LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (2026)

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (2026) 🦇

The night is dark just before the dawn, I promise you the dawn is coming, in fact here he comes now, it’s only been what? 9 years?

Let’s start by showing y’all the trailers shall we? 🎬

Welcome back Batman.

Man we DC fans eating great this year, we’ve got

Lego Batman Legacy Of The Dark Knight

Supergirl 2026

Clayface

Im looking forward to those 2 movies so much.

🧱 Non-Spoiler Plot Overview

This game follows Bruce Wayne’s journey from traumatized kid, to League of Shadows trainee, to Batman, to Gotham’s full-on symbol of fear, hope, trauma, and very questionable parenting decisions. And honestly? This game is not just trying to be another LEGO game. This thing is trying to be the LEGO Batman game.

It pulls from everything. Burton. Nolan. Reeves. Arkham. Batman: The Animated Series. The older LEGO Batman games. Comics. Memes. Deep-cut Batman lore. Even stuff where I sat there like, “Okay, whoever made this game is a nerd, and I mean that as a compliment.”

The story is basically Batman’s greatest hits shoved into one LEGO continuity. Sometimes that works beautifully. Sometimes it feels rushed as hell. But I will say this right now: this game feels like a love letter not just to Batman, but to LEGO Batman itself.

🦇 Character Rundown

Batman/Bruce Wayne is obviously the main focus, and this game fully commits to making you feel like you are becoming Batman over time. You don’t just start with everything. You earn the Batmobile. You earn the gliding. You build the Batcave. You expand the Batcave. You unlock suits. You unlock vehicles. It genuinely feels like Bruce is growing into the legend.

Gordon is fun, but his partnership with Batman is rushed. He basically meets Batman and goes, “Well, this man in a bat costume helped me once, guess we’re coworkers now.” Still, his dialogue is funny, especially when he reacts to your terrible driving and threatens to ticket you later.

Catwoman is great. She fits this Gotham perfectly, and I like how the game pulls from different versions of her. Robin is fun, especially because he keeps making puns and Batman immediately shuts them down. Nightwing is cool, Batgirl is fine, but gameplay-wise she might be my least favorite because her abilities feel weaker compared to everyone else.

Talia al Ghul is important, and I’ll get more into her later in spoilers. The same goes for Bane, because his role is technically spoilery, but I will say this: Matt Berry as Bane is one of the funniest and best casting choices in this entire game.

The villains are a massive part of this game. Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, Firefly, Black Mask, Two-Face, Killer Moth, Deathstroke, Solomon Grundy, Scarecrow, Kite-Man, Condiment King, Gentleman Ghost, and more all show up or get referenced. Some are used really well. Some are rushed. Some are blink-and-you-miss-it. Some are just here so Batman fans can point at the screen like Leonardo DiCaprio.

🏙️ Pacing / Episode Flow

The pacing is weird.

The first chapter is long. Like, really long. You do not become Batman immediately. If you’re going into this game expecting to instantly free roam Gotham as Batman, sorry, you’re waiting. The game starts with young Bruce, the Wayne murders, League of Shadows training, Ra’s al Ghul, Talia, Bruce returning to Gotham, building the Batcave, and only then slowly becoming Batman.

And honestly? I respect it.

It makes the progression feel earned. But I can also see people hating it because it takes a while before the game fully opens up.

The first half of the game feels like it has a lot of care put into the pacing. The later chapters? Yeah, that’s where it starts sprinting. Chapter 4 onward starts throwing villains, references, story beats, and iconic Batman moments at you fast. By the ending, it feels like the game realized it still had twenty Batman references left and only thirty minutes to use them.

🌧️ Gotham Atmosphere / Vibes

This game absolutely nails the vibes of Gotham City. And I know “vibes” sounds like a goofy thing to praise, but genuinely, this might be the strongest atmosphere TT Games has ever made for a LEGO game.

