LEGO DC Supervillains - MojoPlays Review

There is constant pressure on longtime video game franchises to find new ways to keep themselves fresh.These days, it takes more than improved visuals and new gimmicks to impress gamers. As forTraveller’s Tales, the studio has always had an ace up their sleeve in the form of the licenced “Lego” games.

Thanks to their massive popularity, there’s been at least TWO “Lego” games in recent
years. Earlier this year, we received “Lego The Incredibles” which saw some very mixed
feedback from fans and critics. Now, we have “Lego DC Super Villains”, a game who’s selling
point is “play as the villain”. With the amount of “Lego” games multiplying like the heads of a
Hydra, does “Lego DC Super Villains” successfully build a solid experience, or does it fall apart like a Megablocks kit?

Since the game’s reveal, “Lego DC Super Villains” has been actively promoting its custom
character feature. Sure enough, at the very start of the main story, James Gordon is asking Lex
Luthor for any knowledge on a new threat, prompting us to make our villain. You won’t start out
with too many customizable parts, but there’s enough options here for players to get creative.
What’s our villain like? Behold, Master Mojo, deadly with his combat skills and vast knowledge
of pop culture! Oh, and he wields a couple of sausages that shoot lightning. One of the coolest
parts about this feature is that your character holds some significance in the story. You and the
DC villains quickly realize that your customized criminal is a power sponge - basically, you can
learn new powers like telekinesis and super strength.

While we’re on the subject, let’s address the story. “Lego DC Super Villains” gets straight to the
point - the Justice League have mysteriously vanished, and in their place is the Justice
Syndicate. While most of Gotham and Metropolis are sold on the Justice Syndicate being their
new protectors, this makes the Legion of Doom suspicious of their true intentions. Typically, we
wouldn’t spoil too much, but with how weak the plot is, it bears mentioning that things eventually
results in the villains teaming up with the heroes. This is extremely disappointing, as this plot
device was done in “Lego Marvel Super Heroes”. So, it feels like the game forgot that it’s selling
point was “play the villain”. This IS called “Lego DC Super Villains”, right?

One of the biggest shortcomings of the “Lego” games has been levels that overstay their
welcome. In recent games, levels would take about an hour to complete, which made powering
through them a chore. Thankfully, “DC Super Villains” has fixed this and made levels shorter.
On average, we were completing levels on an average of thirty to forty minutes, and there’s
enough depth in combat and puzzles to keep you engaged...even if they are easier than
building Duplo blocks. The same applies to the game’s open world.

Another welcoming change is in the structure of the hub world. Recent “Lego” games have
forced players onto a linear path - get through the main story once, THEN you can play in the
open world. Thankfully, “Lego DC Super Villains” abandons that habit, allowing players to

advance in the main story when they’re good and ready. Seriously, Master Mojo is about
speeding into cars and committing misdemeanours! Sorry, Lex, but the story can wait!
Another improvement to the open world is the number of missions. We know this sounds crazy,
but it is possible for a game to be too big. Sometimes, seeing dozens of icons can be
overwhelming, and we certainly felt this way when playing “Lego Marvel’s Avengers”.
Fortunately, “Lego DC Super Villains” does not boast too many Gold Bricks to collect, which
makes 100%-ing a game seem more doable for both younger and older players. On top of that,
“Lego DC Super Villains” provides some of the most creative side missions we’ve seen in a
“Lego” game. Some quests are also linked to each other to tell a short story. For example, one
of the side missions has you sabotaging a diner while the chef is trying to impress a food critic.
Later on, the same chef you sabotaged will become the Condiment King and ask you to beat up
his critics with him. Superman shall protect all from criticism!

One new touch that’s also worth mentioning is the Wanted system. Stealing cars and breaking
into police vans will mark your character with up to three badges, each level increasing the
number of cops hunting you down. It does get tough to stay alive during these moments, but it
isn’t perfect, but we’ll get to that in a minute.

During our time with “Lego DC Super Villains”, we had a good time, which makes it so
disappointing to notice some glaring technical issues. While we didn’t encounter any issues in
the story mode, we had some noticeable bugs while exploring the open world. The game
crashed on us twice within an hour apart. NPCs would fail to react to certain hits. Oh, and the
Wanted system from earlier? There were a few times where we’d turn a corner and the cops
would have no clue where we were, despite standing in the open!

Of course, we can’t forget about the trophies and achievements. For those of you looking for a
challenge, you may want to look elsewhere. “Lego DC Super Villains” has insanely easy
trophies, mainly consisting of completing levels, finding all collectibles, and a few that require
you to play as a pair of specific characters. If you’re simply wanting an easy Platinum trophy or
quickly rack up your Gamerscore, “Lego DC Super Villains” won’t be difficult, but it certainly
won’t test your skills. Maybe it’s easy because of the little ones, so, we have no gripes with it.
Overall, “Lego DC Super Villains” is a solid “Lego” game. The open world is entertaining to goof
off in, and completing it won’t feel like an slog. If you like the “Lego” games, you’ll like this. If you
want a game to play with your kids or younger siblings, this will satisfy you. If you just want a
game that’s easy and laid back, “Lego DC Super Villains is for you. However, this is only
assuming you don’t care much about the cookie cutter narrative, and you are patient with a
game’s technical problems. As for us, we’ll be revisiting the game and going for the 100%
completion. After all, this is the only DC game where Polka Dot Man can beat the snot out of
Red Hood in a fight. Eat dots, you whiny teenage brat!