LEGO Batman: The Legacy of the Dark Knight is the Arkham Game you've been waiting for | Gamescom 2025

The Traveler's story once again brings a pile of brick battles to the streets of Gotham City. For 20 years, the studio has largely followed a much-loved established formula to fit some of the world’s largest media franchises and transformed it into a level-based action adventure. But this time, TT looks like it's finding inspiration outside its own walls, but elsewhere in the Warner Bros. family, give people what they want: a new Batman Arkham game besides the name.

The Dark Knight's legacy is slightly different from the structure of previous LEGO games. TT Games is not an original story, it immerses itself in the world of bats by breaking out different chains of different comics and movies from different stories in different comics and most famous stories in the hero’s most famous stories. You get a story of a young Bruce Wayne that seems to draw inspiration from Batman if the trailer is to be browsed, but then meets the Joker who was born in a series of corrosive materials, then becomes the Oscar-winning version of Heath Ledger's Oscar-winning version.

From the early stages of the story, I started completing a complete mission that took me to Ace Chemicals, a look of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman. However, the story takes place inside those neo-gothic walls, and is laughed directly from the jokes from the pages of Ed Brubaker's comics, as Batman is sent to investigate the Red Hood. The context is set through the familiar farce Lego stupidity, as the bats are asked to track three separate teddy bear cargos in order to find the evil use of the hood.

This opening takes place outside the walls of the plants, allowing me to experiment with an instantly recognizable combat kit. I grunted a few times until their plastic legs got rid of their torso, and whenever they dared to fight back at that little attack signal overhead. Fans of Batman: Arkham Games will know exactly what I'm talking about here (and anyone who has been inspired by the system of Rocksteady who has played many action games), but from the tiny surgery I've experienced, I can't see it getting more mechanically complicated.

Jonathan Smith, producer and strategy director at TT Games, clearly admitted to me: “Arkham’s inspiration and desire to bring it to a wider audience, it’s “you can’t be Batman in a video game without having to appreciate what our friends and colleagues have accomplished at Rocksteady,” “So, as we started thinking about a rich and deep Batman combat experience, we certainly used it as inspiration, but then we also had new ways of accessibility in terms of accessibility. ”

Fist, kick and throw are likely rooted in the action originally built in 2009 Batman: Arkham Asylum, but it's a TT LEGO game for players of all ages, so I can't see the complex button combinations becoming a key aspect. Slow-motion Terminator adds a sense of style to the program, further adding to the familiar Arkham process. All in all, the fight feels good, if not fully satisfying the shelter and its sequel, perhaps because of contact with the synthetic gloss of the Legos, never giving off a completely fleshy feeling (yes, yes, I do have a wording like that).

Of course, while Caped Crusader broke his knee with his fist and padded pads, Stealth was also a big part of his game. Again, while its design is not as powerful as Arkham Games, The Legacy of the Dark Knight is indeed suitable for sneaky choices. The high structure and habitat are ominously shrouded above the enemy, making it easy to zip it. From there, you can use the version of Detective Mode that is more like an effect pulse area than a switchable X-ray vision to pick the enemies below. The invisible stripping can then be performed on the prey of your choice and animated with trademark LEGO humor. Batman is not a quick knockout blow, but will fall on them with a small butt hit.

Although the battle is a lot of Arkham code, the rest of the missions work like a classic TT adventure. The platform integrates with a mobile platform and a swing hook that requires you to switch between characters (or get help from partners) to remove the puzzle of their specific skills. Jim Gordon joined me on this mission, who was packed with a foam spray gun that fired slimy spots to help you with your past obstacles. For example, ACE chemicals are not surprisingly filled with dangerous chemicals, some of which can be seen highlighting damaged pipes and park you in your path. The commissioner's cannon will be quickly exploded soon, because when it hardens, it will block holes in the pipe. In the past, a door might have been locked, but it could use Batman's hook to pull it down due to the obvious grab point. Since the 2005 Star Wars adaptation, it is the exchange between Bat Girls who have formed the foundation of the LEGO game and still have a certain degree of charm.

However, the problem with this mission does raise a problem that we will face in the scope of the difficulties. When I entered ACE Chemicals through Ace Chemicals, I didn't get the feeling of the “Metroidvania-style” I often associated with Lego games – knowing that there will be many secret areas that are not accessible on the first play because they require abilities you haven't unlocked yet. This may be due to the following fact In the Dark Knight's Legacy, there are only seven characters to playtherefore, the various powers and gadgets are greatly reduced – especially with Skywalker Saga's lineup of about 400. The re-estimable factor of hunting treasures is a huge attraction for some, so if this is the case, I'm a little scared about this situation, but maybe this part of the experience is mostly reserved for its open world.

I just had to spend about 10 minutes in a small outdoor section in Gotham City but found that there was no shortage of things to do. As I grabbed the hook onto the nearby roof and reached out into the air, Arkham's muscle memory began, then spread my bat wings and evaluated the crime-ridden alley for activities. In a short time, I stopped the crime by slamming a few fools, completing a baseball trophy puzzle and trying to have a timed trial in my chosen Batmobile – the tumbler of the Dark Knight, the 2022 muscle car, a Batman-like monster, and providing the accompanying Batmobile. The character costumes are customizable, from the Golden Age comic interpretation to the modern movie look. How these are unlocked is not clear, but I am not surprised if I take the time to collect treasures surrounding the open world.

At that time, the initial impression of The Legacy of the Dark Knight was a game of Arkham among Legos was quite bloated. I settled tightly on the middle ground between dynamic combat and assembly marathon, the series has been successfully rooted for years. From an hour or so far I've been very hopeful until I wasted Arkham fans until Rocksteady (or others willing to pick up the mantle) answered Batsignal's call, which might be the perfect choice.

Simon Cardy is a senior editor at IGN who can mostly find despair in the Open World Olympics, indulging in Korean cinemas, or feeling desperate in Tottenham and the New York Jets. Follow him in Bluesky @cardy.bsky.social.