This Gotham feels rainy, cold, gothic, creepy, neon-lit, and alive. Everywhere you look there’s steam coming out of vents, giant glowing billboards, dark alleyways, gargoyles, flickering lights, old theaters, giant statues, hidden references, and little Batman details tucked into corners. It feels less like a LEGO sandbox and more like an actual Gotham City built out of LEGO bricks.

The game constantly reminded me of LEGO Batman: The Videogame mixed with Batman: The Animated Series and Tim Burton’s Gotham. There’s this dark blue lighting over the city at night that instantly gave me nostalgia for the original LEGO Batman game. And once I unlocked the LEGO Batman 1 suits for Batman and Robin? My brain completely recontextualized the entire game. Suddenly it didn’t just feel like LEGO Batman 4 anymore. It felt like a modern open-world version of the first LEGO Batman game I grew up with.

That’s honestly this game’s biggest achievement.

Not the graphics. Not the size of the map. Not the amount of collectibles. The feeling.

This game understands why people loved the older LEGO Batman games. It understands the appeal of roaming Gotham at night in the Batmobile while Danny Elfman-inspired music vibes play in the background. It understands the appeal of Batman gargoyles, creepy museums, rain-soaked rooftops, giant Joker parades, weird villains, and the balance between serious Batman storytelling and complete LEGO nonsense.

One second you’re recreating scenes from Batman 1989 or The Dark Knight. The next second Bane is prank-calling the Batphone while Bat-Mite secretly runs stores around Gotham.

And somehow… it works.

Even the Batcave feels alive. You can decorate it, expand it, place trophies around it, display suits and vehicles, and slowly turn it into your own personal Batman museum. The amount of love poured into the world itself is honestly incredible.

This game has flaws. Big flaws sometimes. But Gotham itself? Gotham is perfect.

🦇 Batman Suits / Unlockables

One of the coolest parts of this game is absolutely the amount of Batman suits you can unlock. There are around 36 Batman suits total in the base game, all pulling from different eras of Batman history. You’ve got suits inspired by Batman 1989, The Batman (2022), The Dark Knight trilogy, armored comic suits, classic comic designs, animated inspirations, tactical suits, stealth suits, and more.

And honestly? Seeing all these versions of Batman evolve throughout the story is awesome. The game almost treats Batman himself like he’s evolving through decades of Batman media history. Joker does the same thing. Gotham does the same thing. The entire game feels like Batman history mutating and changing around you.

But let’s talk about the big one.

Yes.

For lovers of the original LEGO Batman: The Videogame from 2008, you can unlock the classic LEGO Batman and Robin suits from the very first game.

And I am not exaggerating when I say unlocking those suits completely changed the emotional feel of this game for me.

The second I put on the original LEGO Batman 1 suit and started roaming modern Gotham City, it suddenly felt like I was playing the version of LEGO Batman 1 my childhood brain imagined existed. Running across rooftops in the rain with the chunky classic suit design, driving through Gotham in modern graphics while hearing the music and seeing all the gothic architecture around me… it genuinely hit me with nostalgia harder than I expected.

The original suit translations look amazing too. TT Games somehow preserved that exact simple chunky LEGO Batman look while modernizing it just enough for the newer graphics engine. Same goes for Robin’s original suit. Seeing those two designs together again in an open-world Gotham honestly made me ridiculously happy.

Now unfortunately, here comes the annoying part.

The LEGO Batman 1 suit is locked behind completing all 121 Cluemaster/Riddler puzzles in the game.

Yes. All of them.

Meaning one of the most nostalgic and beloved suits in the entire game is locked behind what basically becomes a LEGO version of Arkham Riddler torture. Some of these puzzles are fun. Some are annoying. Some made me question my life choices.

Still though, once you finally unlock those classic suits? Completely worth it.

I just wish the game didn’t make me psychologically duel Edward Nygma for eight hours first.

