The New LEGO Game Is A Celebration Of Batman History
The most recent Lego Batman release is a culmination of all of the character's outings.
Only a select few fictional characters have enjoyed cinematic longevity: there's Dracula, there's James Bond, and then there's Batman, the relative newcomer to the group. The Dark Knight has, by our count, starred in 11 live-action outings, plus his many animated adventures, the most of any of his superhero compatriots. He’s certainly the most adapted superhero to come from the Big Two, and he might be the most recognizable American film character of all time.
Those films have run the full gamut of tone and atmosphere, from the heightened absurdity of Adam West’s cult-classic Batman: The Movie to the noir-tinged serial murderer mystery of The Batman. Part of the brilliance of Batman as a character is his malleable nature, something both the comics and the films have leaned into. Now, a game is celebrating that exact aspect of the character, and it does so by honoring his long and storied history on the big screen.
Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is the most recent Lego game, as well as the most recent Batman video game post-Arkham Knight. Unlike the previous Lego Batman games, which featured original stories, Legacy of the Dark Knight is an anthology that combines plotlines and touchstones from every Batman film to create a whole-hearted celebration of the character’s on-screen adventures. From battling Nicholson’s Joker in the Keaton era to reliving Bruce Wayne’s training with the League of Shadows in Batman Begins, the game does a comprehensive job at recreating some of the most iconic moments from cinematic Batman lore.
Not only is the game designed for hardcore Batman fans, but it's resonating with gamers, too. Steve Watts at GameSpot described it as “the most fun to be had with a Lego game since 2005,” and Bruno Galvão at Eurogamer said it’s “not just one of the best Lego Batman games – it's one of the best Batman games and one of the best Lego games.”
The biggest point of praise across most reviews of Legacy of the Dark Knight is the game’s fidelity to the Batman franchise on-screen, with Julián Ramirez of GamerFocus calling it “a love letter to Batman history.” The game doesn't just pull in obvious touchstones from the live-action films, but plays around with the lore of animated films, comic books (with characters like Sofia Falcone appearing), and the beloved Arkham games. Gaming Boulevard mentioned that the game “brings the spirit of the Arkham games into the Lego universe,” pointing out that part of the humor is specifically lampshading the Arkham universe’s dour, gritty approach to the character.
It’d be a herculean effort in any other context, but the Lego Universe is the perfect place to combine two interpretations as different as Burton and Nolan’s.
There have been countless Batman films, many Batman games, and two Lego Batman games specifically, but Legacy of the Dark Knight is the first property to combine all of them into a passionate culmination of every single one of Batman’s multi-media appearances. Which makes sense, considering that out of the many properties Lego has turned into games, Batman is arguably the most versatile across different mediums — Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, and even Star Wars all mostly center on the aesthetics and storytelling of the cinematic versions.
It speaks to the adaptability of the Dark Knight as a character that a single game can fold in so many different incarnations of one heroic archetype, while paying homage to each of them in a meaningful way, because there are very few comic book characters that can boast of having the kind of success Batman has had outside of the medium he was created in.
