TT Games has been going considerably bigger and substantially better with its latest LEGO titles, and the work is paying off in a new Batman effort reminiscent of the Arkham classics.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight doesn’t adapt any single film or series involving Bruce Wayne. Rather, it’s a celebration of Batman that pulls from every piece of media the character has ever starred in — movies, comic books, and video games included.
An open world Gotham City is the base, and story missions take place within it, every one pulling from different versions of Batman and his many tales. The usual family death is there, and so too are the Batcave and the classic villains.
Surrounding the typical plot points, however, are enjoyable pulls from Batman lore and media to create a standout LEGO campaign anyone fond of the superhero should love.
It’s every bit a Batman game made by fans for fans.
Around three hours of play was provided at a London preview event last month, with a handful of levels and open world exploration on offer. In action, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight plays, looks, and feels just like the product of a developer at the peak of its craft.
It’s now ready to rival the best Batman: Arkham entries of two generations ago with referential humour, tons to do, and a strikingly similar combat system — Legacy of the Dark Knight is essentially Arkham fights in LEGO brick form.
You deliver the typical punches and kicks of a Batman battle, building up a meter to quickly dispatch enemies with very flashy takedowns and slow-mo finishers. On-screen button prompts trigger dodges, reversals, and counterattacks, while sticking to the shadows allows for stealth takedowns.
If you remember how any one of Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, or Arkham Knight played in combat, then Legacy of the Dark Knight replicates that on a base level. You are not getting quite as much depth — unless the skill tree significantly expands your capabilities, then it’ll be the fighting style in its standard form — but what’s there proved enjoyable in the many preview sections.
Battles litter the story missions, but they take a backseat when exploring Gotham City. TT Games has split the classic metropolis across four islands, with our hands on session providing access to three. The open world is absolutely jam-packed with side objectives, puzzles, and pursuits; it’s a collector’s dream.
You access the main missions through markers within the open world, but along the way, it’s easy to be distracted by a collectible or a brain teaser. While the structure and approach are typical of an open world game of the past 10 years, it’s comfortably an experience that’ll distract you with mysteries, and an hour later, you still haven’t made it to the level you originally pinged on the map.
In both the missions and the open world, Batman always has a companion with him, which isn’t just a way of offering constant two-player co-op. Legacy of the Dark Knight offers just seven playable characters, which is considerably less than the team’s previous outing, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The upside to the smaller cast, though, is these are properly fleshed out characters with their own abilities and upgrade paths.
Even in single player, you’ll want to swap between Batman and whoever is accompanying him on a mission as there’ll be objectives that require their skills to progress. Jim Gordon has a sort of glue gun that stops machinery while Catwoman uses her whip, for example. You’ll need to switch to them to progress, and their expertise is required in the open world for certain puzzles. Luckily, swapping characters is a simple and fast process tied to the pause menu.
Bringing everything together is the Batcave. It acts as a hub area where you can track everything you have earned (suits, collectibles, cars, and more) as well as replay missions and decorate the place to your liking. Finding collectibles during missions unlocks customisation options in the Batcave, allowing you to renovate the place to your liking.
It’s got the LEGO humour in spades, the combat has been spruced up to where it’s no longer an afterthought, and the open world has that collectibles-focused charm where you feel the need to find every Red Brick and unlock every suit.
Legacy of the Dark Knight is already the ultimate LEGO game, but it’s rivalling the Arkham trilogy as the ultimate Batman game too. Whether it’s an Arkham Asylum classic or a forgotten Arkham Origins, however, we’ll have to wait for release.
TT Games Hands London Its Own Batcave
Surrounding the many PC machines playing LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, TT Games customised a London studio space with all sorts of Batman memorabilia. From some Batman-themed croissants to the Batpod motorcycle, a ton of movie props and statues could be browsed while you stretched your legs between sessions.
See below for our pictures from the event:
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight releases for PS5 on 22nd May 2026. Are you excited to play the newest LEGO effort later this month? Build your post brick by brick in the comments below.