🚗 Batmobiles & Vehicles

One thing I absolutely loved in this game was the vehicle collection. For Batman fans, this game is basically a playable Batmobile museum. The developers clearly understood that Batmobiles are just as iconic as the Batsuits themselves, and Gotham is packed with vehicles pulled from across decades of Batman history. There are over 30 vehicles to collect in total, spanning comics, movies, cartoons, and previous Batman media.

The base game includes a surprisingly solid lineup of Batmobiles, Batcycles, and other Bat-vehicles that you unlock through story progression, exploration, Bat-Garage purchases, side activities, AR challenges, and collectibles. I especially loved seeing vehicles inspired by different eras of Batman history all sitting together in the Batcave. It genuinely feels like you’re building your own personal Batman museum.

Some of my favorites were the movie-inspired vehicles, especially seeing modern Batmobiles sitting alongside older designs from completely different eras of Batman. The game even includes specialty vehicles tied to specific activities and collectibles, like the First Appearance Batmobile inspired by Batman’s earliest appearances.

The DLC expands the collection even further. The Arkham Trilogy Pack, Batman Beyond Pack, and Party Music Pack each add an additional Batmobile on top of their extra suits and Batcave decorations. Then later, the Mayhem Collection adds yet another Batmobile along with Joker and Harley content.

But this is also where one of my biggest complaints comes in.

Because if you’re the type of Batman fan who wants every Batmobile, Warner Bros. basically turns it into a scavenger hunt across your wallet.

Want the Batmobeast? Buy the Deluxe Edition. Want certain DLC Batmobiles? Buy the DLC packs. Want the exclusive gold Batmobiles? Buy physical LEGO sets in real life and redeem the codes inside them. The Batman (2022) Batmobile, Batman v Superman Batmobile, and Batman & Robin Batmobile all have special gold variants locked behind physical purchases.

By the time you’re done buying:

the base game

the Deluxe Edition

DLC packs

physical LEGO sets

you start having a serious conversation with yourself about your financial decisions.

The vehicles themselves are great.

The way some of them are unlocked? Not so much.

Still, as a Batman fan, I can’t deny how cool it is walking through the Batcave and seeing Batmobiles from across Batman’s history sitting together in one place. That’s the kind of fan-service this game absolutely nails.

✅ Pros

One of my favorite additions to this game is Bat-Mite. Yes. Bat-Mite is fully in this game, and somehow he works perfectly.
Instead of just being a cameo, Bat-Mite secretly runs shops around Gotham and inside the Batcave where you can buy decorations, trophies, props, and Batcave upgrades. The way he gets introduced is hilarious too. Batman follows a mysterious blue bat deeper into the Batcave only to suddenly discover Bat-Mite secretly opened up an entire hidden shop under the cave.
And Bat-Mite literally says:

“I wanted to be in this game so I had to sneak my way in.”
😭

That honestly perfectly summarizes this game’s sense of humor.
Bat-Mite feels like the embodiment of the developers themselves. Just this chaotic little Batman nerd stuffing references, collectibles, props, jokes, and nostalgia into every corner of Gotham.
He also constantly breaks the fourth wall, references older games, references Batman media, and even has hidden jokes parodying things outside DC entirely. He somehow manages to feel annoying, charming, and hilarious all at once, which honestly means they adapted Bat-Mite perfectly.

And honestly? Bat-Mite running stores around Gotham feels weirdly fitting for a LEGO Batman game. It adds to the toybox feeling this game has where Gotham constantly feels playful despite also being dark and gothic.

This might be the best Gotham City has ever looked in a LEGO Batman game. I love LEGO Batman 1’s Gotham forever, but this new Gotham is massive, rainy, eerie, neon-lit, detailed, and gorgeous. It looks exactly like my idea of Gotham. Gothic, industrial, creepy, but still weirdly cozy.

The open world is genuinely impressive. You can sit on benches, eat pizza, watch TV, open fridges, ride trains, play pinball, sit in hot tubs, interact with random things, and explore interiors. This is easily one of the most immersive LEGO games TT Games has ever made.

