Back before Rocksteady was working on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, it had a few other projects that it was working on that were a lot more popular and had gamers screaming for more games just like it, and sadly, it is unlikely we will ever see any games similar from Rocksteady for a while.
The project in question was Batman: Arkham Asylum, and many gamers have wondered as to why Rocksteady has moved away from the Arkham universe and its amazing combat that they worked so hard to develop, but interestingly enough, the combat that they worked so hard on was nearly a figment of our imagination as they had two other ideas first.
What Were the Original Ideas for Batman: Arkham Asylum?
Back before the astounding combat mechanics that revolutionised fighting in games for years were even conceived, there were other ideas that sadly fell through during the planning process, and let me tell you, if those ideas succeeded, there probably wouldn’t have been an Arkham universe to begin with, let alone a Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game.
When Batman: Arkham Asylum was still in development, the developers went back and forth on two different ideas that were definitely unique, especially for a Batman-related title. The first idea that crossed their minds was a rhythmic combat system, which would have had players fighting to the sound of tunes or potentially music, turning it more into an arcade game than the gritty, dark story it eventually became.
For obvious reasons, this idea was eventually scrapped; however, the next idea wasn’t as good, as Rocksteady looked towards a 2D combat system, similar to games like Mortal Kombat and Injustice, which would have had players exploring the map in 3D like they do in the game already, but when they encountered enemies, the game would then change to a 2D perspective and create a fight scene.
That’s not all, as during this fight there would also be coloured circles that would bash into each other while the battle commenced. There was no information as to why this would happen, but it would probably be used as some sort of obstacle or timed effect.
Since these two ideas are so far apart from the stealth and combat that we received in the actual game release, it is a safe bet that Rocksteady chose the right option when it came to the game’s combat system, as it would still be discussed to this day after many years.
How Does This Link to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League?
The reason this links to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is because it tells us that Rocksteady are no strangers to testing out different combat mechanics until they find the right one that fits the game and story they are trying to tell.
Whether it is Batman and his fists, or his utility belt, or King Shark and his minigun, there is always room for change when it comes to gaming. Even though gamers have raised some valid points, like, why doesn’t Captain Boomerang use a boomerang, or why isn’t King Shark more melee-based?
It is because Rocksteady have already tested these combat mechanics out and have decided that to create an equally fair game, it would be stupid to limit certain characters to their respective fields; if they did, then there would only be one primary ranged character, one who is still ranged but incredibly slow, and two very close ranged and chaotic characters that would never survive in a warzone.
For all we know, Rocksteady has also gone through numerous different choices when designing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and for many reasons, the designs and choices they have made will have been the best out of a bunch of bad, and when the game releases, we will see whether or not this decision will pan out or sadly fall through.
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