Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight balances fan service with an Arkham-style open world

Lego's video game series is not just charming action games with some humorous puzzles, but often surprisingly clever spins on iconic characters we all know and love. With the upcoming Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, the developers at TT Games aim to deliver a new open-world Gotham City and more advanced combat that scratches the same itch as the Batman: Arkham series – all while leaning into that familiar Lego simplicity and charm.

Ahead of the title's May 22 release, I played several missions. These focused on Batman's journey through a very Lego take on Gotham City's rowdy nightlife, filled with villains causing trouble for the dark knight and his allies. Along with seeing several Batman movie moments given the comical toy-universe treatment, I also got to see a more focused and upgraded take on a Lego open-world game.

Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a retelling of Batman's origins through the colorful, playful lens of Lego. Set within an open-world Gotham City –- replete with crimes to stop, collectibles to grab and cases to solve – you'll grow Batman's influence across different eras of his history, pulling from various films and iconic moments from the comics.

Compared to 2008's Lego Batman, Legacy of the Dark Knight is more of an all-encompassing adventure that explores Lego Batman's rise in Gotham City. This plays out across the main chapters, which draw on many Batman films and comic storylines – such as 2022's The Batman, 1995's Batman Forever and even clever nods to Batman: The Animated Series.

Head of development at TT Games, Jonathan Smith, said that working on Lego games for nearly two decades has given the studio a strong understanding of what it takes to bring classic characters into the Lego world. "This is the first game where we've been really able to draw upon the whole history of all the stories of Batman and bring them together into a single, narrative-driven adventure," said Smith. He added, "We've been really fueled by the character and all the great storytelling that's come before us. From a Lego games point of view, we're always looking to bring a new perspective of humor and fun to all elements of gameplay and storytelling."

In the familiar Lego video game style, you and another player can explore various stages, collecting Lego bricks and studs to unlock upgrades and outfits, fighting off enemies with melee combat and gadgets and overcoming puzzles with character-specific talents. It's essentially a classic action-platformer, but with a heavy focus on comedy and cartoony action with Lego characters. The c