The Batcave system is amazing. You expand it, decorate it, display suits, display vehicles, collect trophies, and buy items from Bat-Mite. And yes, Bat-Mite running shops across Gotham is peak LEGO Batman nonsense.

The references are insane. The Deconstructor from LEGO Batman 2 is in Wayne Tower. LEGO Batman: The Videogame on PS2 is sitting in Bat-Mite’s shop. Batman says “The hierarchy of power in Gotham is about to change” while sitting on an Egyptian throne. Joker’s “Why did you say Martha?” joke got me. Bane prank-calling the Batphone is incredible.

The LEGO Batman 1 suits are beautiful. Once I unlocked the classic LEGO Batman and Robin suits, my brain completely recontextualized this game. Suddenly it felt like a modern open-world version of LEGO Batman 1, and that made me ridiculously happy.

The town is massive, there’s four districts.Also, the rain effects are gorgeous.You can see the raindrops on your character.

Also, yes, this game is leaps better than the skywalker saga.

Vision visually this game is gorgeous and riding around in batmobiles or gliding around plus grappling? Makes you feel fully immersed into the world as batman.

This is the first lego game with difficulties.Yep, you can change the difficulty in the settings you got.

Calssic ( basically easy mode)

Caped Crusader (basically slightly difficulty)

Dark Knight (The Hardest Difficulty, this one gives you limited lives.So if you lose all three lives in a story, it will resend you back to the previous checkpoint, wow yeah im not playing that, but you will have to, to complete a challenge)

Also if you play as batman you can grapple your teammate, yank them over to your hands and toss them off a building if you want.

Or if you play as Catwoman you can spin batman using her whip until he spins out of control.

Also if you play as Gordon, you can shoot the foam at batman until he turns into a ball which then you can push (lolo).

Also, some buildings you can’t enter, but you can see from the outside and it’s fully detailed with lego style. The furniture they did not have to do that, but they went off their way and programmed that in where you can see specific buildings from the outside, And its interior.

By the way, now, I actually prefer this gotham open world over the second lego batman’s game. This gotham sydney is just that this gotham city in lego batman 4 is extremely massive and detailed.

🌧️ Gotham City / Atmosphere / Vibes

What really carries this game for me is Gotham itself. This is easily the most atmospheric city TT Games has ever made. Gotham feels rain-soaked, gothic, dense, neon-lit, and genuinely alive. The city constantly feels like it’s blending Tim Burton’s massive gothic architecture with the grounded rainy streets of The Batman (2022) while also keeping the colorful comic-book energy of older Batman media.

Every district has its own personality. Some areas are covered in giant statues, cathedrals, gargoyles, and old theaters that feel straight out of Batman 1989. Other areas feel more modern and grounded with neon signs, packed streets, elevated trains, alleyways, and glowing skyscrapers. Then suddenly you’ll run into carnival attractions, giant Joker advertisements, creepy museums, hidden interiors, arcades, pizza shops, steam vents, and random Batman references hidden across rooftops.

The amount of detail packed into Gotham is honestly insane. Everywhere you look there’s something Batman-related hidden in the environment. Giant Ace Chemicals signs glow over the skyline. Wayne Tower looms over the city. Rain pours down onto rooftops while blue lighting reflects off wet streets in a way that instantly reminded me of LEGO Batman: The Videogame. Civilians casually walk around Gotham while crimes break out nearby and villains leave graffiti, posters, and clues hidden across the map.

The city also constantly shifts vibes depending on where you are. Some sections feel like Batman Returns with creepy Christmas-style gothic energy. Other sections feel ripped straight out of Batman Forever with giant neon lights and exaggerated comic-book colors. Then suddenly you’ll be in a grounded rainy district that feels directly inspired by Matt Reeves’ Gotham.

And somehow… it all works together.

That’s honestly one of this game’s greatest achievements. Gotham itself feels nostalgic. Once I unlocked the original LEGO Batman and Robin suits from LEGO Batman: The Videogame and started roaming around this giant open-world Gotham, it genuinely felt like I was playing the version of LEGO Batman 1 my childhood brain imagined existed back in 2008.

