Suicide Squad KTJL Is Dead On Arrival As Rocksteady Stumbles Again

The release of Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League has been a disaster, to say the least. While the original announcement was met with some degree of excitement, that quickly faded as more information was released. The decision to include live-service elements was the first nail in the coffin. Many disliked this decision due to previous attempts from the likes of Marvel’s Avengers failing miserably in the same genre. Rocksteady raised the bar high for what superhero games can be. Through their efforts, they have sold millions of games. However, in today’s market, selling millions and making billions is not enough.

We can’t make lots of money; we need all of it. That was Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League’s first mistake. When people hear live service, they immediately think cash grab. Whether that is true or not does not matter. However, Rocksteady could have gotten away with it. All they needed to do was follow one simple rule. Make a fun game. If the game is good, people will forgive everything else. However, if a game released in 2015 looks better than your current iteration, you are already doomed. I can forgive a lot of things, but screwing up Harley Quinn’s design is where I draw my own personal line.

They could have probably sold a million more games by simply focusing more on her. I remember I bought Batman Arkham Asylum, not knowing anything about the game, simply because Harley was on one of the covers. You can call that fan service or whatever you want, but deep down, you know it is the truth. Now, obviously, I am just having a bit of fun, as I know it takes more than just a pretty killer clown girl to make a great game.

Suicide Squad KTJL Is Dead

SweetBabyInc is considered the mastermind behind this game. However, what they thought to be their masterpiece is losing players by the day. In fact, the current concurrent player base is already below 1 thousand. For a game with live service elements, this is a disaster. It means the title is all but dead. It is very hard to believe that Rocksteady will even bother to release more updates and expansions in the future. While live service games have crawled back from disaster before, it is hard to believe that they will replicate it for Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League.

I would like to remind people that this game is about three weeks old. While it is easy to play through the story, it is supposed to be a title people can return to. Unfortunately, there is not much substance in the game. It is hard to understand how we went from epic boss battles like Mr. Freeze to lackluster ones such as the Flash. Although I am sure there are some who enjoy playing the game, and most will agree that it falls short of expectations.

I do not know what is next for Rocksteady and superhero games, but it is hard to see them winning back trust. They might be responsible for Batman, but you can only ride that cloud for so long. Sadly, we are entering an era where studios no longer want to make single-player games that depend on the story. Every title needs to be some version of Live Service where you can make billions every year. While Suicide Squad is not live service by its true definition, I cannot help but wonder what could have been if they had simply focused on game play and story.