains making appearances and getting origin stories. The Batsuits that can be collected come from a large range of the franchises history, too. The gameplay, while not massively challenging – even with difficulty options, still offers a great time with its mix of puzzles, combat, and exploration. As such, I’m happy to easily recommend it.

Images Taken From:
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight | Xbox Series S