This city doesn’t just feel like a LEGO hub world.

It feels like Gotham City built out of LEGO bricks.

Also, you can enter diners and stores in this game. Yep, they made this feel immersive.Also when I said, you can interact with almost everything, I literally meant that.

Here’s a fun fact. Rocksteady was a code developer on this game.Yeah, unsurprised as well. So no wonder why this feels like an arkham game.

This is a small positive but the entire town is populated. That to me means a lot. Because it makes the world feel like it’s immersed like you’re not just playing a game, but you’re living in it.

❌ Cons

Now here is where we need to talk.

Also, if you want to jump into this game and play as Batman, I’m sorry to sell you. It takes around the first almost 2 hours before you get to become Batman. Yeah, it’s a bit.And it’s like two and a half hours near to 3 before you get to unlock gliding, so, tamper, your expectations, but I do recommend playing this game, it’s amazing.

I don’t have a problem with it, but ive seen some people complain about that, so I just thought I’d bring it up.

The monetization and unlock nonsense around this game is ridiculous. If you want certain suits, you need to preorder. If you want other suits, you need to link an HBO/Max account. Want more items? Link your WB account. Want Twitch drops? Watch streams for hours on specific days. Want golden styles? Buy real LEGO sets. Want more DLC suits and vehicles? Buy the deluxe edition or DLC.

This is a LEGO game. A kids game. What kid has HBO Max? What kid knows how to link accounts? What kid has Twitch? What kid has seventy dollars for the deluxe edition and then more money for real LEGO sets?

It becomes less “play the game to unlock stuff” and more “complete the Warner Bros corporate scavenger hunt.”

The challenge system is also way too much. Some challenges are ridiculous. Defeat 100 enemies in Dark Knight Mode. Defeat 10 enemies with one heart left. Do stealth takedowns on 200 enemies. Boost in a vehicle for 30 seconds without hitting anything. Fly for 60 seconds without landing. Again: kids game. Don’t ask me how.

The Riddler/Cluemaster puzzles are also required for 100%, and there are 121 of them. Some are fine. Some are annoying. Some feel like the Arkham Riddler trauma came back wearing LEGO pants.

And yes, the LEGO Batman 1 suit is locked behind doing all of those puzzles. That is still one of the dumbest unlock decisions in the game. The suit I wanted the most is locked behind the most infamous Batman game activity possible. Great. Wonderful. Thank you, Edward Nygma.

There’s also no swimming, which is weird because older LEGO games had swimming. LEGO Batman 1 had swimming. LEGO Batman 2 had swimming. DC Super-Villains had swimming. Now Batman touches water and dies like a toaster. Why are we going backward?

The co-op is also restrictive. Player 1 is basically Batman, and Player 2 gets the other characters. Vehicles are tied to specific characters, so Batman can’t drive Catwoman’s car, Gordon can’t drive the Batmobile, and Player 2 usually just rides passenger. For a LEGO game, that feels wrong. LEGO games are supposed to be chaotic toyboxes, not DMV-regulated Bat-transportation.

Also, there are not enough Batmobiles. Around 12 or 13 base Bat-vehicles compared to 36 Batman suits feels off. No LEGO Batman 1 Batmobile? No LEGO Batman 2 Batmobile? Come on.

One traversal mechanic I really do not like in this game is the wind tunnel system. Clearly this game was inspired by the wind tunnels from Spider-Man 2 by Insomniac, but unlike that game where you can freely boost and glide in basically any direction you want, this game limits you to whatever direction the wind tunnel itself is going in.

So if you want to travel north, you need to specifically find a northbound wind tunnel. Want to go south? Better go find another one. And if you try flying against the direction of the tunnel, the game literally flips you around and forces you back the direction it wants you to go.

