Brainiac has enslaved the Justice League. You must hunt them down.
In February 2024, Rocksteady Games invited players into a morally inverted world where the villains are the last hope — four Arkham inmates tasked with destroying the very heroes civilization once trusted. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League arrives as both a continuation of a beloved saga and a reinvention of it, trading the solitary vigilance of Batman for chaotic, cooperative survival against a corrupted ideal. It is a story about what happens when the protectors fall, and the only ones left standing are those society had already given up on.
- Brainiac has enslaved Earth's greatest heroes, turning Superman, Batman, The Flash, and Green Lantern into instruments of destruction — and the only sanctioned response is to kill them.
- Rocksteady's shift from single-player Arkham storytelling to a live-service co-op model stirred unease among fans, prompting a delay after a lukewarm reaction to early gameplay footage.
- Each squad member — Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang — brings a distinct combat identity, giving the four-player experience genuine tactical texture rather than cosmetic variety.
- The game requires an internet connection even in solo play, a friction point that signals its live-service ambitions and separates it philosophically from its predecessors.
- The late Kevin Conroy's final turn as Batman casts a quiet gravity over the release, lending the brainwashed Dark Knight a poignancy that no amount of gameplay design could manufacture.
Rocksteady Games launched Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League on February 2, 2024, dropping players into a besieged Metropolis where the world's greatest heroes have become its greatest threat. Picking up after Batman: Arkham Knight, the story finds Amanda Waller deploying four Arkham inmates — Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang — on a mission that begins covert and quickly becomes existential. Brainiac has invaded Earth and enslaved the Justice League, and the Squad's directive is as blunt as it is staggering: eliminate each brainwashed hero and stop the invasion before the planet is lost.
The game unfolds across an open-world Metropolis designed to evoke the scale of Arkham City, with each character offering a meaningfully different way to move through and fight within it. Harley Quinn swings and strikes with acrobatic ferocity, King Shark overwhelms with brute force, Deadshot dominates at range from the air, and Captain Boomerang sacrifices power for blistering speed. Together they form a squad built for chaos — which is precisely what Metropolis has become.
Players can experience the game solo, switching between characters while AI fills the remaining roles, or team up with up to three friends in full co-op. An internet connection is required regardless of mode, a concession to the game's live-service architecture. The title launched exclusively on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, bypassing last-generation hardware entirely.
Among the details that linger beyond the gameplay itself is the presence of Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman across the entire Arkham series and much of the animated legacy of the character. His performance here — as a Batman stripped of his will — stands as one of his final recordings in the role, giving the game an emotional weight its premise alone could not have earned. Rocksteady has signaled that post-launch updates will continue to build out the experience, though the shape of what comes next remains unannounced.
Rocksteady Games released Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League on February 2, 2024, sending players into an open-world Metropolis to hunt down brainwashed members of the Justice League. The game picks up after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight, with Amanda Waller assembling a task force of Arkham inmates—Harley Quinn, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang—to undertake a covert mission that becomes far more urgent when they arrive in the city. The supervillain Brainiac has invaded Earth and enslaved the Justice League, including Batman, Superman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. The Suicide Squad's job is to eliminate each brainwashed hero and stop Brainiac before the planet falls.
The game is built as a four-player co-op experience set across a sprawling open-world version of Metropolis, designed to feel like a larger iteration of Rocksteady's earlier Arkham City. Each of the four playable characters brings a distinct combat style and movement toolkit to the squad. Harley Quinn combines agility with powerful melee strikes and carries a grappling hook for traversal. King Shark leans into raw brutality, though he can deploy a gatling gun when firepower becomes necessary. Deadshot serves as the squad's ranged specialist, capable of both precision sniping and aerial assaults. Captain Boomerang trades raw power for speed, using his boomerang to eliminate enemies from distance.
Players have flexibility in how they approach the game. Solo players can switch between squad members at will, with artificial intelligence controlling the characters they're not directly controlling—though an internet connection is required even for single-player sessions. Those who want to play with friends can invite up to three others to join them, with each player taking control of one squad member. The open-world design promises substantial exploration opportunities across Metropolis.
The game launched on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. Notably, Rocksteady did not bring the title to last-generation consoles like PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, making it a current-generation exclusive. The development path to release included a delay following fan reaction to gameplay footage shown during a State of Play presentation in February 2023, with the studio citing the need for additional development time.
One significant detail for longtime Arkham fans: the late Kevin Conroy, who voiced Batman across all of Rocksteady's Arkham games as well as Batman: The Animated Series, returned to voice the brainwashed Batman in this title. It marked one of his final performances in the role that defined much of his career. As the game establishes itself as a live-service title, Rocksteady has indicated that post-launch content updates will continue to expand the experience, though specific details about those additions remain to be revealed.
Notable Quotes
The team needed more time to develop the game following fan reception of gameplay footage shown in February 2023— Rocksteady Games (via announcement)
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does Rocksteady make you fight the Justice League instead of alongside them?
Because Brainiac has enslaved them—they're not villains, they're victims. The whole tension of the game is that you're forced to kill heroes to save the world. It's darker than the Arkham games.
Four players, but only four characters. Does that mean everyone plays the same squad?
Yes. You're always Harley, Deadshot, King Shark, and Captain Boomerang. The game doesn't rotate characters—it locks you into this specific team, which actually makes sense narratively. These are the people Amanda Waller chose.
What's the appeal of playing solo if you need internet anyway?
You get to experience the story and explore Metropolis at your own pace without coordinating with other people. The AI handles the other three squad members. It's not ideal, but it's there if you want the campaign without the social friction.
Why no last-gen console release?
The open-world scope and the four-player co-op infrastructure probably demanded more than PS4 and Xbox One could deliver. It's a current-generation game built for current hardware.
Kevin Conroy voicing Batman—is that bittersweet?
Very much so. He was Batman for an entire generation through the Arkham games and the animated series. Getting to hear him one more time, even as a brainwashed villain, feels like a farewell.