LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a bizarre hodgepodge of Batman history. Right off the bat (pun intended), we join Bruce Wayne at the start of it all, as a child, the night his parents die. LEGO does a good job of making this moment far less dark than we all remember it being. This is all set up, though, to segue Bruce to travel away, seeking Master Ra’s al Ghul for training. This, of course, is the opening to the Christopher Nolan films, which I was expecting, with the title implying this to some degree, was going to be the subject of this LEGO game.
What I wasn’t expecting is they then rolled the clock back all the way to the Tim Burton Batman, telling a story of a version of Batman through a series of experiences that individually would be wildly disconnected. Here, though, it really works well, much better than I would have expected. You get a comprehensive narrative told with LEGO’s oftentimes over-the-top humor as you battle your way through Gotham City’s crime-filled streets, one member of the rogues gallery at a time.
What was even better, as somebody who typically gets turned off by LEGO’s typical brand of humor, which can be very in your face, this experience was much more palatable as well. Now, this isn’t to say they dropped it altogether; there are tons of hot dog jokes. But here, there are genuine scenes that I can watch without eye-rolling. There are a few scenes that feature the joke when his eccentricity is captured perfectly; hell, there were even a few times I laughed, and that’s a rarity for me. I’m aware I am not the target audience.
I am a fan of the Batman: Arkham games, which is why this LEGO Batman had me excited in the first place. They made no secret that they were a massive inspiration, with Rocksteady even working on this title as well (or at least several employees). This was a great choice to begin with, not just because so many of us were missing these titles, but it gives this LEGO game a drastically different feel, even as the franchise can create vastly varied experiences to begin with.
Combat above all else most closely resembles the Arkham games, with large waves of enemies swarming you, allowing for rapid, combo-heavy melee combat with a counter button mixed in to reverse attacks mid-combo. It flows great with some LEGO additions that help to expand it greatly. Batman can always have a partner that is either an AI or a second player, allowing for bigger waves with more combat. These characters also have abilities that can be combined to quickly stun or knock back enemies. Mixing up your allies opens new ways to clear the different types of enemies you fight. It proves to be very satisfying.
That isn’t to say there aren’t faults to this, though, starting with the camera being pulled back as far as it is. In the Arkham games, combat had an over-the-shoulder, tight camera that made you feel part of it. This leaves this new LEGO version feeling slightly floaty. The other benefit was that you needed much more control over the fight since the camera often didn’t allow for a full picture. Here, you can see everything, so combat is that much easier. I get it, though, before you burn me at the stake, it’s meant for children, but there are other aspects where there are no kid gloves, though I’m not sure whether that is a compelling argument.
One of these aspects is the puzzles in that game, which are not just optional, riddler-based ones. Some of them can be challenging, or at least require the ability to step back and objectively think it through. These play into Batman as the great detective that he is, so they are welcome aspects. One of the things I didn’t like about these, though, was how slowly you get new tools. Or more so, that much of exploration requires secondary abilities for characters that you unlock slowly over time. There is something to say about the game’s smaller roster of characters, though, which puts more emphasis on each one. It’s much better this way.
Right from the get-go in the city, you find a few collectibles that are unattainable because you need abilities to unlock them. This gets worse when you attempt multi-step Riddler puzzles, which happened a few times to me, where the first step is fine. You go through the steps, and you complete the first part, only to unlock a second portion, and you realize, wait, I require a character I don’t have to complete this portion. I was actually surprised to see how often the character abilities play a factor in completion rather than Batman’s tools, like his gel explosive. One thing I will add is that they do not force you to complete side content in the Batmobile, which is a massive win.
LEGO Batman also has a very compelling open-world version of Gotham to explore that has all the vibes of the darkest Batman media. There are A LOT of collectibles out there to grab too, so you can spend a lot of time just driving around seeing what there is to see or stopping crime as they pop up. The vehicles do have some control issues; some things never change. There was an entire point I got sidetracked with Riddler puzzles, so you can sink hours without batting an eye. There is always something getting added to, with each chapter dropping collectible upon collectible on the map.