It makes traversal feel weirdly restrictive in a game that otherwise wants you to feel free roaming Gotham as Batman. Instead of smoothly gliding where I wanted to go, I constantly felt like I was using Gotham’s weird sky subway system.

And the problem gets worse because traversal is such a huge part of the game. You are constantly moving around Gotham doing puzzles, challenges, collectibles, side missions, and story missions, so when the traversal starts feeling stiff or restrictive, you notice it over and over again.

It’s not game ruining, but it definitely made gliding around the city feel less smooth and less satisfying than it should have.

There’s also 50 golden bats tokens to connect, but the problem is there’s no indication of where they are. And not marked on any of the map, you have to go on youtube and watch a tutorial.

What becomes just homework basically, I thought i’ve worn y’all about that.

Also this game only has 7 playable characters

Batman

Robin

Knightwing

Batgirl

Gordon

Talia

Catwoman

And only player 1 can play as batman while player 2 can only play as either the remaining 6 playable characters.

No villians aren’t playable, until September through a dlc pack called mayhem where you will get to play as Joker and Harley, is that limiting? Yes, do I now have less a issue with thr small roster? Yes I do, in fact I just enjoy going around being batman.

Also lastly unfortunately the soundtrack in this game is nowhere as great as the Danny Elfmen soundtrack that was added into Lego Batman The Videogame, hence why that game still stay that game is the best.

Also, this specific edge is for some reason. You can’t grapple onto like a specific height. It won’t allow you to, so it just grapples you on the knee. The nearest available one, and it really becomes a pain when you’re doing a race.

Temporary Glitches 🎮:

Another issue I ran into was the amount of bugs and technical glitches throughout the experience. Thankfully, most of them seem temporary or fixable, but they still happened often enough that they became noticeable during longer play sessions.

I ran into weird traversal glitches multiple times while grappling around Gotham. Sometimes Batman would try grappling upward, only for the game’s collision system to think there was an object slightly above him, causing the grapple to awkwardly cancel and drop him back down. It made traversal feel strangely sticky in certain areas.

The wind tunnel system also feels buggy or awkwardly implemented sometimes. Instead of smoothly boosting you in whatever direction you want like Spider-Man 2’s wind tunnels, these only push you in one specific direction. If you try flying against the flow, the game literally flips you around and forces you back the other way. Combined with occasional collision issues while gliding, traversal sometimes felt more frustrating than fluid.

There’s also a progression bug involving Wayne Tech where some players, including myself, discovered that skipping certain side events or optional encounters can leave you without enough Wayne Tech to fully upgrade abilities, potentially locking you out of 100% completion. Thankfully, TT Games reportedly marked this issue as “in progress,” meaning they appear to be working on a fix. Still, that is a brutal thing to discover dozens of hours into a completionist-heavy LEGO game.

Players have also reported:

enemies detecting players through walls in Dark Knight Mode

side activities auto-completing incorrectly

Sub-Wayne puzzle sequences resetting mid-solution

henchmen failing to spawn during encounters

occasional crashes and launch issues on PC

out-of-bounds glitches

collision issues during traversal

random softlocks and progression hiccups in certain missions

Thankfully, most of these bugs feel more like technical rough edges rather than completely game-breaking disasters, but you can absolutely tell this game is much more ambitious technically than older LEGO titles. Bigger Gotham, more advanced traversal, Arkham-inspired combat systems, RPG-like upgrades, and detailed open-world systems all make this feel like TT Games pushing themselves harder than before.

Unfortunately, that also means the game occasionally feels more fragile than the older LEGO games too.

But as stated these are temporary glitches, they will be fixed eventually.

🧠 Final Thoughts

I love this game.

If you’re a fellow batman fan like I am and a fellow lego batman fan like I am and if you’re a fellow lego game fan like I am and this game, it’s going to b for you.It is a phenomenal game in my opinion.Even though with all the issues ive laid out.

