Sony just announced that tomorrow’sState of Play will feature 15 minutes of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay footage, and that feels like a bold risk. On the one hand,after (potentially fake) leaksand a delay have derailed hype, I have to praise the game for betting on itself. Rocksteady isn’t dishing out a series of flashy cinematic trailers here, but an elongated look at gameplay itself. I just hope the hype isn’t over before it begins.
I’m looking forward toSuicide Squad, but it feels despite the game rather than because of it. You could make Tooth Brushing Simulator andlet me play as Harley Quinnflossing her chompers and I’d be there on day one. The ‘co-op but also solo’ superhero genre has been a disaster on its first two run outs with Marvel’s Avengers and Gotham Knights, while leaks thatpoint to a live-service buffet of currenciesand endless minor upgrades suggesting Suicide Squad will be strike three. Characters aside, this does not seem like a particularly endearing title.
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However, I have to commend Suicide Squad. It’s not hiding behind flashy visuals or its highly marketable IP, which marks a change in strategy. I found the reveal ofBatman (and with it, Kevin Conroy’s last turn before his passing)a little distasteful. It felt to me as if Conroy was being made into a marketing gimmick. We’ve seen a bit of gameplay previously, but most adverts so far have been character banter and fixating on the (admittedly effective) selling point of playing as Harley Quinn and King Shark. This is a new approach at the perfect time, and it could be the making of Suicide Squad. Of course, it could also be a disaster.
These days, unless you’re at the very top of the triple-A tree, making a good video game is only half the battle. It’s a crowded marketplace where more players are being drawn to eternally online experiences, single player adventures are expensive and offer little long-term way to make their money back, algorithms suggest players favour long and bloated time sinks when anecdotally we’re all bored of them… being good is just part of it. Making people care is something different.
Suicide Squad has a leg up here; it’s from a reliable studio and uses some of the most famous characters in the world. People already care. However, the aforementioned delays and leaks have damaged this. Suicide Squad is fighting fire with fire with extended gameplay, and it’s a commendable approach, even if the vertical slice we get will be highly curated and not just a dev randomly running around in the game for 15 minutes.
Commendable as it is, the whole thing could still prove to be a huge mistake. All this smoke could be caused by fire. Suicide Squad is already on thin ice, and if this 15 minute gameplay showcase isn’t up to much, or hints at repeating the dull upgrades of Avengers and Gotham, Suicide Squad could plummet through that ice and sink. It’s bold to show off gameplay to face up to all these questions, but it best make sure it has the answers and isn’t just vamping for time.
I hope Suicide Squad is good, partially because why would I hope for any upcoming game to be bad, but particularly because I have an affection for these characters and this studio. The news we’ve gotten on the game, legitimately or otherwise, has cooled the excitement somewhat, but Suicide Squad has positioned itself perfectly to change the narrative. We can only pray it doesn’t fluff its lines.
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