You would be forgiven, though, if you started to think there was no open world and that the game was stage-based, given that before you even hit the city, there are several lengthy tutorial stages that seem to drag on for an eternity. Honestly, this continues long past the opening point, but it is glaringly noticeable at this point, which is a questionable choice to start the game off. The actual tragedy of this is the level design is spot-on and fun. The issue is that there are points where puzzles, or traversal, start to feel like they are on a loop. At one point, while chasing a certain flightless bird in a burning building, you have about 4 moments in a row that play out identically with slight alternatives.
This is even more annoying because I love how often a two-character puzzle can get thrown at you. Batman pulls a lever to raise water pressure, while Catwoman traverses a wall when that becomes clear due to Batman’s actions. Robin uses his staff to move a lever while Batman hops along a path of pillars. These moments are great, if slightly annoying, if you are playing solo and need to switch between them manually. They are just buried in between areas that just continue to drag on.
This is exacerbated by the fact that you will probably need to go back at some point if you are a completionist. There are Waynetech chips in each level, which are more important since they level up tools, but each stage has five of a certain collectible you can earn for the Batcave. If you miss one, you must wade back through it to find it. There are skill upgrades that can make this process easier, but it is still shockingly a process all the same.
Once you hit the open world, some of these missions play out as a lengthy and disjointed process that can, at times, drag you across the city multiple times to complete. These seem like they are shorter, but only because they are a multitude of mini events. Again, though, the missions themselves have great design, but the process can start to feel painfully lengthy, and these separate you from the city at large, creating an isolating feeling. There are also a few points that play out like traditional Arkham in that you have a large room to stealth through and clear enemies.
These lack some impact of what they are going for, starting with the fact that multiple of them have a very similar layout, which is just a big space with vents and ledges. These also really come down to trying to clear as many enemies as you can before getting caught and starting the fight. With combat being an easier version of itself, the stealth portion often feels like a skippable step rather than a taught moment of Batman striking fear into his enemies.
Part of this lengthy thought is probably the stud collecting you can do. Each stage has hundreds of random items you can smash to kingdom come and collect the game’s currency of LEGO brick studs. This can become hugely consuming, and by the time the game opened up, I had about 500,000. This might sound like a lot, but it’s not. Around this point, you actually get to spend them on many of the collectibles, mainly costumes and vehicles, costing 30,000 to 50,000. There are 100 costumes in the game. This means you really need to smash these things to get studs, which drags out a lot of aspects, not just missions. I never really liked this, but there are at least fun ways, like races, to earn a lot if you are good enough.
This coincides with unlocking the Batcave, which, honestly, might be the best representation of the cave in gaming so far. It is massive, with a lot of functionality and a vast array of upgrades (for studs) that further build out the facility. It also houses a ton of challenges, once again adding options for how you can interact with the world. While a lot of this excess is enjoyable, this has always been a turn-off for me with LEGO. At some point, even the best games need to end, and at some point, there is an often overwhelming amount of tasks to complete.
Verdict
I have played a few LEGO games, but the franchise has never clicked with me quite as much as LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight. Maybe it’s the fact that the title used Batman: Arkham as a base for its combat, or the well-designed open world. I don’t think so, though. So much of the experience feels like a more compelling version of what LEGO does. I remember playing LEGO Horizon with characters being random in every scene, an extension of the LEGO formula. I never got that here, even when it was occurring. The characters are enjoyable, and the humor is funny. The world is fun to explore by car, gliding through the air, or leaping across rooftops.
There is so much right with LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight that you will be compelled forward as Batman grows from a boy to the crime fighter we know and love.
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Reviewed for PlayStation 5, also available on Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC
Developer: Warner Bros. Games
Publisher: TT Games
Release Date: May 22, 2026
Pros:
+Solid combat with strong mix of abilities
+Enjoyable Multiplayer
+Well designed open-World Gotham
+Good puzzles mixed in.
+Great selection of costumes
Cons:
-Long missions with a very long tutorial before hitting open world
-Slow to reward with new abilities and characters
-Way too many collectables.
-Not the best driving controls
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LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