I have complaints. A lot of complaints. Some of them are big. The ending is rushed. The unlock systems are annoying. Some villains get wasted. The water thing is dumb. The co-op restrictions are frustrating. The challenge requirements are absolutely not kid-friendly.

But even with all that, this is easily my favorite LEGO game in years.

I can’t express enough. How happy this game makes me. It feels like my childhood, but it’s been reimagined, it truly feels like a great predecessor to Lego Batman 1 The Videogame.

For me, the last truly great LEGO game was LEGO DC Super-Villains in 2018. Skywalker Saga looked big, but it felt hollow to me. This game feels like TT Games remembered what made their old games special.

This is not just LEGO Arkham. That undersells it.

This is LEGO Batman 4.

This is a modern love letter to Batman, Gotham, and the LEGO Batman games. It feels like LEGO Batman 1 and LEGO Batman 2 finally evolved into what they were always building toward.

If anyone is curious on my rankings, I would say

First place: Lego Batman The Video Game

Second place: Lego Batman Legacy Of The Dark Knight

Third place: Lego Batman 2

Fourth place: Lego DC Supervillians

Fifth place: Lego Batman 3 Beyond Gotham

I’ll forever have the first lego batman game.In first place that to me is still an amazing game.And with this new lego batman game, both lego batman games, the first and the fourth one, have this unique vibe to them.That I just can’t express enough, is amazing.

Please go buy this game, Go check it out plz and support the devs.

⭐ Rating

9/10

Flawed? Yes.

A little corporate? Very.

Still one of my favorite Batman games now? Absolutely. And I’ll be playing this game for years to come.

⚠️ Spoiler Warning

From this point on, I’m spoiling the full story, major villains, boss fights, chapter events, and ending.

🧨 Spoilers

Chapter 1 is basically Batman Begins, Batman 1989, The Batman 2022, and Batman: The Animated Series thrown into a LEGO blender.

You start as young Bruce Wayne looking for his Gray Ghost hat, cape, and goggles before going to the theater with his parents. That is such a great Animated Series reference. Then Bruce falls into the well, gets swarmed by bats, and we get the Wayne murder scene with Jack Napier saying, “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

Then Bruce grows up, meets Gordon, runs into young Penguin and Jack Napier, gets his butt kicked, and Ra’s al Ghul shows up shirtless making a “particular set of skills” joke because Liam Neeson. Bruce goes to the snowy mountains to find the blue flower, meets Talia, trains with the League of Shadows, discovers Ra’s wants to destroy Gotham, fights him, and escapes while thinking Talia died.

Then Bruce returns home, finds the cave, builds the Batcave, modifies his dad’s car, puts on the 2022-style Batman suit, and officially becomes Batman.

The Gordon partnership is rushed, though. Gordon goes from “who are you?” to “okay Mister Batman, let’s work together” way too quickly.

Chapter 1 then builds toward Falcone, Penguin, Red Hood, and Ace Chemicals. Penguin is a mix of Colin Farrell and Danny DeVito, which is honestly a cool blend. Red Hood turns out to be Jack Napier, and during the Ace Chemicals chase Batman tries to save him, but Jack shocks him and falls into the chemicals laughing.

That is how Joker is born.

Chapter 2 is where Joker becomes full 1989 Joker. The game recreates the museum scene with “Gentlemen, let’s broaden our minds,” and even uses the same Party Man energy. Joker also recreates the parade scene with the toxic balloons, except LEGO style. He falls into cake, makes snow angels in it, and comes out with the Heath Ledger-style Joker face while saying, “What doesn’t kill you simply makes you stranger.”

That was awesome.

Chapter 3 is Robin and Poison Ivy. Bruce takes Dick Grayson after the Flying Graysons incident, even though in this version his parents don’t die. They fall into a hot dog stand. So, yeah, Batman basically adopts a kid whose parents are still alive. That is unintentionally hilarious.

