This is from the era of Lego games that has the explorable overworld. While it has half the number missions of the first game, those missions are both longer and much more well designed. This one also adds a whole bunch of DC heroes and villains that weren't in the first game. I think this is super cool, but find these additions to be largely under-utilized. The major thing holding these other heroes back, as often is the case, is Superman.
Well, not exactly. It IS an issue with the overall design of the game, more than it is an issue with Superman himself. The thing is, Superman can fly and has laser vision, super strength, ice breath, and speed building. To top it all off, he is invincible. Yup. Not even with cheats, Superman is straight up unkillable in most cases. not only that, but he is playable for over half of the games main campaign, and all of the games side content. I think it is really cool to have Superman represented in this way, but it does take away from the already low stakes that the Lego games can provide. Don't get me wrong, I still loved playing this game. I'd go so far as to say it is better than the first game. I just don't fully understand what they were thinking here. Worst part is, they have a part of the story where Superman gets weakened by Kryptonite, but all it really does is make him unable to fly. He builds a little bit slower too, but he still has all of his other powers and is invincible. Weakening Superman would've been a really cool way to show you all that he can be for a couple levels and then take all those powers away. It could highlight Batman and Robin's suit abilities, and they could slowly return Supe's powers throughout the rest of the levels, to get him fully back online. Overall, he isn't game ruining or anything, just a huge missed opportunity.
Apart from the story levels you also have a fairly large map to explore and collect in. As you activate the remote terminals and fill out the map, villains will appear in the overworld for you to defeat and collect. These villains have a fairly diverse set of abilities, but none of them are unique. They are just easier to switch to, as using those abilities as Batman and Robin requires you to use one of the suit changing pads. In the first game, as long as you were in free play mode, you could switch to Batman and Robin's different suits on the fly, assuming they were unlocked. I appreciate TTG making the suits more robust and diverse in this game, but not having them in the character menu means it is easier to switch to a villain that has that ability, when solving puzzles in the overworld. Speaking of which, you can save citizens from peril, solve puzzles, and complete vehicle courses to unlock gold bricks. These bricks are used to construct gold gates, from which you can purchase other heroes to use in the overworld and in free play mode. Some of these heroes were certainly useful; but again, Superman kind of steals the show here. Weirdly, many of the puzzles had the same gimmicks. Notable, a huuuge number of gold bricks can only be obtained by getting Robin up to a rooftop while wearing his acrobat suit. When you reach the top, he can make a hamster ball around himself to control a mechanism that opens an indestructible enclosure with the gold brick inside. Most other puzzles can be solved by switching to one of the villains, as the suit abilities are shared by a few of them. Unfortunately, this puzzle was repeated more than most and didn't have quicker option, like the others do. I guess I just wish the powers were a bit more varied, and that there were more types of puzzles to give the unlockable characters more purpose.
At the very least, the side content doesn't take an extra 40 hours to get through, like it does in Lego Hobbit, but it felt more like I was checking off boxes than really enjoying what the game could have been offering. But, the story levels carry this game, and so does flying around as Superman. Despite my prior complaints about him, I actually had a lot of fun with him in the overworld. If you are completionist, like me, he actually speeds that side content along significantly and in a (mostly) fun way. Sadly, there are no achievements, but I am happy with a 100% save file. Playing through this again has also made me excited to play Legacy of the Dark Knight, but first I have to get through the 3rd game and the DC villains one. Hopefully those can live up to this great game!
