Rocksteady Games have blessed the world with their Batman: Arkham games, but one game they really fumbled with is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This spin-off from the Arkham franchise disappointed a lot of gamers and fans of the series, who were rather excited for the title to come out.
Although people were pretty eager to play Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Rocksteady failed to deliver on the experience they are so famous for. If Warner Bros. Games had just provided the Nemesis System to the title, it would have been way better than what it is right now. What is the Nemesis System, and how would it have been beneficial to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Read more to find out.
How Rocksteady would have benefited from the Nemesis System
The Nemesis System is a gameplay mechanic where the enemies in a game can recognize the player from previous encounters and can even react to that to form a personality of their own. In games with the Nemesis System, enemies can have unique traits and can evolve from the player’s interactions in the game. This creates a dynamic rivalry between the player and the enemy, effectively making each adversary a distinct ‘nemesis’.
The Nemesis System creates a unique identity for the AI enemies, which builds a lot of depth in the game, making run-ins with each foe a personal one. This feature can only be found in two games, which are Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle Earth: Shadow of War, both published by Warner Bros. who hold the patent to the gameplay mechanic.
WB legally protects the gameplay mechanic with a patent, which gives them the right to sue anyone who uses the technology to make their game a fun one. This restricted video game studios like Rocksteady to implement the gameplay element in Suicide Squad, even though Rocksteady is already under WB. Hence, the game did not live up to expectations and is now eating the dust of mediocrity and even worse.
If Warner Bros. had let Rocksteady use the Nemesis System for Suicide Squad, then the title would have been a banger. The Nemesis System would have helped the squad members to develop personal rivalries with the villains or the ‘heroes’ in this case, which could’ve developed the story more based on the interactions the characters had.
The mechanic could’ve also helped in giving more character to the team members, where they would acknowledge previous missions and adapt themselves accordingly. The Nemesis System would’ve also made the Brainiac’s goons feel less generic, adding variety in how they would interact with the player over time.
Warner Bros.’s decision led to Rocksteady’s failure
Rocksteady had the potential to make Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League a truly unique and fun experience, but without the Nemesis System, the game just lacks any identity of its own. The game did not feel as personal as the Arkham games, where you were Batman and had a personal vendetta with a lot of enemies. It just feels like the title lacks both depth and a personality of its own.
The rigid restrictions placed by Warner Bros. prevented one of their own studios from implementing a mechanic that could have easily improved and elevated the title from just another live-service shooter to a legendary and memorable experience. The Nemesis System would’ve given an identity to the game had it been established in the game, yet the damage is done, and the game feels hollow as ever.
This situation only highlights how corporate decisions can sometimes hold back innovation, leaving fans wondering what could have been.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