Also, this game accidentally makes Batman look completely insane during Robin’s origin story. Normally, Dick Grayson becomes Robin because his parents die during the Flying Graysons tragedy, and Bruce sees himself in Dick and adopts him because he’s now an orphan.
Not here.
In this game, Dick Grayson’s parents survive. They fall into a hot dog stand. That’s it.
And Batman still basically goes:
“Congratulations child. You now live in my cave.”
😭
I know the game is trying to keep the Robin origin while staying LEGO-friendly and avoiding killing the parents, but the end result is unintentionally hilarious because Bruce Wayne essentially kidnaps a circus kid after a mild family accident.
I genuinely sat there wondering:
“Does the Flying Graysons family know where their son went?”

Pamela Isley becomes Poison Ivy because she throws chemicals at Batman, Batman blocks them with his cape, and the chemicals bounce back into her face. Peak LEGO logic. Her boss fight has a giant plant hydra thing vomiting acid, which is disgusting but also very LEGO.

Robin also says, “Time to get to the roots of the problem,” and Batman immediately says, “We don’t do that.” Perfect.

Chapter 4 brings in Batgirl, Nightwing setup, Firefly, Mr. Freeze, and Black Mask. The Animated Series intro recreation is amazing. Barbara making her own Batgirl suit is cool, but gameplay-wise she is probably my least favorite character. Her hacking Batarang and drone are useful, but not exactly exciting.

Firefly attacks a masquerade party, Mr. Freeze shows up, steals a diamond, freezes Gordon, and then Batman and Batgirl have to figure out how to save him. Mr. Freeze has a big mech fight, but sadly there is no Nora motivation here. His plan is basically to freeze Gotham into an ice rink. So, yeah, not exactly the tragic Mr. Freeze I usually prefer.

Chapter 5 becomes The Dark Knight chapter. Joker appears in the nurse outfit, blows up the hospital, except instead of fire, paint explodes everywhere. The game recreates the moment where the explosion doesn’t go off right away and Joker keeps pressing the button. That was hilarious.

Lucius gives Bruce the Tumbler, and yes, the Tumbler looks amazing in this game. Then Joker gets chased through Gotham, Talia returns, and Batman is clearly happy to see her. They even go on a romantic tunnel of love ride. I wish I was joking.

Then we enter Chapter 6, and this is where the story gets rushed.

Batman and Talia interrogate Joker about Bane. During the interrogation, Batman yells, “Where’s Bane? Bane! Bane! Martha!” and Joker says, “Why did you say Martha?” That joke got me.

Then there’s an Arkham breakout where you fight Killer Moth, Deathstroke, and Solomon Grundy. Scarecrow appears in his Arkham Knight design and doses Batman with fear gas. Batman sees a giant looming Bane, escapes, and then runs into the real Bane.

Bane breaks Batman’s back and steals his armory. Then he puts Gotham into lockdown like The Dark Knight Rises.

This should have been a whole chapter. Instead, Bane gets introduced and defeated way too quickly. He shows up, breaks Batman, takes over Gotham, and then around thirty minutes later he’s beaten. That is way too rushed.

The Bane fight has two stages, including one where he pumps toxic waste into himself. After you defeat him, his mask falls off and he has the Handsome Squidward face, and Catwoman says he’s hot.

Okay then.

Then the game pulls a fakeout with a winged Batman figure attacking everyone, but it’s Alfred in the suit. The real final villain is Talia. She fights Batman in a multi-stage boss fight while Gordon and Batgirl deal with a bomb over Wayne Tower. Batman offers her a chance to help fix Gotham, but she hands him a bomb, it explodes, and she escapes.

And that’s the end.

The ending is rushed. Bane needed more time. Talia needed more time. The final act had cool ideas, but it felt like it sprinted to the finish line.

But even with that rushed ending, this game still gave me one of the most nostalgic Batman gaming experiences I’ve had in years. Once I unlocked the LEGO Batman 1 suits and saw that classic Batman standing in modern Gotham, it felt like childhood got a next-gen upgrade.

And honestly?

That alone made a lot of the pain worth it.