Not to be dramatic, but LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight might be the best Batman game ever

For all us ball-knowers out here, the LEGO games from Traveller's Tales have always been incredible.

Despite being clearly made with children in mind, TT games are a hoot, with genuinely funny writing and inventive gameplay, putting a playful spin on anything they adapt.

That being said, the games have always been rather simple, following a particular formula of individual, linear levels.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight blows that formula to smithereens, dropping players into an enormous, open world Gotham, and any fans of the Arkham series would do themselves a serious disservice not to play it.

Legacy of the Dark Knight is like a greatest hits of Batman stories smashed together into one wonderful world.

Starting off with Bruce Wayne's origin story, we see him progress through training with the League of Shadows to becoming the Caped Crusader.

While Gotham itself is an open world – more on that later – the game's actual levels play out more traditionally, as self-contained linear experiences.

Here, Batman will be joined by a secondary character, be it Jim Gordon, Catwoman, Robin or a number of others, each with their own unique gadgets and abilities.

You can swap between them freely to accomplish certain puzzles and tasks, and though none of the puzzles are particularly difficult, they are always satisfying to pull off, as the clinking of LEGO pieces cascade around you.

These levels are typically focused on one of the iconic villains of the Batman series – our preview saw us taking on Carmine Falcone, Poison Ivy and Two-Face – each of whom has a typically ridiculous LEGO twist.

For example, when infiltrating Falcone's hideout, Batman and Jim Gordon happen upon a kind of children's play zone, replete with slides and ball pits, there for the amusement of Falcone's goons, while another section sees the duo in a dancing mini-game.

Beyond the silly set pieces, the writing and slapstick humour on display is the Traveller's Tales team at their very best; I've never been to a preview where I've heard so many people laugh out loud before.

This is all delivered with aplomb by Shai Matheson as Batman, who does a fantastic job at walking that tightrope between serious and silly.

Where LEGO Batman's gameplay really comes into its own, though, is with the combat, which is excellent.

Beyond the simple, button mashing typical of many LEGO games, you have to intersperse your attacks with dodges, gadgets and manoeuvres depending on the type of enemy.

Stealth plays a big role here too, as you can assassinate enemies from above, or sneak up behind them for a quick kill.

This all culminates in the game's boss fights, which are bigger and better than any we've seen in the likes of LEGO DC Super-Villains.

The fight against Poison Ivy, for example, is spread across phases, and involves a mixture of platforming, light puzzle solving, and of course, a bit of punching.

At times, it was quite challenging, which was something I'm certainly not used to in a LEGO game, though it was very much welcome.

After all I've discussed so far, we still haven't covered what is perhaps LEGO Batman's greatest achievement, which is its vast open world.

Batman and co can drive around on the Batmobile, or glide from the tops of the tallest buildings, hunting down a wealth of activities to take on.

These range from your typical street brawls where you take on a few thugs to Riddler and Cluemaster puzzles, unlocking subway stations to help you fast travel around the city, and street races.

This is all very cleverly handled, too. Instead of the crime events being dead content once you've done a couple of them, they seem to always take place near something like a subway or Riddler puzzle, giving you a way of finding the more hidden content without having to brute force search for it.

I could honestly have spent my entire day wandering around Gotham doing these Riddler puzzles, but unfortunately, that's where my all too brief time with LEGO Batman came to an end.

I have previewed enough games to know that what we're allowed to see and the final product can be vastly different, and therefore that I should temper my expectations.

But at the same time, from the few hours I spent in Legacy of the Dark Knight, I can't help but feel that this is everything a LEGO game should be and everything a Batman game should be.

Some fans of the Arkham series will undoubtedly sneer and give this one a miss because "it's just a game for kids."

And I pity those people, because if you can't kick back and enjoy what is essentially a new Arkham game but with hilarious writing and a blindingly obvious love of the source material, then what is even the point anymore?

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is a banger, and I cannot wait to blitz around Gotham in my silly little Batmobile solving riddles once more.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight releases on 22 May 2026 for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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